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Inline Java method defined for a class is not available when calling the object [duplicate]

Is there any Java syntax to access new methods defined within anonymous inner classes from outer class? I know there can be various workarounds, but I wonder if a special syntax exist?
For example
class Outer {
ActionListener listener = new ActionListener() {
#Override
void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
// do something
}
// method is public so can be accessible
public void MyGloriousMethod() {
// viva!
}
};
public void Caller() {
listener.MyGloriousMethod(); // does not work!
}
}
MY OWN SOLUTION
I just moved all methods and members up to outer class.

Once the anonymous class instance has been implicitly cast into the named type it can't be cast back because there is no name for the anonymous type. You can access the additional members of the anonymous inner class through this within the class, in the expression immediate after the expression and the type can be inferred and returned through a method call.
Object obj = new Object() {
void fn() {
System.err.println("fn");
}
#Override public String toString() {
fn();
return "";
}
};
obj.toString();
new Object() {
void fn() {
System.err.println("fn");
}
}.fn();
identity(new Object() {
void fn() {
System.err.println("fn");
}
}).fn();
...
private static <T> T identity(T value) {
return value;
}

A student in my class asked our professor if this could be done the other day. Here is what I wrote as a cool proof of concept that it CAN be done, although not worth it, it is actually possible and here is how:
public static void main(String[] args){
//anonymous inner class with method defined inside which
//does not override anything
Object o = new Object()
{
public int test = 5;
public void sayHello()
{
System.out.println("Hello World");
}
};
//o.sayHello();//Does not work
try
{
Method m = o.getClass().getMethod("sayHello");
Field f = o.getClass().getField("test");
System.out.println(f.getInt(o));
m.invoke(o);
} catch (Exception e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
By making use of Java's Method class we can invoke a method by passing in the string value and parameters of the method. Same thing can be done with fields.
Just thought it would be cool to share this!

Your caller knows listener as an ActionListener and therefore it doesn't know anything about that new method. I think the only way to do this (other than doing reflection gymnastics, which really would defeat the purpose of using an anonymous class, i.e. shortcut/simplicity) is to simply subclass ActionListener and not use an anonymous class.

Funny enough, this is now allowed with var construct (Java 10 or newer). Example:
var calculator = new Object() {
BigDecimal intermediateSum = BigDecimal.ZERO;
void calculate(Item item) {
intermediateSum = Numbers.add(intermediateSum, item.value);
item.sum= intermediateSum;
}
};
items.forEach(calculator::calculate);
Here with method reference, but works with dot method call as well, of course. It works with fields as well. Enjoy new Java. :-)
I found more tricks with var and anonymous classes here: https://blog.codefx.org/java/tricks-var-anonymous-classes/

No, it's imposible. You would need to cast the ActionListener to its real subclass name, but since it's anonymous, it doesn't have a name.

The right way to do it is using reflection:
import java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException;
public class MethodByReflectionTest {
public static void main(String[] args) throws IllegalAccessException, IllegalArgumentException, InvocationTargetException, NoSuchMethodException, SecurityException {
Object obj = new Object(){
public void print(){
System.out.println("Print executed.");
}
};
obj.getClass().getMethod("print", null).invoke(obj, null);
}
}
You can check here: How do I invoke a Java method when given the method name as a string?

Yes you can access the method see the example below if any doubt please comment
package com;
interface A
{
public void display();
}
public class Outer {
public static void main(String []args)
{
A a=new A() {
#Override
public void display() {
System.out.println("Hello");
}
};
a.display();
}
}

Class variable not instantiated in subclass Java [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
What's wrong with overridable method calls in constructors?
(8 answers)
Closed 6 years ago.
I have the following code: The constructor of class A calls an abstract method implemented by class B which returns a variable from class B. This variable will be null by the time A calls the abstract method even if I instantiated it in the declaration. Is there any way I can instantiate it this way?
public abstract class A {
public A() {
isStringNull();
}
protected abstract String getMyString();
private void isStringNull () {
if (getMyString() == null) {
System.out.println("String is null :(");
} else {
System.out.println(getMyString());
}
}
}
public class B extends A {
private String amINull = "Of course not";
#Override
protected String getMyString() {
return amINull;
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new B();
}
Can somebody please explain why the string will be null?

