Access class from inside .jar file through java

Question

I have a folder of .jar files on my desktop. I want my program to be able to access the class files in the jars and create instances of them. How do I do this?

Edit: The jars are added by the user of my program. I know what folder they are in, and can figure out their names.

Are the classes public? Are you the owner of the .jar files? — deckeresq, Jun 23 '17 at 15:29
The classes I need to access should be public, the jars are meant to be added by users of the program, so they can't be dependencies. — trimill, Jun 23 '17 at 15:37

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 23 '17 at 15:28

0

Include the JAR in the classpath.

answered Jun 23 '17 at 15:28

Lew Bloch

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Joao · Answer 2 · 2017-06-24T07:10:33.640

Include the jar on the classpath:

java -classpath [PATH_TO_JAR] YOUR_CLASS

And on your classes import the classes you wish to use:

import package.CLASS_2_USE_1 Import package.CLASS_2_USE_2

This assuming the classes are public.

Edit: If you want to load classes form jars supplied at runtime it's probably a good idea to agree on a fixed set of methods and class names. You can see how to do it on this thread:

How should I load Jars dynamically at runtime?

Access class from inside .jar file through java

2 Answers2