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instanceof and Can you dance()?
The primary use of instanceof is to find out whether you can perform some kind of operation on an object. In the next example, class DancingHippopotamus (a subclass of Hippopotamus) declares a dance() method. The makeHipposDance() method of class Example2 assumes it is receiving a collection of hippopotami, but not necessarily DancingHippopotamus objects. It uses instanceof to find out whether each object in the collection is an instance of DancingHippopotamus objects. For each instance of DancingHippopotamus it finds, it downcasts the reference to DancingHippopotamus and invokes dance().

// In file rtci/ex2/Hippopotamus.java
class Hippopotamus {

    private String yawnAdjective;

    Hippopotamus(String yawnAdjective) {
        this.yawnAdjective = yawnAdjective;
    }

    void yawn() {
        System.out.println(yawnAdjective + " yawn!");
    }
}

// In file rtci/ex2/DancingHippopotamus.java
class DancingHippopotamus extends Hippopotamus {

    DancingHippopotamus(String yawnAdjective) {
        super(yawnAdjective);
    }

    void dance() {
        System.out.println("Dance!");
    }
}

// In file rtci/ex2/Example2.java
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collection;
import java.util.Iterator;

class Example2 {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        ArrayList hippos = new ArrayList();
        hippos.add(new Hippopotamus("Big"));
        hippos.add(new DancingHippopotamus("Little"));
        hippos.add(new Hippopotamus("Technicolor"));

        makeHipposYawn(hippos);
        makeHipposDance(hippos);
    }

    // Client must pass a collection of Hippopotami
    static void makeHipposYawn(Collection hippos) {

        Iterator it = hippos.iterator();
        while (it.hasNext()) {
            Hippopotamus hippo = (Hippopotamus) it.next();
            hippo.yawn();
        }
    }

    // Client must pass a collection of Hippopotami
    static void makeHipposDance(Collection hippos) {

        Iterator it = hippos.iterator();
        while (it.hasNext()) {
            Object hippo = it.next();
            if (hippo instanceof DancingHippopotamus) {
                DancingHippopotamus dh = (DancingHippopotamus) hippo;
                dh.dance();
            }
        }
    }
}

The previous example highlights the primary legitimate use of instanceof: to find out whether an object can do something for you (in this case, dance). When instanceof returns true, the reference is downcast to a more specific type so methods can be invoked.

A good general rule is that you should strive not to write code that doesn't know what's coming, but sometimes you can't avoid it. In such cases, instanceof is the preferred way to find out whether you've got a specific type you'll want to treat specially.

Another legitimate, though less common, way to use instanceof is to check for a tag interface. Sometimes an interface is defined without any members, merely to serve as a "tag" for classes. For example, the Serializable interface contains no fields or methods. Serializable's sole purpose is to indicate that an object allows serialization.

When you use instanceof to check for a tag interface, you are not so much asking an object Can you do a particular thing for me? but rather, Can I do a particular thing to you? Instead of determining whether the object has a particular method you want to invoke, you find out whether you are "allowed" to use the object in some way that doesn't necessarily involve invoking its methods.

Class 'Class'
Where casts, instanceof, and instance method invocations give you a taste of runtime class information, class java.lang.Class gives you a feast: Instances of class java.lang.Class represent the most abundant source of runtime class information in the JVM. Once you have a reference to an object's Class instance, you have access to a wealth of information about that object's class.

You can get a reference to any object's Class instance by invoking getClass() on the reference, as in:

    static void printClassInfo(Object o) {

        System.out.println("------------------------");

        Class c = o.getClass();
        // ...

If you know the type at compile time, you can get a reference to the class instance for a type with the syntax: <typename>.class. For example, the expression Hippopotamus.class would yield a reference to the Class instance for class Hippopotamus. Once you have a reference to a Class, you can get at all kinds of information about the represented type, some of it via the reflection API.

