Java: Difference between Class.forName and ClassLoader.loadClass

Question

What is the difference between Class.forName and ClassLoader.loadClass in the following codes:

Class theClass = Class.forName("         


        

Answer 1

This line won't compile:

Class theClass = ClassLoader.loadClass("SomeImpl");

because loadClass is not a static method of ClassLoader.

To fix this problem, create a ClassLoader object as follows in one of 3 possible ways:

ClassLoader classLoader = Thread.currentThread().getContextClassLoader();
ClassLoader classLoader = Main.class.getClassLoader();      // Assuming in class Main
ClassLoader classLoader = getClass().getClassLoader();      // works in any class

then call:

Class theClass = classLoader.loadClass("SomeImpl");

-dbednar