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Lecture 6 Class Loaders

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2 views

Lecture 6 Class Loaders

Uploaded by

Abcd Efgh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Maharaja Agrasen Institute of

Technology
CIC-212
Java Programming

Lecture 6

Java Class Loader


Java Class Loader
Java ClassLoader loads a java class file into java virtual
machine. It is as simple as that. It is not a huge
complicated concept to learn and every java developer
must know about the java class loaders and how it
works.

Like NullPointerException, one exception that is very


popular is ClassNotFoundException. At least in your
beginner stage you might have got umpteen number of
ClassNotFoundException. Java class loader is the
culprit that is causing this exception.

2
Types (Hierarchy) of Java Class Loader
Java class loaders can be broadly classified into below categories:
Bootstrap Class Loader
Bootstrap class loader loads java’s core classes like java.lang, java.util etc.
These are classes that are part of java runtime environment. Bootstrap class
loader is native implementation and so they may differ across different JVMs.
Extensions Class Loader
JAVA_HOME/jre/lib/ext contains jar packages that are extensions of standard
core java classes. Extensions class loader loads classes from this ext folder.
Using the system environment property java.ext.dirs you can add ‘ext’ folders
and jar files to be loaded using extensions class loader.
System Class Loader
Java classes that are available in the java classpath are loaded using System
class loader.

These class loaders have a hierarchical relationship among them.


Class loader can load classes from one level above its hierarchy.
First level is bootstrap class loader, second level is extensions class
loader and third level is system class loader.
3
How a Javaa Class Loader Works?
When a class name is given, class loader first locates the
class and then reads a class file of that name from the native
file system. Therefore this loading process is platform
dependent.

By default java.lang.ClassLoader is registered as a class


loader that is capable of loading classes in parallel. But the
subclasses needs to register as parallel or not at the time of
instantiation.

Classes can also be loaded from network, constructed on


runtime and loaded. ClassLoader class has a method name
defineClass which takes input as byte array and loads a class.

4
How a Java Class Loader Works?
Class Loader Parent

All class loaders except bootstrap class loader has a parent


class loader. This parent is not as in parent-child relationship of
inheritance. Every class loader instance is associated with a
parent class loader.
When a class loader is entrusted with the responsibility of
loading a class, as a first step it delegates this work to the
associated parent class loader. Then this parent class loader
gets the instruction and sequentially it delegates the call to its
parent class loader. In this chain of hierarchy the bootstrap
class loader is at the top.
When a class loader instance is created, using its constructor
the parent classloader can be associated with it.

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