Here's an application that accesses and prints some of the information available from Class objects:

// In file rtci/ex2/Hippopotamus.java
class Hippopotamus {

    private String yawnAdjective;

    Hippopotamus(String yawnAdjective) {
        this.yawnAdjective = yawnAdjective;
    }

    void yawn() {
        System.out.println(yawnAdjective + " yawn!");
    }
}

// In file rtci/ex2/DancingHippopotamus.java
class DancingHippopotamus extends Hippopotamus {

    DancingHippopotamus(String yawnAdjective) {
        super(yawnAdjective);
    }

    void dance() {
        System.out.println("Dance!");
    }
}

// In file rtci/ex3/Example3.java
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collection;
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.lang.reflect.*;

class Example3 {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        ArrayList hippos = new ArrayList();
        hippos.add(new Hippopotamus("Big"));
        hippos.add(new DancingHippopotamus("Little"));
        hippos.add(hippos);
        hippos.add(new String("Hi There!"));

        Iterator it = hippos.iterator();
        while (it.hasNext()) {
            printClassInfo(it.next());
        }
    }

    static void printModifiers(int modifiers) {

        if (Modifier.isPrivate(modifiers)) {
            System.out.print("private ");
        }
        else if (Modifier.isProtected(modifiers)) {
            System.out.print("protected ");
        }
        else if (Modifier.isPublic(modifiers)) {
            System.out.print("public ");
        }

        if (Modifier.isAbstract(modifiers)) {
            System.out.print("abstract ");
        }
        if (Modifier.isStatic(modifiers)) {
            System.out.print("static ");
        }
        if (Modifier.isFinal(modifiers)) {
            System.out.print("final ");
        }
        if (Modifier.isTransient(modifiers)) {
            System.out.print("transient ");
        }
        if (Modifier.isVolatile(modifiers)) {
            System.out.print("volatile ");
        }
        if (Modifier.isSynchronized(modifiers)) {
            System.out.print("synchronized ");
        }
        if (Modifier.isNative(modifiers)) {
            System.out.print("native ");
        }
    }

    static void printClassInfo(Object o) {

        System.out.println("------------------------");

        Class c = o.getClass();

        System.out.println("Name: " + c.getName());

        Class superclass = c.getSuperclass();
        if (superclass != null) {
            System.out.println("Superclass: " + superclass.getName());
        }

        System.out.println("Interfaces:");
        Class[] interfaces = c.getInterfaces();
        for (int i = 0; i < interfaces.length; ++i) {
            System.out.println("\t" + interfaces[i].getName());
        }

        System.out.println("Fields:");
        Field[] fields = c.getDeclaredFields();
        for (int i = 0; i < fields.length; ++i) {
            System.out.print("\t");
            printModifiers(fields[i].getModifiers());
            System.out.println((fields[i].getType()).getName()
                + " " + fields[i].getName() + ";");
        }

        System.out.println("Methods:");
        Method[] methods = c.getDeclaredMethods();
        for (int i = 0; i < methods.length; ++i) {

            System.out.print("\t");
            printModifiers(methods[i].getModifiers());

            System.out.print((methods[i].getReturnType()).getName()
                + " " + methods[i].getName() + "(");

            Class[] params = methods[i].getParameterTypes();
            for (int j = 0; j < params.length; ++j) {
                System.out.print(params[j].getName());
                if (j != 0 && j != params.length - 1) {
                    System.out.print(", ");
                }
            }

            System.out.println(");");
        }
    }
}

Here's the output of the Example3 application:

