convert package name to path

Question

I have a class de.xyz.MyClass which is stored in de/xyz/MyClass.java. How can I get this path from the class MyClass itself?

Answer 1

Like this:

String path = MyClass.class.getName().replace(".", "/") + ".java";

But note that sometimes class names are annotated (e.g., inner classes, etc.). More here.

If you're starting with an instance of the class (perhaps this inside one of the class's methods), you can get the class via instance.getClass(). For instance:

private String getPathToThis() {
    return this.getClass().getName().replace(".", "/") + ".java";
}

Of course, these are going to be relative to some base (directory or jar) in the classpath...