How to get information about an object's type

• Every object has a getClass method that returns a Class object that corresponds to the object's type.
• You can use the methods of the Class class to obtain information about any object, such as its name.
• You can use the instanceof operator to check if an object is an instance of a particular class.

The Class class

java.lang.Class

Common method

Example 1: Code that displays an object's type

Product p = new Book();  // create a Book object and assign it to a Product variable
Class c = p.getClass();  // get the Class object for the product
System.out.println("Class name: " + c.getName()); // print the object type

The console
	

	Class name: Book
	

Example 2: Code that tests an object's type

Product p = new Book();  // create a Book object
if (p.getClass().getName().equals("Book"))
    System.out.println("This is a Book object");

The console
	

	This is a Book object
	

Example 3: An easier way to test an object's type

Product p = new Book();  // create a Book object
if (p instanceof Book)
    System.out.println("This is a Book object");

The console
	

	This is a Book object