How do I get a list of class modifiers?

You can get access modifier details about a class, fields, and methods via the Class object. The table below shows a list of all modifier constants defined in Java. When you call the getModifiers() method, it will return to you an int where the bits are set accordingly. For further information, see class java.lang.reflect.Modifier.


List of Modifiers

Num #Name
1ABSTRACT
2FINAL
3INTERFACE
4NATIVE
5PRIVATE
6PROTECTED
7PUBLIC
8STATIC
9STRICT
10SYNCHRONIZED
11TRANSIENT
12VOLATILE

We can inspect any class and get it’s modifiers using the getModifiers() method

Recursively Getting All Modifiers for a Hierarchical Class Tree

This program will recursively get all the modifiers for the class and it’s inherited classes, all the methods and all the fields and their modifiers and display them to you. I decided to use a HashSet to capture all the methods and all the fields being returned to us by the calls to getMethods(), getDeclaredMethods(), getFields() and getDeclaredFields().

Getting Modifiers for a given Class

Class<?> mc = Class.forName("com.avaldes.tutorials.Player");
int mods = mc.getModifiers();
System.out.println("Details for com.avaldes.tutorials.Player...");
System.out.println("  CLASS modifiers are " + Modifier.toString(mods));

Getting Modifiers for all methods in a given Class

HashSet<Method> allMethods = new HashSet<Method>();

// Get all Methods and their modifiers
System.out.println(" ALL METHODS :");
Method[] declaredMethods = mc.getDeclaredMethods();
Method[] publicMethods = mc.getMethods();
allMethods.addAll(Arrays.asList(declaredMethods));
allMethods.addAll(Arrays.asList(publicMethods));
for (Method method : allMethods) {
  int mods = method.getModifiers();
  System.out.println("   METHODS are " + method.getName() + "==> " + Modifier.toString(mods));
}

Getting Modifiers for all fields in a given Class

HashSet<Field> allFields = new HashSet<Field>();

// Get all Fields and their modifiers
System.out.println(" ALL FIELDS :");
Field[] declaredFields = mc.getDeclaredFields();
Field[] publicFields = mc.getFields();
allFields.addAll(Arrays.asList(declaredFields));
allFields.addAll(Arrays.asList(publicFields));
for (Field field : allFields) {
  int mods = field.getModifiers();
  System.out.println("   FIELDS are " + field.getName() + "==> " + Modifier.toString(mods));
}

Full Program Listing

package com.avaldes.tutorials;

import java.lang.reflect.Field;
import java.lang.reflect.Method;
import java.lang.reflect.Modifier;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.HashSet;

public class GetAllModifersExample {

  public static void testModifiers(Class mc) throws IllegalArgumentException, IllegalAccessException {
    HashSet<Field> allFields = new HashSet<Field>();
    HashSet<Method> allMethods = new HashSet<Method>();
    
    if (mc.getSuperclass() == null) {
      System.out.println("\nDetails for " + mc.getCanonicalName());
      
      // Get  Class modifiers
      int classMods = mc.getModifiers();
      System.out.println(" CLASS Modifiers: " + Modifier.toString(classMods));
            
      // Get all Methods and their modifiers
      System.out.println(" ALL METHODS :");
      Method[] declaredMethods = mc.getDeclaredMethods();
      Method[] publicMethods = mc.getMethods();
      allMethods.addAll(Arrays.asList(declaredMethods));
      allMethods.addAll(Arrays.asList(publicMethods));
      for (Method method : allMethods) {
        int mods = method.getModifiers();
        System.out.println("   METHODS are " + method.getName() + "==> " + Modifier.toString(mods));
      }
      
      // Get all Fields and their modifiers
      System.out.println(" ALL FIELDS :");
      Field[] declaredFields = mc.getDeclaredFields();
      Field[] publicFields = mc.getFields();
      allFields.addAll(Arrays.asList(declaredFields));
      allFields.addAll(Arrays.asList(publicFields));
      
      for (Field field : allFields) { 
        int mods = field.getModifiers();
        System.out.println("   FIELDS are " + field.getName() + "==> " + Modifier.toString(mods));
      }
      return;
    }
    testModifiers(mc.getSuperclass());
    System.out.println("\nDetails for " + mc.getCanonicalName());

    // Get  Class modifiers
    int classMods = mc.getModifiers();
    System.out.println(" CLASS Modifiers: " + Modifier.toString(classMods));
    
    // Get all Methods and their modifiers
    System.out.println(" ALL METHODS :");
    Method[] declaredMethods = mc.getDeclaredMethods();
    Method[] publicMethods = mc.getMethods();
    allMethods.addAll(Arrays.asList(declaredMethods));
    allMethods.addAll(Arrays.asList(publicMethods));
    for (Method method : allMethods) {
      int mods = method.getModifiers();
      System.out.println("   METHODS are " + method.getName() + "==> " + Modifier.toString(mods));
    }
    