There is a detailed explanation of the order of initialization here:
Java order of Initialization and Instantiation
Basically, if you call a superclass constructor (explicitly or implicitly by inheritance and having an argumentless constructor), all of its initialization is done before it comes back to the subclass. So, in this case, the order is:
perform class A variable initializers
perform class A constructor body
return to class B constructor
perform class B variable initializers
perform class B constructor body

This is happening because you are first checking is string null and then you are assigning its value. When you extend some class, that class code will be executed at first!
Your compiler is doing it this way:
new B() -> isStringNull() -> private String amINull = "Of course not";
Check this modified code and see what will happen and look at execution steps
public abstract class A {
public A() {
System.out.println("Class A() called");
isStringNull();
}
protected abstract String getMyString();
private void isStringNull () {
if (getMyString() == null) {
System.out.println("String is null :(");
} else {
System.out.println(getMyString());
}
}
}
public class B extends A {
System.out.println("Class B() called");
private String amINull = "Of course not";
#Override
protected String getMyString() {
return amINull;
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new B();
}

Adding a method to a class using anonymous class [duplicate]

Is there any Java syntax to access new methods defined within anonymous inner classes from outer class? I know there can be various workarounds, but I wonder if a special syntax exist?
For example
class Outer {
ActionListener listener = new ActionListener() {
#Override
void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
// do something
}
// method is public so can be accessible
public void MyGloriousMethod() {
// viva!
}
};
public void Caller() {
listener.MyGloriousMethod(); // does not work!
}
}
MY OWN SOLUTION
I just moved all methods and members up to outer class.

Once the anonymous class instance has been implicitly cast into the named type it can't be cast back because there is no name for the anonymous type. You can access the additional members of the anonymous inner class through this within the class, in the expression immediate after the expression and the type can be inferred and returned through a method call.
Object obj = new Object() {
void fn() {
System.err.println("fn");
}
#Override public String toString() {
fn();
return "";
}
};
obj.toString();
new Object() {
void fn() {
System.err.println("fn");
}
}.fn();
identity(new Object() {
void fn() {
System.err.println("fn");
}
}).fn();
...
private static <T> T identity(T value) {
return value;
}

A student in my class asked our professor if this could be done the other day. Here is what I wrote as a cool proof of concept that it CAN be done, although not worth it, it is actually possible and here is how:
public static void main(String[] args){
//anonymous inner class with method defined inside which
//does not override anything
Object o = new Object()
{
public int test = 5;
public void sayHello()
{
System.out.println("Hello World");
}
};
//o.sayHello();//Does not work
try
{
Method m = o.getClass().getMethod("sayHello");
Field f = o.getClass().getField("test");
System.out.println(f.getInt(o));
m.invoke(o);
} catch (Exception e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
By making use of Java's Method class we can invoke a method by passing in the string value and parameters of the method. Same thing can be done with fields.
Just thought it would be cool to share this!

Your caller knows listener as an ActionListener and therefore it doesn't know anything about that new method. I think the only way to do this (other than doing reflection gymnastics, which really would defeat the purpose of using an anonymous class, i.e. shortcut/simplicity) is to simply subclass ActionListener and not use an anonymous class.

Funny enough, this is now allowed with var construct (Java 10 or newer). Example:
var calculator = new Object() {
BigDecimal intermediateSum = BigDecimal.ZERO;
void calculate(Item item) {
intermediateSum = Numbers.add(intermediateSum, item.value);
item.sum= intermediateSum;
}
};
items.forEach(calculator::calculate);
Here with method reference, but works with dot method call as well, of course. It works with fields as well. Enjoy new Java. :-)
I found more tricks with var and anonymous classes here: https://blog.codefx.org/java/tricks-var-anonymous-classes/

No, it's imposible. You would need to cast the ActionListener to its real subclass name, but since it's anonymous, it doesn't have a name.

The right way to do it is using reflection:
import java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException;
public class MethodByReflectionTest {
public static void main(String[] args) throws IllegalAccessException, IllegalArgumentException, InvocationTargetException, NoSuchMethodException, SecurityException {
Object obj = new Object(){
public void print(){
System.out.println("Print executed.");
}
};
obj.getClass().getMethod("print", null).invoke(obj, null);
}
}
You can check here: How do I invoke a Java method when given the method name as a string?

