How do I check if a class represent an interface type?

You can use the isInterface() method call of the java.lang.Class to identify if a class objects represent an interface type.

package org.kodejava.lang.reflect;

import java.io.Serializable;

public class IsInterfaceDemo {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        IsInterfaceDemo.get(Serializable.class);
        IsInterfaceDemo.get(Long.class);
    }

    private static void get(Class<?> clazz) {
        if (clazz.isInterface()) {
            System.out.println(clazz.getName() +
                    " is an interface type.");
        } else {
            System.out.println(clazz.getName() +
                    " is not an interface type.");
        }
    }
}

Here is the result of the program:

java.io.Serializable is an interface type.
java.lang.Long is not an interface type.

How do I check if a class represent a primitive type?

Java uses class objects to represent all eight primitive types. A class object that represents a primitive type can be identified using the isPrimitive() method call. void is not a type in Java, but the isPrimitive() method returns true for void.class.

package org.kodejava.lang.reflect;

public class IsPrimitiveDemo {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        IsPrimitiveDemo.get(int.class);
        IsPrimitiveDemo.get(String.class);
        IsPrimitiveDemo.get(double.class);
        IsPrimitiveDemo.get(void.class);
    }

    private static void get(Class<?> clazz) {
        if (clazz.isPrimitive()) {
            System.out.println(clazz.getName() +
                    " is a primitive type.");
        } else {
            System.out.println(clazz.getName() +
                    " is not a primitive type.");
        }
    }
}

Here is the result of the program:

int is a primitive type.
java.lang.String is not a primitive type.
double is a primitive type.
void is a primitive type.

How do I get information regarding class name?

package org.kodejava.lang.reflect;

import java.util.Date;

public class ClassNameDemo {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Date date = new Date();

        // Gets the Class of the date instance.
        Class<?> clazz = date.getClass();

        // Gets the name of the class.
        String name = clazz.getName();
        System.out.println("Class name     : " + name);

        // Gets the canonical name of the class.
        String canonical = clazz.getCanonicalName();
        System.out.println("Canonical name : " + canonical);

        // Gets the simple name of the class.
        String simple = clazz.getSimpleName();
        System.out.println("Simple name    : " + simple);
    }
}

Here are the information printed out by the program:

Class name     : java.util.Date
Canonical name : java.util.Date
Simple name    : Date

How do I get direct superclass and interfaces of a class?

Java reflection also dealing with inheritance concepts. You can get the direct interfaces and direct super class of a class by using method getInterfaces() and getSuperclass() of java.lang.Class object.

  • getInterfaces() will returns an array of Class objects that represent the direct super interfaces of the target Class object.
  • getSuperclass() will returns the Class object representing the direct super class of the target Class object or null if the target represents Object class, an interface, a primitive type, or void.
package org.kodejava.lang.reflect;

import javax.swing.*;
import java.util.Date;

public class GetSuperClassDemo {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        GetSuperClassDemo.get(String.class);
        GetSuperClassDemo.get(Date.class);
        GetSuperClassDemo.get(JButton.class);
        GetSuperClassDemo.get(Timer.class);
    }

    public static void get(Class<?> clazz) {
        // Gets array of direct interface of clazz object
        Class<?>[] interfaces = clazz.getInterfaces();

        System.out.format("Direct Interfaces of %s:%n",
                clazz.getName());
        for (Class<?> clz : interfaces) {
            System.out.println(clz.getName());
        }

        // Gets direct superclass of clazz object
        Class<?> superclz = clazz.getSuperclass();
        System.out.format("Direct Superclass of %s: is %s %n",
                clazz.getName(), superclz.getName());
        System.out.println("====================================");
    }
}

Here is the result of the code snippet:

Direct Interfaces of java.lang.String:
java.io.Serializable
java.lang.Comparable
java.lang.CharSequence
Direct Superclass of java.lang.String: is java.lang.Object 
====================================
Direct Interfaces of java.util.Date:
java.io.Serializable
java.lang.Cloneable
java.lang.Comparable
Direct Superclass of java.util.Date: is java.lang.Object 
====================================
Direct Interfaces of javax.swing.JButton:
javax.accessibility.Accessible
Direct Superclass of javax.swing.JButton: is javax.swing.AbstractButton 
====================================
Direct Interfaces of javax.swing.Timer:
java.io.Serializable
Direct Superclass of javax.swing.Timer: is java.lang.Object 
====================================

How do I create and implement abstract class?

Abstract class is a class that have one or more methods declared, but not defined. Abstract class cannot have instances. This class uses in inheritance to take advantage of polymorphism. To declare that a class is abstract, use the abstract keyword in front of the class keyword in the class definition.

Methods in abstract class that have no definition are called abstract methods. The declaration for an abstract method ends with a semicolon and you specify the method with the abstract keyword to identify it as such. The implementation is left to the sub classes.

package org.kodejava.example.fundamental;

public abstract class Animal {
    private String species;

    public Animal(String species) {
        this.species = species;
    }

    public abstract void makeASound();

    public String getSpecies() {
        return species;
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Animal pig = new Pig("Warthog");
        pig.makeASound();
    }
}

The Pig class extends the Animal class. Because the Animal class contains an abstract method makeASound() the Pig class must implements this method or else the Pig will also become an abstract class.

package org.kodejava.example.fundamental;

public class Pig extends Animal {

    public Pig(String species) {
        super(species);
    }

    @Override
    public void makeASound() {
        System.out.println("oink oink");
    }
}