    // Get all Fields and their modifiers
    System.out.println(" ALL FIELDS :");
    Field[] declaredFields = mc.getDeclaredFields();
    Field[] publicFields = mc.getFields();
    allFields.addAll(Arrays.asList(declaredFields));
    allFields.addAll(Arrays.asList(publicFields));
    
    for (Field field : allFields) { 
      int mods = field.getModifiers();
      field.setAccessible(true);
      System.out.println("   FIELDS are " + field.getName() + "==> " + Modifier.toString(mods));
    }
  }
  
  public static void main(String[] args) throws IllegalArgumentException, IllegalAccessException {
    testModifiers(MyConcreteClass.class);
  }
}

Full Program Listing (MyConcreteClass.java)

package com.avaldes.tutorials;

public class MyConcreteClass extends MySuperClass implements MyInterfaceClass {
  public String CONC_myPublicString = "This is myPublicString";
  protected String CONC_myProtectedString = "This is myProtectedString";;
  private int CONC_myPrivateField = 123;
  private String CONC_myPrivateString = "This is myPrivateString";

  @Override
  public void method1() {
    System.out.println("Inside method1...");
  }

  @Override
  public void method2() {
    System.out.println("Inside method2...");
  }

  @Override
  public void method3() {
    System.out.println("Inside method3...");
  }
}

Full Program Listing (MySuperClass.java)

package com.avaldes.tutorials;

public class MySuperClass {
  public transient int SUPR_transientInt = 456;
  public volatile int SUPR_Concurrent_Access = 789;
  
  protected int getInt() {
    System.out.println("Inside of getInt()...");
    return 1;
  }

  protected void sayHello() {
    System.out.println("Inside of sayHello()...");
  }
}

Full Program Listing (MyInterfaceClass.java)

package com.avaldes.tutorials;

public interface  MyInterfaceClass {
  public static final int INTF_MAX_NUM_FILES = 1001;
  public static int INTF_INT_COUNT = 0;
  public String  INTF_welcome = "Welcome, please come back!";
  
  public void method1();
  public void method2();
  void method3();
}

Output

Details for java.lang.Object
 CLASS Modifiers: public
 ALL METHODS :
   METHODS are equals==> public
   METHODS are notify==> public final native
   METHODS are getClass==> public final native
   METHODS are registerNatives==> private static native
   METHODS are clone==> protected native
   METHODS are notifyAll==> public final native
   METHODS are hashCode==> public native
   METHODS are finalize==> protected
   METHODS are toString==> public
   METHODS are wait==> public final
   METHODS are wait==> public final
   METHODS are wait==> public final native
 ALL FIELDS :

Details for com.avaldes.tutorials.MySuperClass
 CLASS Modifiers: public
 ALL METHODS :
   METHODS are getInt==> protected
   METHODS are equals==> public
   METHODS are notify==> public final native
   METHODS are getClass==> public final native
   METHODS are sayHello==> protected
   METHODS are notifyAll==> public final native
   METHODS are hashCode==> public native
   METHODS are toString==> public
   METHODS are wait==> public final
   METHODS are wait==> public final
   METHODS are wait==> public final native
 ALL FIELDS :
   FIELDS are SUPR_transientInt==> public transient
   FIELDS are SUPR_Concurrent_Access==> public volatile

Details for com.avaldes.tutorials.MyConcreteClass
 CLASS Modifiers: public
 ALL METHODS :
   METHODS are equals==> public
   METHODS are notify==> public final native
   METHODS are getClass==> public final native
   METHODS are method3==> public
   METHODS are method2==> public
   METHODS are method1==> public
   METHODS are notifyAll==> public final native
   METHODS are hashCode==> public native
   METHODS are toString==> public
   METHODS are wait==> public final
   METHODS are wait==> public final
   METHODS are wait==> public final native
 ALL FIELDS :
   FIELDS are SUPR_transientInt==> public transient
   FIELDS are INTF_welcome==> public static final
   FIELDS are CONC_myPrivateString==> private
   FIELDS are INTF_MAX_NUM_FILES==> public static final
   FIELDS are CONC_myPrivateField==> private
   FIELDS are INTF_INT_COUNT==> public static final
   FIELDS are CONC_myProtectedString==> protected
   FIELDS are SUPR_Concurrent_Access==> public volatile
   FIELDS are CONC_myPublicString==> public

Java Reflection Examples

  • Class Example
    Simple example shows you how to dynamically load and instantiate a class, get class name, package name, and superclass name.
  • Modifier Example
    Showing you how to get information about classes, fields and methods using modifier method.
  • Method Example
    Providing full details of how to get all methods, and invoke methods using reflection.

Frequently Asked Questions on Java Reflection API (FAQs)

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