I'm a java programmer and am trying to understand the difference between a method (java methods) and a function (such as in c++). I used to think that they are the same, just different naming conventions for different programming languages. But now that I know they are not, I am having trouble understanding the difference.

I know that a method relates to an instance of a class and has access to class data (member variables), while a function does not (?). So is a function kind of like a static method?

See here for explanations I read which led me to think this.