Yes you can access the method see the example below if any doubt please comment
package com;
interface A
{
public void display();
}
public class Outer {
public static void main(String []args)
{
A a=new A() {
#Override
public void display() {
System.out.println("Hello");
}
};
a.display();
}
}

Automatically delegating all methods of a java class

Say I have a class with many of public methods:
public class MyClass {
public void method1() {}
public void method2() {}
(...)
public void methodN() {}
}
Now I would like to create a wrapper class which would delegate all the methods to wrapped instance (delegate):
public class WrapperClass extends MyClass {
private final MyClass delegate;
public WrapperClass(MyClass delegate) {
this.delagate = delegate;
}
public void method1() { delegate.method1(); }
public void method2() { delegate.method2(); }
(...)
public void methodN() { delegate.methodN(); }
}
Now if MyClass has a lot of methods I would need to override each of them which is more or less the same code which just "delegates". I was wondering if it is possible to do some magic to automatically call a method in Java (so the Wrapper class would need to say "Hey if you call a method on me just go to delegate object and call this method on it).
BTW: I can not use inheritance because the delegate is not under my control.I just get its instance from elsewhere (another case would be if MyClass was final).
NOTE: I do not want IDE generation. I know I can do it with help of IntelliJ/Eclipse, but I'm curious if this can be done in code.
Any suggestions how to achieve something like this? (NOTE: I would probably be able to do it in some scripting languages like php where I could use php magic functions to intercept the call).

Perhaps the dynamic Proxy of java can help you. It only works if you consequently use interfaces. In this case, I will call the interface MyInterface and set up a default implementation:
public class MyClass implements MyInterface {
#Override
public void method1() {
System.out.println("foo1");
}
#Override
public void method2() {
System.out.println("foo2");
}
#Override
public void methodN() {
System.out.println("fooN");
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
MyClass wrapped = new MyClass();
wrapped.method1();
wrapped.method2();
MyInterface wrapper = WrapperClass.wrap(wrapped);
wrapper.method1();
wrapper.method2();
}
}
The wrapper class implementation would look like:
public class WrapperClass extends MyClass implements MyInterface, InvocationHandler {
private final MyClass delegate;
public WrapperClass(MyClass delegate) {
this.delegate = delegate;
}
public static MyInterface wrap(MyClass wrapped) {
return (MyInterface) Proxy.newProxyInstance(MyClass.class.getClassLoader(), new Class[] { MyInterface.class }, new WrapperClass(wrapped));
}
//you may skip this definition, it is only for demonstration
public void method1() {
System.out.println("bar");
}
#Override
public Object invoke(Object proxy, Method method, Object[] args) throws Throwable {
Method m = findMethod(this.getClass(), method);
if (m != null) {
return m.invoke(this, args);
}
m = findMethod(delegate.getClass(), method);
if (m != null) {
return m.invoke(delegate, args);
}
return null;
}
private Method findMethod(Class<?> clazz, Method method) throws Throwable {
try {
return clazz.getDeclaredMethod(method.getName(), method.getParameterTypes());
} catch (NoSuchMethodException e) {
return null;
}
}
}
Note that this class:
extends MyClass, to inherit a default implementation (any other would do)
implements Invocationhandler, to allow the proxy to do reflection
optionally implement MyInterface (to satisfy the decorator pattern)
This solution allows you to override special methods, but to delegate all others. This will even work with sub classes of Wrapper class.
Note that the method findMethod does not yet capture the special cases.

