Difference between calling new and getInstance()

Question

Is calling Class.getInstance() equivalent to new Class()? I know the constructor is called for the latter, but what about getInstance()? T

Answer 1

Absolutely (usually) not.

getInstance is the static method often used with the Singleton Pattern in Java. The new keyword actually creates a new object. At some point there must be a new (although there are a few other methods to instantiate new objects) to actually create the object that getInstance returns.