Class Method
- All Implemented Interfaces:
AnnotatedElement
,GenericDeclaration
,Member
Method
provides information about, and access to, a single method
on a class or interface. The reflected method may be a class method
or an instance method (including an abstract method).
A Method
permits widening conversions to occur when matching the
actual parameters to invoke with the underlying method's formal
parameters, but it throws an IllegalArgumentException
if a
narrowing conversion would occur.
- Since:
- 1.1
- See Also:
-
Field Summary
-
Method Summary
Modifier and TypeMethodDescriptionboolean
Compares thisMethod
against the specified object.Returns anAnnotatedType
object that represents the use of a type to specify the return type of the method/constructor represented by this Executable.<T extends Annotation>
TgetAnnotation
(Class<T> annotationClass) Returns this element's annotation for the specified type if such an annotation is present, else null.Returns annotations that are directly present on this element.Class
<?> Returns theClass
object representing the class or interface that declares the method represented by this object.Returns the default value for the annotation member represented by thisMethod
instance.Class<?>[]
Returns an array ofClass
objects that represent the types of exceptions declared to be thrown by the underlying executable represented by this object.Type[]
Returns an array ofType
objects that represent the exceptions declared to be thrown by this executable object.Type[]
Returns an array ofType
objects that represent the formal parameter types, in declaration order, of the executable represented by this object.Returns aType
object that represents the formal return type of the method represented by thisMethod
object.int
Returns the Java language modifiers for the executable represented by this object.getName()
Returns the name of the method represented by thisMethod
object, as aString
.Annotation[][]
Returns an array of arrays ofAnnotation
s that represent the annotations on the formal parameters, in declaration order, of theExecutable
represented by this object.int
Returns the number of formal parameters (whether explicitly declared or implicitly declared or neither) for the executable represented by this object.Class<?>[]
Returns an array ofClass
objects that represent the formal parameter types, in declaration order, of the executable represented by this object.Class
<?> Returns aClass
object that represents the formal return type of the method represented by thisMethod
object.Returns an array ofTypeVariable
objects that represent the type variables declared by the generic declaration represented by thisGenericDeclaration
object, in declaration order.int
hashCode()
Returns a hashcode for thisMethod
.Invokes the underlying method represented by thisMethod
object, on the specified object with the specified parameters.boolean
isBridge()
Returnstrue
if this method is a bridge method; returnsfalse
otherwise.boolean
Returnstrue
if this method is a default method; returnsfalse
otherwise.boolean
Returnstrue
if this executable is a synthetic construct; returnsfalse
otherwise.boolean
Returnstrue
if this executable was declared to take a variable number of arguments; returnsfalse
otherwise.void
setAccessible
(boolean flag) Set theaccessible
flag for this reflected object to the indicated boolean value.Returns a string describing thisMethod
, including type parameters.toString()
Returns a string describing thisMethod
.Methods inherited from class java.lang.reflect.Executable
accessFlags, getAnnotatedExceptionTypes, getAnnotatedParameterTypes, getAnnotatedReceiverType, getAnnotationsByType, getParameters
Methods inherited from class java.lang.reflect.AccessibleObject
canAccess, getAnnotations, getDeclaredAnnotation, getDeclaredAnnotationsByType, isAccessible, isAnnotationPresent, setAccessible, trySetAccessible
Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
clone, finalize, getClass, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait
Methods inherited from interface java.lang.reflect.AnnotatedElement
getAnnotations, getDeclaredAnnotation, getDeclaredAnnotationsByType, isAnnotationPresent
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Method Details
-
setAccessible
public void setAccessible(boolean flag) Description copied from class:AccessibleObject
Set theaccessible
flag for this reflected object to the indicated boolean value. A value oftrue
indicates that the reflected object should suppress checks for Java language access control when it is used. A value offalse
indicates that the reflected object should enforce checks for Java language access control when it is used, with the variation noted in the class description.This method may be used by a caller in class
C
to enable access to amember
ofdeclaring class
D
if any of the following hold:-
C
andD
are in the same module. - The member is
public
andD
ispublic
in a package that the module containingD
exports
to at least the module containingC
. - The member is
protected
static
,D
ispublic
in a package that the module containingD
exports to at least the module containingC
, andC
is a subclass ofD
. -
D
is in a package that the module containingD
opens
to at least the module containingC
. All packages in unnamed and open modules are open to all modules and so this method always succeeds whenD
is in an unnamed or open module.
