Tuesday, June 9, 2026
HomeLanguagesJavaClass forName(String, boolean, ClassLoader) method in Java with Examples

Class forName(String, boolean, ClassLoader) method in Java with Examples

The forName(String, boolean, ClassLoader) method of java.lang.Class class is used to get the instance of this Class with the specified class name, using the specified class loader. The class is initialized only if the initialize parameter is true and if it has not been initialized earlier.
Syntax: 
 

public static Class<T>
 forName(String className, 
         boolean initialize, 
         ClassLoader classLoader) 
 throws ClassNotFoundException

Parameter: This method accepts following parameters: 
 

  • className which is the Class for which its instance is required.
  • initialize which is the boolean to state if this class instance needs to be initialized or not.
  • classLoader which is the ClassLoader from which this Class must be loaded.

Return Value: This method returns the instance of this Class fetched using the specified parameters.
Exception: This method throws following Exceptions: 
 

  • LinkageError: if the linkage fails
  • ExceptionInInitializerError: if the initialization provoked by this method fails
  • ClassNotFoundException: if the class cannot be located
  • SecurityException: if a security manager is present, and the loader is null, and the caller’s class loader is not null, and the caller does not have the RuntimePermission(“getClassLoader”)

Below programs demonstrate the forName() method.
Example 1:
 

Java




// Java program to demonstrate forName() method
 
public class Test {
    public static void main(String[] args)
        throws ClassNotFoundException
    {
 
        // returns the Class object for this class
        Class myClass = Class.forName("Test");
 
        ClassLoader loader = myClass.getClassLoader();
 
        // get the Class instance using forName method
        Class c1
            = Class.forName("java.lang.String",
                            true,
                            loader);
 
        System.out.print("Class represented by c1: "
                         + c1.toString());
    }
}


Output: 

Class represented by c1: class java.lang.String

 

Example 2:
 

Java




// Java program to demonstrate forName() method
 
public class Test {
    public static void main(String[] args)
        throws ClassNotFoundException
    {
 
        // returns the Class object for this class
        Class myClass = Class.forName("Test");
 
        ClassLoader loader = myClass.getClassLoader();
 
        // get the Class instance using forName method
        Class c1
            = Class.forName("java.lang.Integer",
                            false,
                            loader);
 
        System.out.print("Class represented by c1: "
                         + c1.toString());
    }
}


Output: 

Class represented by c1: class java.lang.Integer

 

Reference: https://docs.oracle.com/javase/9/docs/api/java/lang/Class.html#forName-java.lang.String-boolean-java.lang.ClassLoader-
 

RELATED ARTICLES

2 COMMENTS

Most Popular

Dominic
32515 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Milvus
131 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Nango Kala
6895 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Nicole Veronica
12012 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Nokonwaba Nkukhwana
12109 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Shaida Kate Naidoo
7018 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Ted Musemwa
7262 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Thapelo Manthata
6976 POSTS0 COMMENTS
Umr Jansen
6963 POSTS0 COMMENTS