------------------------
Name: Hippopotamus
Superclass: java.lang.Object
Interfaces:
Fields:
	private java.lang.String yawnAdjective;
Methods:
	void yawn();
------------------------
Name: DancingHippopotamus
Superclass: Hippopotamus
Interfaces:
Fields:
Methods:
	void dance();
------------------------
Name: java.util.ArrayList
Superclass: java.util.AbstractList
Interfaces:
	java.util.List
	java.lang.Cloneable
	java.io.Serializable
Fields:
	private transient [Ljava.lang.Object; elementData;
	private int size;
Methods:
	private void RangeCheck(int);
	public void add(intjava.lang.Object);
	public boolean add(java.lang.Object);
	public boolean addAll(intjava.util.Collection);
	public boolean addAll(java.util.Collection);
	public void clear();
	public java.lang.Object clone();
	public boolean contains(java.lang.Object);
	public void ensureCapacity(int);
	public java.lang.Object get(int);
	public int indexOf(java.lang.Object);
	public boolean isEmpty();
	public int lastIndexOf(java.lang.Object);
	private synchronized void readObject(java.io.ObjectInputStream);
	public java.lang.Object remove(int);
	public java.lang.Object set(intjava.lang.Object);
	public int size();
	public [Ljava.lang.Object; toArray();
	public [Ljava.lang.Object; toArray([Ljava.lang.Object;);
	public void trimToSize();
	private synchronized void writeObject(java.io.ObjectOutputStream);
------------------------
Name: java.lang.String
Superclass: java.lang.Object
Interfaces:
	java.io.Serializable
	java.lang.Comparable
Fields:
	private [C value;
	private int offset;
	private int count;
	private static final long serialVersionUID;
	public static final [Ljava.io.ObjectStreamField; serialPersistentFields;
	public static final java.util.Comparator CASE_INSENSITIVE_ORDER;
Methods:
	public char charAt(int);
	public int compareTo(java.lang.Object);
	public int compareTo(java.lang.String);
	public int compareToIgnoreCase(java.lang.String);
	public java.lang.String concat(java.lang.String);
	public static java.lang.String copyValueOf([C);
	public static java.lang.String copyValueOf([Cint, int);
	public boolean endsWith(java.lang.String);
	public boolean equals(java.lang.Object);
	public boolean equalsIgnoreCase(java.lang.String);
	public [B getBytes();
	public void getBytes(intint, [B, int);
	public [B getBytes(java.lang.String);
	private [B getBytes(sun.io.CharToByteConverter);
	public void getChars(intint, [C, int);
	public int hashCode();
	public int indexOf(int);
	public int indexOf(intint);
	public int indexOf(java.lang.String);
	public int indexOf(java.lang.Stringint);
	public native java.lang.String intern();
	public int lastIndexOf(int);
	public int lastIndexOf(intint);
	public int lastIndexOf(java.lang.String);
	public int lastIndexOf(java.lang.Stringint);
	public int length();
	public boolean regionMatches(intjava.lang.String, int, int);
	public boolean regionMatches(booleanint, java.lang.String, int, int);
	public java.lang.String replace(charchar);
	public boolean startsWith(java.lang.String);
	public boolean startsWith(java.lang.Stringint);
	public java.lang.String substring(int);
	public java.lang.String substring(intint);
	public [C toCharArray();
	public java.lang.String toLowerCase();
	public java.lang.String toLowerCase(java.util.Locale);
	public java.lang.String toString();
	public java.lang.String toUpperCase();
	public java.lang.String toUpperCase(java.util.Locale);
	public java.lang.String trim();
	public static java.lang.String valueOf(char);
	public static java.lang.String valueOf(double);
	public static java.lang.String valueOf(float);
	public static java.lang.String valueOf(int);
	public static java.lang.String valueOf(long);
	public static java.lang.String valueOf(java.lang.Object);
	public static java.lang.String valueOf(boolean);
	public static java.lang.String valueOf([C);
	public static java.lang.String valueOf([Cint, int);

Well, that's a lot of information. To get at this information, the Example3 class uses java.lang.Class and the reflection API. Other aspects of the reflection API can be used not just to get information about a type, but to actually invoke methods or alter fields.

So how can you take advantage of java.lang.Class and reflection in your designs? In general, you should avoid using reflection in your designs. Reflection is intended for special cases like JavaBeans builder tools, object serialization mechanisms, object inspectors, debuggers, and so on. Reflection is useful in situations in which you have absolutely no idea what's coming. When a programmer drops a JavaBean into a bean builder, for example, the builder hasn't a clue about the class of the bean. The builder must use reflection to introspect the bean class to discover its class, its properties, its methods, and so on. Because the bean builder has no idea what's coming, it must use reflection to figure out how to use the beans it is given.

One situation in which you may know what's coming, but will still want to use java.lang.Class and possibly the reflection API, is when you are creating an instance of a class loaded into a different name space. One of the main reasons for using class loaders and dynamic extension is so your program doesn't have to know at compile time all the classes and interfaces it will load and use at runtime. Although you should prefer designs in which you assume that dynamically loaded objects will implement a known interface or descend from a known class, in order to instantiate an object of the dynamically loaded class, you'll still have to use either Class.newInstance() or the newInstance() method of class java.lang.reflect.Constructor().

Whenever possible, you should design programs such that they know what's coming to a sufficient extent that objects can be used without consulting instanceof or reflection. In cases where you need to ask an object, Can you do a particular thing for me?, you should choose instanceof over reflection to make the query.