Chapter 11
The java.io Package

ObjectStreamClass

Name

ObjectStreamClass

Synopsis

Class Name:

java.io.ObjectStreamClass

Superclass:

java.lang.Object

Immediate Subclasses:

None

Interfaces Implemented:

None

Availability:

New as of JDK 1.1

The ObjectStreamClass class represents a Java class during object serialization. When an object is deserialized, its class information is read into an ObjectStreamClass, which is then resolved to a Class if possible. An ObjectStreamClass instance contains the name and version information for a class.

Class Summary

public class java.io.ObjectStreamClass extends java.lang.Object
             implements java.io.Serializable {
  // Class Methods
  public static ObjectStreamClass lookup(Class cl);
  // Instance Methods
  public Class forClass();
  public String getName();
  public long getSerialVersionUID();
  public String toString();
}

Class Methods

lookup

public static ObjectStreamClass lookup(Class cl)

Parameters

cl: The Class to find.

Returns

An ObjectStreamClass that corresponds to the given Class.

Description

This method finds an ObjectStreamClass for the given Class. If the appropriate ObjectStreamClass does not already exist, this method creates an ObjectStreamClass for the given Class. The method returns null if cl is not serializable.

Instance Methods

forClass

public Class forClass()

Returns

The Class that corresponds to this ObjectStreamClass.

Description

This method returns the Class in the run-time system that corresponds to this ObjectStreamClass. If there is no corresponding class, null is returned.

getName

public String getName()

Returns

The class name.

Description

This method returns the name of the class this ObjectStreamClass represents.

getSerialVersionUID

public long getSerialVersionUID()

Returns

The class version.

Description

This method returns the version of the class this ObjectStreamClass represents.

toString

public String toString()

Returns

A string representation of this object.

Overrides

Object.toString()

Description

This method returns a string that contains the class name and version information for this ObjectStreamClass.

Inherited Methods

Method	Inherited From	Method	Inherited From
`clone()`	`Object`	`equals(Object)`	`Object`
`finalize()`	`Object`	`getClass()`	`Object`
`hashCode()`	`Object`	`notify()`	`Object`
`notifyAll()`	`Object`	`wait()`	`Object`
`wait(long)`	`Object`	`wait(long, int)`	`Object`