Why we use Class.forName(“oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleDriver”) while connecting to a database?

Question

What is the actual use of Class.forName(\"oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleDriver\") while connecting to a database? Why cant we just import the same class, instead why

Answer 1

A couple reasons to use Class.forName("") instead of just referencing the class directly:

1. Using Class.forName("") gives you more obvious control over where exactly the first attempt to load the specified class will be made in your code. This makes it more obvious where the code will fail (throw an exception) if that class is not present in the classpath when that code runs.

2. If you simply import the class and then reference it in your code, it becomes slightly less obvious where the code will throw an exception if the class is not present.

3. Also, using Class.forName("") is a way to get around potential compile-time restrictions. If, for example, the person compiling the code does not (for, let's say, licensing or intellectual property reasons) have access to the class oracle.jdbc.driver.OracleDriver, they may find it easier to compile code which references the class by Class.forName("") rather than directly.

4. If you do not need to use any methods, fields, or inner classes of the specified class, then Class.forName("") may be the clearest way to express that the only thing desired is to load the class (and have its static initializers run), and nothing else.

I don't think Class.forName exhibits any different functional behavior than referencing the class directly. It uses the calling class' classloader by default, which should be the same classloader that is used when referencing the class directly. There are some overloads to Class.forName("") that let you customize the class loading behavior a bit more.