Advanced
Java
Programming
Lecture 5
Reflection
dr hab. Szymon Grabowski
dr inż. Wojciech Bieniecki
wbieniec@kis.p.lodz.pl
http://wbieniec.kis.p.lodz.pl
References:
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/reflect/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflection_(computer_science)
Reflection
Wikipedia: In computer science, reflection is the ability of a computer program to
examine and modify the structure and behavior of an object at runtime - its
values, meta-data, properties and functions.
Looking into the structure of the objects is called type introspection.
Reflection is most commonly used in high-level virtual machine programming
languages, scripting languages but also statically typed programming languages
In Java:
Provides a rich and advanced set of tools for writing programs which dynamically
can manage Java code
Is commonly used by programs which require the ability to examine or modify the
runtime behavior of applications running in the JVM
This mechanism is often used in JavaBeans
Reflection usage
●
Analysis of class properties at application runtime
●
Inspection of objects at application runtime.
For example, to write a toString method that works in all
classes
●
●
Implementation of generic code which manipulates arrays
The usage of Method objects that work like pointers to
functions in C++
Reflection properties
Reflection is an advanced feature and should be used only by developers who have a
strong knowledge ofJava.
With this in mind, reflection is a powerful technique and can enable applications to
perform operations which would otherwise be impossible.
Extensibility Features
We may use external, user-defined classes by creating instances of extensibility objects
using their fully-qualified names.
Class Browsers and Visual Development Environments
A class browser needs to be able to enumerate the members of classes. Visual
development environments can benefit from making use of type information available in
reflection to help the developer.
Debuggers and Test Tools
Debuggers need to be able to examine private members on classes. Test sequences may
use reflection to systematically call a discoverable set of APIs defined on a class, to insure
a high level of code coverage in a test suite.
How to obtain java.lang.Class object?
All types in Java including the primitive types (int, float etc.) have an
associated Class object.
They can be obtained in a few ways:
If an instance of an object is available, then by invoking object.getClass():
Class c = myObject.getClass();
If fully-qualified class name is available:
Class c = Class.forName("com.bull.MyService");
If there is no instance, but the type is available:
int test;
Class c = test.getClass();
errorClass c = test.class;
// compile-time
// correct
It should be noted that a Class object, in fact, refers to a type, which may or may
not be a class. For example, an int is not a class, but int.class is an object of class
Class
Basic operation on Class object
JVM for every type, supports a unique Class object, therefore, to compare them
operator == can be used
if (e.getClass() == Test.class)
Creates copies of the classes on the fly
e.getClass().newInstance();
The most important functions of reflection mechanism, allowing the analysis of a
class structure are located in three classes from java.lang.reflect
•Field
•Method
•Constructor
The use of reflection
getType()
Returns a Class object that identifies the declared type for the field represented by this
Field object.
getModifiers()
Returns the Java language modifiers for the field represented by this Field object, as an
integer.
getParameterTypes()
Returns an array of Class objects that represent the formal parameter types, in declaration
order, of the method represented by this Method object.
getReturnType()
Returns a Class object that represents the formal return type of the method represented
by this Method object.
getModifiers()
Returns the Java language modifiers for the constructor represented by this Constructor
object, as an integer.
getParameterTypes()
Returns an array of Class objects that represent the formal parameter types, in declaration
order, of the constructor represented by this Constructor object.
Example: a generic array code
Available in java.lang.reflect, class Array, allows to dynamically
create or expand tables.
Students[] stud = new Students[100]; //We want to expand table
stud = (Students[])moreArray(stud); //moreArray() is our method
Implementation of moreArray():
static Object goodArrayGrow(Object stud)
{
Class my = stud.getClass();
if (!my.isArray()) return null;
Class componentType = my.getComponentType();
int length = Array.getLength(a);
int biggerSize=length+10;
Object biggerArray =
Array.newInstance(componentType, biggerSize);
System.arraycopy(a, 0, biggerArray, 0, length);
return biggerArray;
}
Examining and modifying Enums
Reflection provides three enum-specific APIs:
Class.isEnum()
Indicates whether this class represents an enum type
Class.getEnumConstants()
Retrieves the list of enum constants defined by the enum in the order they're declared
java.lang.reflect.Field.isEnumConstant()
Indicates whether this field represents an element of an enumerated type
Fields which store enums are set and retrieved as any other reference type.
field.set()
public void set(Object obj,Object value);
Sets the field represented by this Field object on the specified object argument to the
specified new value.
field.get();
Returns the value of the field represented by this Field, on the specified object.
Reflection drawbacks
Reflection is powerful, but should not be used blindly.
If it is possible to perform an operation without using reflection, then avoid it.
Performance Overhead
Reflection involves types that are dynamically resolved, some JVM optimizations
can not be performed.
Consequently, reflective operations are much slower and should be avoided in
loops.
Security Restrictions
Reflection requires a runtime permission which is not available under a security
manager in a restricted security context (especially applets).
Exposure of Internals
Reflection allows to make operations that are illegal in non-reflective code
(accessing private fields and methods).
It can result in unexpected side-effects.
Reflective code breaks abstractions and therefore may change behavior with
upgrades of the platform.