Getting hold of the outer class object from the inner class object

Question

I have the following code. I want to get hold of the outer class object using which I created the inner class object inner. How can I do it?

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Answer 1

OuterClass.this references the outer class.

Answer 2

Within the inner class itself, you can use OuterClass.this. This expression, which allows to refer to any lexically enclosing instance, is described in the JLS as Qualified this.

I don't think there's a way to get the instance from outside the code of the inner class though. Of course, you can always introduce your own property:

public OuterClass getOuter() {
    return OuterClass.this;
}

EDIT: By experimentation, it looks like the field holding the reference to the outer class has package level access - at least with the JDK I'm using.

EDIT: The name used (this$0) is actually valid in Java, although the JLS discourages its use:

The $ character should be used only in mechanically generated source code or, rarely, to access pre-existing names on legacy systems.

Answer 3

/**
 * Not applicable to Static Inner Class (nested class)
 */
public static Object getDeclaringTopLevelClassObject(Object object) {
    if (object == null) {
        return null;
    }
    Class cls = object.getClass();
    if (cls == null) {
        return object;
    }
    Class outerCls = cls.getEnclosingClass();
    if (outerCls == null) {
        // this is top-level class
        return object;
    }
    // get outer class object
    Object outerObj = null;
    try {
        Field[] fields = cls.getDeclaredFields();
        for (Field field : fields) {
            if (field != null && field.getType() == outerCls
                    && field.getName() != null && field.getName().startsWith("this$")) {
                field.setAccessible(true);
                outerObj = field.get(object);
                break;
            }
        }
    } catch (Exception e) {
        e.printStackTrace();
    }
    return getDeclaringTopLevelClassObject(outerObj);
}

Of course, the name of the implicit reference is unreliable, so you shouldn't use reflection for the job.

Answer 4

You could (but you shouldn't) use reflection for the job:

import java.lang.reflect.Field;

public class Outer {
    public class Inner {
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {

        // Create the inner instance
        Inner inner = new Outer().new Inner();

        // Get the implicit reference from the inner to the outer instance
        // ... make it accessible, as it has default visibility
        Field field = Inner.class.getDeclaredField("this$0");
        field.setAccessible(true);

        // Dereference and cast it
        Outer outer = (Outer) field.get(inner);
        System.out.println(outer);
    }
}

Of course, the name of the implicit reference is utterly unreliable, so as I said, you shouldn't :-)

Answer 5

Have been edited in 2020-06-15

public class Outer {

    public Inner getInner(){
        return new Inner(this);
    }

    static class Inner {

        public final Outer Outer;

        public Inner(Outer outer) {
            this.Outer=outer;
        }
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Outer outer = new Outer();
        Inner inner = outer.getInner();
        Outer anotherOuter=inner.Outer;

        if(anotherOuter == outer) {
            System.out.println("Was able to reach out to the outer object via inner !!");
        } else {
            System.out.println("No luck :-( ");
        }
    }
}

Answer 6

if you don't have control to modify the inner class, the refection may help you (but not recommend). this$0 is reference in Inner class which tells which instance of Outer class was used to create current instance of Inner class.