This question is 6 months old already and #CoronA's wonderful answer has satisfied and been accepted by #walkeros, but I thought I would add something here as I think this can be pushed an extra step.
As discussed with #CoronA in the comments to his answer, instead of having to create and maintain a long list of MyClass methods in WrapperClass (i.e. public void methodN() { delegate.methodN(); }), the dynamic proxy solution moves this to the interface. The issue is that you still have to create and maintain a long list of signatures for the MyClass methods in the interface, which is perhaps a bit simpler but doesn't completely solve the problem. This is especially the case if you don't have access to MyClass in order to know all the methods.
According to Three approaches for decorating your code,
For longer classes, a programmer must choose the lesser of two evils:
implement many wrapper methods and keep the type of decorated object
or maintain a simple decorator implementation and sacrifice retaining
the decorated object type.
So perhaps this is an expected limitation of the Decorator Pattern.
#Mark-Bramnik, however, gives an fascinating solution using CGLIB at Interposing on Java Class Methods (without interfaces). I was able to combine this with #CoronaA's solution in order to create a wrapper that can override individual methods but then pass everything else to the wrapped object without requiring an interface.
Here is MyClass.
public class MyClass {
public void method1() { System.out.println("This is method 1 - " + this); }
public void method2() { System.out.println("This is method 2 - " + this); }
public void method3() { System.out.println("This is method 3 - " + this); }
public void methodN() { System.out.println("This is method N - " + this); }
}
Here is WrapperClass which only overrides method2(). As you'll see below, the non-overridden methods are, in fact, not passed to the delegate, which can be a problem.
public class WrapperClass extends MyClass {
private MyClass delagate;
public WrapperClass(MyClass delegate) { this.delagate = delegate; }
#Override
public void method2() {
System.out.println("This is overridden method 2 - " + delagate);
}
}
Here is MyInterceptor which extends MyClass. It employs the proxy solution using CGLIB as described by #Mark-Bramnik. It also employs #CononA's method of determining whether or not to send the method to the wrapper (if it is overridden) or the wrapped object (if it is not).
import java.lang.reflect.Method;
import net.sf.cglib.proxy.MethodInterceptor;
import net.sf.cglib.proxy.MethodProxy;
public class MyInterceptor extends MyClass implements MethodInterceptor {
private Object realObj;
public MyInterceptor(Object obj) { this.realObj = obj; }
#Override
public void method2() {
System.out.println("This is overridden method 2 - " + realObj);
}
#Override
public Object intercept(Object arg0, Method method, Object[] objects,
MethodProxy methodProxy) throws Throwable {
Method m = findMethod(this.getClass(), method);
if (m != null) { return m.invoke(this, objects); }
Object res = method.invoke(realObj, objects);
return res;
}
private Method findMethod(Class<?> clazz, Method method) throws Throwable {
try {
return clazz.getDeclaredMethod(method.getName(), method.getParameterTypes());
} catch (NoSuchMethodException e) {
return null;
}
}
}
Here is Main and the results you get if you run it.
import net.sf.cglib.proxy.Enhancer;
public class Main {
private static MyClass unwrapped;
private static WrapperClass wrapped;
private static MyClass proxified;
public static void main(String[] args) {
unwrapped = new MyClass();
System.out.println(">>> Methods from the unwrapped object:");
unwrapped.method1();
unwrapped.method2();
unwrapped.method3();
wrapped = new WrapperClass(unwrapped);
System.out.println(">>> Methods from the wrapped object:");
wrapped.method1();
wrapped.method2();
wrapped.method3();
proxified = createProxy(unwrapped);
System.out.println(">>> Methods from the proxy object:");
proxified.method1();
proxified.method2();
proxified.method3();
}
#SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
public static <T> T createProxy(T obj) {
Enhancer e = new Enhancer();
e.setSuperclass(obj.getClass());
e.setCallback(new MyInterceptor(obj));
T proxifiedObj = (T) e.create();
return proxifiedObj;
}
}
>>> Methods from the unwrapped object:
This is method 1 - MyClass#e26db62
This is method 2 - MyClass#e26db62
This is method 3 - MyClass#e26db62
>>> Methods from the wrapped object:
This is method 1 - WrapperClass#7b7035c6
This is overridden method 2 - MyClass#e26db62
This is method 3 - WrapperClass#7b7035c6
>>> Methods from the proxy object:
This is method 1 - MyClass#e26db62
This is overridden method 2 - MyClass#e26db62
This is method 3 - MyClass#e26db62
As you can see, when you run the methods on wrapped you get the wrapper for the methods that are not overridden (i.e. method1() and method3()). When you run the methods on proxified, however, all of the methods are run on the wrapped object without the pain of having to delegate them all in WrapperClass or put all of the method signatures in an interface. Thanks to #CoronA and #Mark-Bramnik for what seems like a pretty cool solution to this problem.

Check the #Delegate annotation from Lombok framework:
https://projectlombok.org/features/Delegate.html

Switch to Groovy :-)
#CompileStatic
public class WrapperClass extends MyClass {
#Delegate private final MyClass delegate;
public WrapperClass(MyClass delegate) {
this.delagate = delegate;
}
//Done. That's it.
}
http://mrhaki.blogspot.com/2009/08/groovy-goodness-delegate-to-simplify.html

You don't have to do this -- your Wrapper class is a subclass of the original class, so it inherits all of its publicly accessible methods -- and if you don't implement them, the original method will be called.
You shouldn't have extends Myclass together with a private MyClass object -- that's really really redundant, and I can't think of a design pattern where doing that is right. Your WrapperClass is a MyClass, and hence you can just use its own fields and methods instead of calling delegate.
EDIT: In the case of MyClass being final, you'd be circumventing the willfull declaration to not allow subclassing by "faking" inheritance; I can't think of anyone willing to do that other than you, who is in control of WrapperClass; but, since you're in control of WrapperClass, not wrapping everything you don't need is really more than an option -- it's the right thing to do, because your object is not a MyClass, and should only behave like one in the cases you mentally considered.
EDIT you've just changed your question to mean something completely different by removing the MyClass superclass to your WrapperClass; that's a bit bad, because it invalidates all answers given so far. You should have opened another question.

