Reflection API in JAVA 1

Reflection API 1

Reflection means ability of a software to analyze itself. In Java, Reflection API provides facility to analyze and change runtime behaviour of a Class, at runtime.

For example, using reflection at the runtime you can determine what method, field, constructor or modifers a class supports

What is reflect package ??

java.lang.reflect package encapsulates several important interfaces and classes. These classes and interface define methods which are used for reflection.

Some Important Classes of java.lang.reflect package

Class	What it does ?
Array	allow you to dynamically create and manipulate arrays.
Constructor	gives information about constructor of a class.
Field	provide information about field.
Method	provide information about method.
Modifier	provide information about class and member access modifier.
Proxy	supports dynamic proxy classes.

Apart from these classes java.lang.Class is another very important class used in Reflection API.

The java.lang.Class class performs mainly two tasks:

1.provides methods to get the metadata of a class at run time.

2.provides methods to examine and change the run time behavior of a class.

Uses of Reflection

1. Developing IDE (Integrated Development Environment) e.g. Eclipse, MyEclipse, NetBeans etc.

2. Debugging and Test tools.

3. Loading drivers and providing dynamic information.

Uses of Reflection

1. Low performance

2. Security risk

3. Violation of Oops concept.