Dynamically loading class in Java Android

Question

Looking for the best way that I can define a class without knowing its name at the time of compilation. In PHP, this is done as follows:

$className = 'testclass';
$myClass = new $className();

In contrast, already in Java so do not be. I know it's ClassLoader, but I'm not sure if Android does so the same thing. I would ask for a specific code or even tips on how I can do it.

Regards.

Answer 1

What you are looking for is called Reflection in Java: http://developer.android.com/reference/java/lang/reflect/package-summary.html

Please note it is not possible to list classes in a certain package using reflection though.

Answer 2

You can load an existing class via Class.forName ; your class could also have a static initializer static { /* your init code */ } so that it could be run while loading the class.

Note also that all JDBC drivers are commonly loaded in this way.