Re: class/getClass()

From:
Joshua Cranmer <Pidgeot18@verizon.invalid>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.java.programmer
Date:
Sun, 11 May 2008 13:50:00 GMT
Message-ID:
<cQCVj.2017$Uz2.386@trnddc06>
Dennis wrote:

In class Object, getClass() returns a Class object representing
whatever object the method was called on. In something like:

initialize(UserContext.class);

protected void initialize (Class cls){
         initializeAtributes(cls);
         initializeDomains(cls);
}

something similar appears to be happening with _class_. What is this
and where is _class_ defined? It looks like UserContext, or something
it's extending, has an attribute named _class_, but I don't see it
anywhere. Also, MyEclipse highlights this along with other java
keywords. I've poked around the language specification but couldn't
find anything about it.


The `class' keyword, when used like a static variable, returns an object
of type Class<T> (where T is the type name to which it is attached) [1].
Typically, Class objects are used for reflection purposes, although they
are occasionally used for other purposes.

[1] There is a slight bug in the Java compiler whereby List.class
returns Class<List> and not Class<List<?>> (List<?>.class does not
work); this has previously caused at least me some enormous grief.

--
Beware of bugs in the above code; I have only proved it correct, not
tried it. -- Donald E. Knuth

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