This method may be used by JNI code with no caller class on the stack to enable access to a
member
ofdeclaring class
D
if and only if:- The member is
public
andD
ispublic
in a package that the module containingD
exports
unconditionally.
This method cannot be used to enable access to private members, members with default (package) access, protected instance members, or protected constructors when the declaring class is in a different module to the caller and the package containing the declaring class is not open to the caller's module.
This method cannot be used to enable write access to a non-modifiable final field. The following fields are non-modifiable:
- static final fields declared in any class or interface
- final fields declared in a hidden class
- final fields declared in a record
The
accessible
flag whentrue
suppresses Java language access control checks to only enable read access to these non-modifiable final fields.- Overrides:
setAccessible
in classAccessibleObject
- Parameters:
flag
- the new value for theaccessible
flag- Throws:
InaccessibleObjectException
- if access cannot be enabled- External Specifications
- See Also:
-
-
getDeclaringClass
Returns theClass
object representing the class or interface that declares the method represented by this object.- Specified by:
getDeclaringClass
in interfaceMember
- Specified by:
getDeclaringClass
in classExecutable
- Returns:
- an object representing the declaring class of the underlying member
-
getName
Returns the name of the method represented by thisMethod
object, as aString
.- Specified by:
getName
in interfaceMember
- Specified by:
getName
in classExecutable
- Returns:
- the simple name of the underlying member
-
getModifiers
public int getModifiers()Returns the Java language modifiers for the executable represented by this object.- Specified by:
getModifiers
in interfaceMember
- Specified by:
getModifiers
in classExecutable
- Returns:
- the Java language modifiers for the executable represented by this object
- See Java Language Specification:
-
8.4.3 Method Modifiers
- See Also:
-
getTypeParameters
Returns an array ofTypeVariable
objects that represent the type variables declared by the generic declaration represented by thisGenericDeclaration
object, in declaration order. Returns an array of length 0 if the underlying generic declaration declares no type variables.- Specified by:
getTypeParameters
in interfaceGenericDeclaration
- Specified by:
getTypeParameters
in classExecutable
- Returns:
- an array of
TypeVariable
objects that represent the type variables declared by this generic declaration - Throws:
GenericSignatureFormatError
- if the generic signature of this generic declaration does not conform to the format specified in The Java Virtual Machine Specification- See Java Language Specification:
-
8.4.4 Generic Methods
- Since:
- 1.5
-
getReturnType
Returns aClass
object that represents the formal return type of the method represented by thisMethod
object.- Returns:
- the return type for the method this object represents
-
getGenericReturnType
Returns aType
object that represents the formal return type of the method represented by thisMethod
object.If the return type is a parameterized type, the
Type
object returned must accurately reflect the actual type arguments used in the source code.If the return type is a type variable or a parameterized type, it is created. Otherwise, it is resolved.
- Returns:
- a
Type
object that represents the formal return type of the underlying method - Throws:
GenericSignatureFormatError
- if the generic method signature does not conform to the format specified in The Java Virtual Machine SpecificationTypeNotPresentException
- if the underlying method's return type refers to a non-existent class or interface declarationMalformedParameterizedTypeException
- if the underlying method's return type refers to a parameterized type that cannot be instantiated for any reason- Since:
- 1.5
-
getParameterTypes
Returns an array ofClass
objects that represent the formal parameter types, in declaration order, of the executable represented by this object. Returns an array of length 0 if the underlying executable takes no parameters. Note that the constructors of some inner classes may have an implicitly declared parameter in addition to explicitly declared ones. Also note that compact constructors of a record class may have implicitly declared parameters.- Specified by:
getParameterTypes
in classExecutable
- Returns:
- the parameter types for the executable this object represents
-
getParameterCount
public int getParameterCount()Returns the number of formal parameters (whether explicitly declared or implicitly declared or neither) for the executable represented by this object.- Specified by:
getParameterCount
in classExecutable
- Returns:
- The number of formal parameters for the executable this object represents
- Since:
- 1.8
-
getGenericParameterTypes
Returns an array ofType
objects that represent the formal parameter types, in declaration order, of the executable represented by this object. An array of length 0 is returned if the underlying executable takes no parameters. Note that the constructors of some inner classes may have an implicitly declared parameter in addition to explicitly declared ones. Compact constructors of a record class may also have implicitly declared parameters, but they are a special case and thus considered as if they had been explicitly declared in the source. Finally note that as amodeling artifact
, the number of returned parameters can differ depending on whether or not generic information is present. If generic information is present, parameters explicitly present in the source or parameters of compact constructors of a record class will be returned. Note that parameters of compact constructors of a record class are a special case, as they are not explicitly present in the source, and its type will be returned regardless of the parameters being implicitly declared or not. If generic information is not present, implicit and synthetic parameters may be returned as well.If a formal parameter type is a parameterized type, the
Type
object returned for it must accurately reflect the actual type arguments used in the source code. This assertion also applies to the parameters of compact constructors of a record class, independently of them being implicitly declared or not.If a formal parameter type is a type variable or a parameterized type, it is created. Otherwise, it is resolved.