Credits go to CoronA for Pointing out the Proxy and InvocationHandler classes. I worked out a more reusable utility class based on his solution, using generics:
public class DelegationUtils {
public static <I> I wrap(Class<I> iface, I wrapped) {
return wrapInternally(iface, wrapped, new SimpleDecorator(wrapped));
}
private static <I> I wrapInternally (Class<I> iface, I wrapped, InvocationHandler handler) {
return (I) Proxy.newProxyInstance(wrapped.getClass().getClassLoader(), new Class[] { iface }, handler);
}
private static class SimpleDecorator<T> implements InvocationHandler {
private final T delegate;
private SimpleDecorator(T delegate) {
this.delegate = delegate;
}
#Override
public Object invoke(Object proxy, Method method, Object[] args) throws Throwable {
Method m = findMethod(delegate.getClass(), method);
if (m == null) {
throw new NullPointerException("Found no method " + method + " in delegate: " + delegate);
}
return m.invoke(delegate, args);
}
}
private static Method findMethod(Class<?> clazz, Method method) throws Throwable {
try {
return clazz.getDeclaredMethod(method.getName(), method.getParameterTypes());
} catch (NoSuchMethodException e) {
return null;
}
}
}
Test it:
public class Test {
public interface Test {
public void sayHello ();
}
public static class TestImpl implements Test {
#Override
public void sayHello() {
System.out.println("HELLO!");
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
Test proxy = DelegationUtils.wrap(Test.class, new TestImpl());
proxy.sayHello();
}
}
I wanted to create an automatic delegation class that executes the delegatee's methods on the EDT. With this class, you just create a new utility method that will use an EDTDecorator, in which the implementation will wrap m.invoke in a SwingUtilities.invokeLater.
However, if I reflect on this, I may want to reconsider making a non-Reflection based proxy per interface that I have - it might be cleaner and faster, and more understandable. But, it's possible.

Define a method in WrapperClass i.e. delegate() that returns the instance of MyClass
OR
You can use reflection to do that but the caller has to pass the method name as an argument to an exposed method. And there will be complications regarding the method arguments/overloaded methods etc.
BTW: I can not use inheritance because the delegate is not under my control.I just get its instance from elsewhere (another case would be if MyClass was final)
The code that you have posted has public class WrapperClass extends MyClass
Actually your current implementation of WrapperClass is actually a decorator on top of MyClass

Let me redefine the problem for a specific case.
I want to override the close method of ResultSet interface in jdbc. My aim is to close the preparedstatement in close method of result set. I could not access to the Class (DelegatingResultSet) that implements in ResultSet interface. There are a lot of methods in ResultSet interface and overriding them one by one and calling the corresponding method from the ResultSet object is one solution. For a dynamic solution I used Dynamic ProxyClasses (https://docs.oracle.com/javase/1.5.0/docs/guide/reflection/proxy.html).
// New ResultSet implementation
public class MyResultSet implements InvocationHandler {
ResultSet rs;
PreparedStatement ps;
private Method closeMethod;
public MyResultSet(ResultSet rs, PreparedStatement ps) {
super();
this.rs = rs;
this.ps = ps;
try {
closeMethod = ResultSet.class.getMethod("close",null);
} catch (NoSuchMethodException | SecurityException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
public void close() {
try {
rs.close();
ps.close();
} catch (SQLException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
public static Object newInstance(ResultSet rs, PreparedStatement ps) {
return java.lang.reflect.Proxy.newProxyInstance(rs.getClass().getClassLoader(), rs.getClass().getInterfaces(),
new MyResultSet(rs,ps));
}
public Object invoke(Object proxy, Method m, Object[] args)
throws Throwable {
Object result = null;
try {
Class declaringClass = m.getDeclaringClass();
if (m.getName().compareTo("close")==0) {
close();
} else {
result = m.invoke(rs, args);
}
} catch (InvocationTargetException e) {
throw e.getTargetException();
} catch (Exception e) {
throw new RuntimeException(e.getMessage());
} finally {
}
return result;
}
}
// How to call it:
ResultSet prs = (ResultSet) MyResultSet.newInstance(rs,ps);

