reflection : Java Glossary

reflection
Reflection (the java.lang.reflect package) is primarily for very generic programs such as database browsers or visual code editors. Reflection allows Java code to discover information about the fields, methods and constructors of loaded classes and to dynamically invoke them. Reflection is for dealing with class files you know very little about ahead of time. It would be of interest for example to the author of a BeanBox editor to import various foreign beans.

Here

Reflection has very high overhead. Make sure you can’t solve your problem with a simple interface, Class.forName and a delegate object instead.

Kataba has a way of speeding up reflection 100x to almost the speed of interface calls via dynamic compliation (JVM (Java Virtual Machine) byte code generation).

Learning More

Oracle’s Technote Guide on Reflection : available:

Oracle’s Javadoc on java.lang.reflect package : available:
Oracle’s Javadoc on Proxy class : available:
introspection
JASM if you want to create class files on the fly
Kataba
on the fly compose, compile and run

CMP homejump to top

available on the web at:

http://mindprod.com/jgloss/reflection.html
  

optional Replicator mirror
of mindprod.com
on local hard disk J:

J:\mindprod\jgloss\reflection.html
logo
Please email your , letters to the editor, errors, omissions, typos, formatting errors, ambiguities, unclear wording, broken/redirected link reports, suggestions to improve this page or comments to Roedy Green : feedback email. If you want your message, your name or email kept confidential, not considered for public posting, please explicitly specify that. Unless you state otherwise, I will treat your message as a letter to the editor that I may or may not publish in the feedback section. After that, it will be too late to retract it. If you disagree with something I said, especially when sending an ad-hominem attack, a rant composed mainly of obscenities or a death threat, please quote the offending passage and cite the web page where you found it, tell me why you think it is wrong, and, if possible, provide some supporting evidence. I can’t very well fix erroneous or ambiguous text if I can’t find it.
Blog
IP:[65.110.21.43]
Your face IP:[54.234.180.187]
You are visitor number 33,443.