- Overrides:
getGenericParameterTypes
in classExecutable
- Returns:
- an array of
Type
s that represent the formal parameter types of the underlying executable, in declaration order - Throws:
GenericSignatureFormatError
- if the generic method signature does not conform to the format specified in The Java Virtual Machine SpecificationTypeNotPresentException
- if any of the parameter types of the underlying executable refers to a non-existent type declarationMalformedParameterizedTypeException
- if any of the underlying executable's parameter types refer to a parameterized type that cannot be instantiated for any reason- Since:
- 1.5
-
getExceptionTypes
Returns an array ofClass
objects that represent the types of exceptions declared to be thrown by the underlying executable represented by this object. Returns an array of length 0 if the executable declares no exceptions in itsthrows
clause.- Specified by:
getExceptionTypes
in classExecutable
- Returns:
- the exception types declared as being thrown by the executable this object represents
-
getGenericExceptionTypes
Returns an array ofType
objects that represent the exceptions declared to be thrown by this executable object. Returns an array of length 0 if the underlying executable declares no exceptions in itsthrows
clause.If an exception type is a type variable or a parameterized type, it is created. Otherwise, it is resolved.
- Overrides:
getGenericExceptionTypes
in classExecutable
- Returns:
- an array of Types that represent the exception types thrown by the underlying executable
- Throws:
GenericSignatureFormatError
- if the generic method signature does not conform to the format specified in The Java Virtual Machine SpecificationTypeNotPresentException
- if the underlying executable'sthrows
clause refers to a non-existent type declarationMalformedParameterizedTypeException
- if the underlying executable'sthrows
clause refers to a parameterized type that cannot be instantiated for any reason- Since:
- 1.5
-
equals
Compares thisMethod
against the specified object. Returns true if the objects are the same. TwoMethods
are the same if they were declared by the same class and have the same name and formal parameter types and return type. -
hashCode
-
toString
Returns a string describing thisMethod
. The string is formatted as the method access modifiers, if any, followed by the method return type, followed by a space, followed by the class declaring the method, followed by a period, followed by the method name, followed by a parenthesized, comma-separated list of the method's formal parameter types. If the method throws checked exceptions, the parameter list is followed by a space, followed by the word "throws
" followed by a comma-separated list of the thrown exception types. For example:public boolean java.lang.Object.equals(java.lang.Object)
The access modifiers are placed in canonical order as specified by "The Java Language Specification". This is
public
,protected
orprivate
first, and then other modifiers in the following order:abstract
,default
,static
,final
,synchronized
,native
,strictfp
.- Overrides:
toString
in classObject
- Returns:
- a string describing this
Method
- See Java Language Specification:
-
8.4.3 Method Modifiers
9.4 Method Declarations
9.6.1 Annotation Interface Elements
-
toGenericString
Returns a string describing thisMethod
, including type parameters. The string is formatted as the method access modifiers, if any, followed by an angle-bracketed comma-separated list of the method's type parameters, if any, including informative bounds of the type parameters, if any, followed by the method's generic return type, followed by a space, followed by the class declaring the method, followed by a period, followed by the method name, followed by a parenthesized, comma-separated list of the method's generic formal parameter types. If this method was declared to take a variable number of arguments, instead of denoting the last parameter as "Type[]
", it is denoted as "Type...
