Question

You’ll probably ask, why would I want to do that – it’s because I’m using a class (from an external library) which does stuff in its static initializer and I need to know whether it’s been done or not.

I looked at ClassLoader, but didn’t find anything that looked useful. Any ideas?

Answer 1

You can use the ClassLoader.findLoadedClass() method. If it returns null, then the class isn’t loaded. This way you don’t load the class if it wasn’t already loaded.

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WARNING : This code doesn’t really work here, in the system ClassLoader, findLoadedClass() is protected, you need to override it with your own ClassLoader.

Check the link below On the same topic to check if a class is loaded with the system ClassLoader

if(ClassLoader.getSystemClassLoader().findLoadedClass("java.lang.String") != null){
    System.out.println("Yepee, String is loaded !");
}

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Very good point from @irreputable :

“loaded” doesn’t mean “initialized”. initialization only happens at precise moments defined by JLS3 $12.4.1

And I quote :

A class or interface type T will be initialized immediately before the first occurrence of any one of the following:

• T is a class and an instance of T is created.
• T is a class and a static method declared by T is invoked.
• A static field declared by T is assigned.
• A static field declared by T is used and the field is not a constant variable (§4.12.4).
• T is a top-level class, and an assert statement (§14.10) lexically nested within T is executed.

Invocation of certain reflective methods in class Class and in package java.lang.reflect also causes class or interface initialization. A class or interface will not be initialized under any other circumstance.

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Resources :

• Javadoc – ClassLoader.findLoadedClass()
• Internals of Java Class Loading
• JLS – §12.4.1 When Initialization Occurs

On the same topic :

• In Java, is it possible to know whether a class has already been loaded?