Re: Newbie - what is the class Class?
zalek wrote:
I am looking on some code where I see the method getClass() is used.
From Java site I read that Class class is "Instances of the class
Class represent classes and interfaces in a running Java application.
As I understand instance of a class is an object - so what a point to
get a Class from an object?
The Class object is an object representing metadata about the class.
Most of the time, one doesn't need it. However, it is useful in two areas:
1. Generics reification hacks. It's the only way to do something like
"new T()" at this point.
2. A branch of programming called reflection. A simple description of
this is the ability to do dynamic operations, such as implementing a
scripting language in Java.
I do realize that the Generics reification hack is a special case of the
latter, but it is widely-used enough in its own sense (IMHO) to warrant
being listed separately. And this is by no means a complete list of
where one might want to use Class objects.
--
Beware of bugs in the above code; I have only proved it correct, not
tried it. -- Donald E. Knuth