Java: get the class of the inherited class from a static method

Question

I have the following problem in Java: I have a base class and a derived class and I have a method in the base class. When I call the Base's foo method through Derived I want to get the Derived's class. The foo method can be generic if it can be done that way.

class Base
{
    static void foo()
    {
        // I want to get Derived class here
        // Derived.class
    }
}

class Derived extends Base
{
}

Derived.foo();

Thanks for your help!

David

Answer 1

That's not the way that static methods work. You'll have to implement Derived.foo(), do whatever it is that's special to Derived, and that method then calls Base.foo(). If you really need the type information, you could create Base.foo0(Class klass).

But to be honest, any static method that needs to know that type of the class that it's invoked on should probably be an instance method.

Answer 2

Well, the caller of Derived.foo() knows what they are calling, so you could alter your methods thus:

class Base
{
    static void foo(Class< T > calledBy)
    {
        // I want to get Derived class here
        // Derived.class
    }
}

class Derived extends Base
{
}

Derived.foo(Derived.class);