I really appreciated #CoronA's answer. I also looked at #Mark Cramer's answer, but, if I'm not missing something, I think that there are always at least two instances of the "proxified" class with a strange relationship beteen the two objects.
This, along with the fact that cglib is now deprecated, pushed me to find a new implementation based on ByteBuddy.
This is what I came up with:
public class MyClass {
public String testMethod() {
return "11111";
}
public String testMethod2() {
return "aaaaa";
}
}
public class MyClassWithDelegate extends MyClass {
private static final Constructor<? extends MyClassWithDelegate> CONSTRUCTOR_WITH_DELEGATE;
static {
Constructor<? extends MyClassWithDelegate> temp = null;
try {
final var instrumentedMyClassWithDelegateType =
new ByteBuddy()
.subclass(MyClassWithDelegate.class)
.method(ElementMatchers.any())
.intercept(MethodDelegation.to(MethodInterceptor.class))
.make()
.load(MyClassWithDelegate.class.getClassLoader())
.getLoaded();
temp = instrumentedMyClassWithDelegateType.getConstructor(MyClass.class);
} catch (final Exception e) {
LOGGER.error("Cannot instrument class {}", MyClassWithDelegate.class, e);
}
CONSTRUCTOR_WITH_DELEGATE = temp;
}
public static MyClassWithDelegate getInstanceWithDelegate(final MyClass myClass) {
try {
return CONSTRUCTOR_WITH_DELEGATE.newInstance(myClass);
} catch (final Exception e) {
LOGGER.error("Cannot get instance of {}", MyClassWithDelegate.class, e);
throw new IllegalStateException();
}
}
private final boolean initialized;
private final MyClass delegate;
public MyClassWithDelegate(final MyClass delegate) {
super();
this.delegate = delegate;
this.initialized = true;
}
public String testMethod() {
return "22222";
}
public static class MethodInterceptor {
#RuntimeType
public static Object intercept(#This final MyClassWithDelegate self,
#Origin final Method method,
#AllArguments final Object[] args,
#SuperMethod final Method superMethod) throws Throwable {
if (!self.initialized || method.getDeclaringClass().equals(MyClassWithDelegate.class)) {
return superMethod.invoke(self, args);
} else {
return method.invoke(self.delegate, args);
}
}
}
}
The initialized field is used to prevent method calls the super constructor from being redirected to the delegate before its assignment (in this case it wouldn't be a problem, but I wanted to create a generic solution).
Every method called on an instance of MyClassWithDelegate will be redirected to the delegate, except from methods declared inside MyClassWithDelegate itself.
In this example, calling testMethod() on an instance of MyClassWithDelegate will return "22222", while testMethod2() will return "aaaaa".
Obviously, the delegation will actually work only if every instance of MyClassWithDelegate is obtained calling the getInstanceWithDelegate factory method.

get caller class name from inherited static method

I have following classes (note that methods are static):
class Base
{
public static void whosYourDaddy()
{
Class callerClass = // what should I write here to get caller class?
System.out.print(callerClass.getName());
}
}
Class A extends Base
{
public static void foo()
{
A.whosYourDaddy();
}
}
Class B extends Base
{
public static void bar()
{
B.whosYourDaddy();
}
}
And when I call:
A.foo();
B.bar();
I'd like to get output:
AB instead of BaseBase. Is it even possible with static methods (in Java 7)?

What you can do, but shouldn't :) is use the Throwable getStackTrace method. Aside from the smell, this is pretty slow, because getting the stack trace isn't that fast. But you will get an array of StackTraceElement, and each one will contain the class of teh class that is calling it (and you can also get the file and line, and if you separate the two with a : you can get a clickable link in eclipse, not that I'd ever do such a thing...).
Something like
String className = new Throwable().getStackTrace()[1].getClassName();
Hope that helps :)

private static class Reflection {
private static final SecurityManager INSTANCE = new SecurityManager();
static Class getCallClass() {
return INSTANCE.getCallClass(2);
}
private Reflection() {
}
private static class SecurityManager extends java.lang.SecurityManager {
public Class getCallClass(int i) {
Class[] classContext = getClassContext();
if (i >= 0 && i + 1 < classContext.length) {
return classContext[i + 1];
}
return null;
}
};
}

Is it even possible with static methods (in Java 7)?
No, Static methods aren't inherited. Only non-static methods are inherited.
In your case change Base (and subclasses) as follows:
class Base
{
public void whosYourDaddy()
{
Class<?> callerClass = getClass();
System.out.print(callerClass.getName());
}
}