". A space is used to separate access modifiers from one another and from the type parameters or return type. If there are no type parameters, the type parameter list is elided; if the type parameter list is present, a space separates the list from the class name. If the method is declared to throw exceptions, the parameter list is followed by a space, followed by the word "throws
" followed by a comma-separated list of the generic thrown exception types.The access modifiers are placed in canonical order as specified by "The Java Language Specification". This is
public
,protected
orprivate
first, and then other modifiers in the following order:abstract
,default
,static
,final
,synchronized
,native
,strictfp
.- Specified by:
toGenericString
in classExecutable
- Returns:
- a string describing this
Method
, include type parameters - See Java Language Specification:
-
8.4.3 Method Modifiers
9.4 Method Declarations
9.6.1 Annotation Interface Elements - Since:
- 1.5
-
invoke
public Object invoke(Object obj, Object... args) throws IllegalAccessException, InvocationTargetException Invokes the underlying method represented by thisMethod
object, on the specified object with the specified parameters. Individual parameters are automatically unwrapped to match primitive formal parameters, and both primitive and reference parameters are subject to method invocation conversions as necessary.If the underlying method is static, then the specified
obj
argument is ignored. It may be null.If the number of formal parameters required by the underlying method is 0, the supplied
args
array may be of length 0 or null.If the underlying method is an instance method, it is invoked using dynamic method lookup as documented in The Java Language Specification, section 15.12.4.4; in particular, overriding based on the runtime type of the target object may occur.
If the underlying method is static, the class that declared the method is initialized if it has not already been initialized.
If the method completes normally, the value it returns is returned to the caller of invoke; if the value has a primitive type, it is first appropriately wrapped in an object. However, if the value has the type of an array of a primitive type, the elements of the array are not wrapped in objects; in other words, an array of primitive type is returned. If the underlying method return type is void, the invocation returns null.
- Parameters:
obj
- the object the underlying method is invoked fromargs
- the arguments used for the method call- Returns:
- the result of dispatching the method represented by
this object on
obj
with parametersargs
- Throws:
IllegalAccessException
- if thisMethod
object is enforcing Java language access control and the underlying method is inaccessible.IllegalArgumentException
- if the method is an instance method and the specified object argument is not an instance of the class or interface declaring the underlying method (or of a subclass or implementor thereof); if the number of actual and formal parameters differ; if an unwrapping conversion for primitive arguments fails; or if, after possible unwrapping, a parameter value cannot be converted to the corresponding formal parameter type by a method invocation conversion.InvocationTargetException
- if the underlying method throws an exception.NullPointerException
- if the specified object is null and the method is an instance method.ExceptionInInitializerError
- if the initialization provoked by this method fails.
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isBridge
public boolean isBridge()Returnstrue
if this method is a bridge method; returnsfalse
otherwise.- API Note:
- A bridge method is a synthetic method
created by a Java compiler alongside a method originating from
the source code. Bridge methods are used by Java compilers in
various circumstances to span differences in Java programming
language semantics and JVM semantics.
One example use of bridge methods is as a technique for a Java compiler to support covariant overrides, where a subclass overrides a method and gives the new method a more specific return type than the method in the superclass. While the Java language specification forbids a class declaring two methods with the same parameter types but a different return type, the virtual machine does not. A common case where covariant overrides are used is for a
Cloneable
class where theclone
method inherited fromjava.lang.Object
is overridden and declared to return the type of the class. For example,Object
declares
andprotected Object clone() throws CloneNotSupportedException {...}
EnumSet<E>
declares its language-level covariant override
If this technique was being used, the resulting class file forpublic EnumSet<E> clone() {...}
EnumSet
would have twoclone
methods, one returningEnumSet<E>
and the second a bridge method returningObject
. The bridge method is a JVM-level override ofObject.clone()
. The body of theclone
bridge method calls its non-bridge counterpart and returns its result. - Returns:
true
if this method is a bridge method; returnsfalse
otherwise- See Java Language Specification:
-
8.4.8.3 Requirements in Overriding and Hiding
15.12.4.5 Create Frame, Synchronize, Transfer Control - See Java Virtual Machine Specification:
-
4.6 Methods
- Since:
- 1.5
- See Also:
-
isVarArgs
public boolean isVarArgs()Returnstrue
if this executable was declared to take a variable number of arguments; returnsfalse
otherwise.- Overrides:
isVarArgs
in classExecutable
- Returns:
true
if this executable was declared to take a variable number of arguments; returnsfalse
otherwise- See Java Language Specification:
-
8.4.1 Formal Parameters
- Since:
- 1.5
-
isSynthetic
public boolean isSynthetic()Returnstrue
if this executable is a synthetic construct; returnsfalse
otherwise.- Specified by:
isSynthetic
in interfaceMember
- Overrides:
isSynthetic
in classExecutable
- Returns:
- true if and only if this executable is a synthetic construct as defined by The Java Language Specification.
