PURE Java™ 2

Discovering the Name and Attributes of a Class

The first step to find out anything about a class or interface is to retrieve its Class object. There are three main ways to obtain a Class object:

• Use the getClass() method on an instance of an unknown class—for example, Class class = someInstance.getClass();

• Use the .class suffix on a known class—for example, Class class = java.awt.TextEvent.class;

• Use the Class.forName method with a String that contains the name of the class—for example, Class class = Class.forName(stringNameOfClass);

The best approach to use depends upon whether the class is known at compile time (use the .class suffix), is known only at runtime (use Class.forName()), or is a mystery object reference (getClass()).

Using Reflection ...