CODEWITHSUNDEEP
java
Raj
Raj

Reputation: 3061

How to get a list of methods of an object or class?

I need to find a list of the methods and public properties that are in an object dynamically. I will not have access to the class's definition. Is it possible to get a list of methods of an object given a reference to the object? If so, how?

Upvotes: 1

Views: 422

Answers (3)

Kal
Kal

Reputation: 24910

java reflection api can do this for you.

http://download.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/reflect/class/classMembers.html

Upvotes: 2

Fender
Fender

Reputation: 3055

look here for a good introduction in java reflection:

http://tutorials.jenkov.com/java-reflection/index.html

With reflection you can get every method and object for a given class (next to many more features)

Upvotes: 1

Jon Skeet
Jon Skeet

Reputation: 1503429

You can get the class by calling getClass() on the reference. From there, you can call getMethods(), getDeclaredMethods() etc. Sample code showing the methods in java.lang.String:

import java.lang.reflect.Method;

public class Test {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        showMethods("hello");
    }

    private static void showMethods(Object target) {
        Class<?> clazz = target.getClass();

        for (Method method : clazz.getMethods()) {
            System.out.println(method.getName());
        }
    }
}

Look at the docs for Class for more options of how to get methods etc.

Upvotes: 6

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