- See Java Language Specification:
-
13.1 The Form of a Binary
- See Java Virtual Machine Specification:
-
4.6 Methods
- Since:
- 1.5
- See Also:
-
isDefault
public boolean isDefault()Returnstrue
if this method is a default method; returnsfalse
otherwise. A default method is a public non-abstract instance method, that is, a non-static method with a body, declared in an interface.- Returns:
- true if and only if this method is a default method as defined by the Java Language Specification.
- See Java Language Specification:
-
9.4 Method Declarations
- Since:
- 1.8
-
getDefaultValue
Returns the default value for the annotation member represented by thisMethod
instance. If the member is of a primitive type, an instance of the corresponding wrapper type is returned. Returns null if no default is associated with the member, or if the method instance does not represent a declared member of an annotation type.- Returns:
- the default value for the annotation member represented
by this
Method
instance. - Throws:
TypeNotPresentException
- if the annotation is of typeClass
and no definition can be found for the default class value.- See Java Language Specification:
-
9.6.2 Defaults for Annotation Interface Elements
- Since:
- 1.5
-
getAnnotation
Returns this element's annotation for the specified type if such an annotation is present, else null.Note that any annotation returned by this method is a declaration annotation.
- Specified by:
getAnnotation
in interfaceAnnotatedElement
- Overrides:
getAnnotation
in classExecutable
- Type Parameters:
T
- the type of the annotation to query for and return if present- Parameters:
annotationClass
- the Class object corresponding to the annotation type- Returns:
- this element's annotation for the specified annotation type if present on this element, else null
- Throws:
NullPointerException
- if the given annotation class is null- Since:
- 1.5
-
getDeclaredAnnotations
Returns annotations that are directly present on this element. This method ignores inherited annotations. If there are no annotations directly present on this element, the return value is an array of length 0. The caller of this method is free to modify the returned array; it will have no effect on the arrays returned to other callers.Note that any annotations returned by this method are declaration annotations.
- Specified by:
getDeclaredAnnotations
in interfaceAnnotatedElement
- Overrides:
getDeclaredAnnotations
in classExecutable
- Returns:
- annotations directly present on this element
- Since:
- 1.5
-
getParameterAnnotations
Returns an array of arrays ofAnnotation
s that represent the annotations on the formal parameters, in declaration order, of theExecutable
represented by this object. Synthetic and mandated parameters (see explanation below), such as the outer "this" parameter to an inner class constructor will be represented in the returned array. If the executable has no parameters (meaning no formal, no synthetic, and no mandated parameters), a zero-length array will be returned. If theExecutable
has one or more parameters, a nested array of length zero is returned for each parameter with no annotations. The annotation objects contained in the returned arrays are serializable. The caller of this method is free to modify the returned arrays; it will have no effect on the arrays returned to other callers. A compiler may add extra parameters that are implicitly declared in source ("mandated"), as well as parameters that are neither implicitly nor explicitly declared in source ("synthetic") to the parameter list for a method. SeeParameter
for more information.Note that any annotations returned by this method are declaration annotations.
- Specified by:
getParameterAnnotations
in classExecutable
- Returns:
- an array of arrays that represent the annotations on the formal and implicit parameters, in declaration order, of the executable represented by this object
- Since:
- 1.5
- See Also:
-
getAnnotatedReturnType
Returns anAnnotatedType
object that represents the use of a type to specify the return type of the method/constructor represented by this Executable. If thisExecutable
object represents a constructor, theAnnotatedType
object represents the type of the constructed object. If thisExecutable
object represents a method, theAnnotatedType
object represents the use of a type to specify the return type of the method.- Specified by:
getAnnotatedReturnType
in classExecutable
- Returns:
- an object representing the return type of the method
or constructor represented by this
Executable
- Since:
- 1.8
-