How to write a class to a text file

[momotaro]

Hi all,

Let's say that I have a class as an object somewhere in my program and I want to write this object down into a text file but not as an object but as the real text representation in this file like:

public class MyClass {
private type attribute1
...
.
}

[dlite922]

You have to get every piece of information yourself. See the java docs on how to get the data members, methods, etc.

Not sure if you can get the code inside the methods though. Don't think that's possible.

Why do you want to do this? Can't you just save the .java file as a text file somewhere else not compiled with your program?

This seems kind of like a very strange thing to do.


Dan

[Dheeraj Joshi]

I guess this is not possible. Object is a real time entity, you can not make it to represent the class declaration.

Anyway what are you trying to achieve? If you share what are you trying to do, we can suggest a alternate solution, if there is one.

Regards,
Dheeraj Joshi

[Markus]

Reflection may help you .

[Dheeraj Joshi]

Reflection may help you .

.
Mark. I don't think reflection is of much help in this case :)

Regards
Dheeraj Joshi

[Markus]

Why not? Isn't this really what reflection is for? The OP wants information about an object, reflection gives you information about an object. At least that's the way I understand it (in languages other than Java).

[Dheeraj Joshi]

He want to write the object as the .java file.

object down into a text file but not as an object but as the real text representation in this file like:

public class MyClass {
private type attribute1
...
.
}

Using reflection you can not write the object as its .java file. You can take methods, fields, or instantiate a new object. Or you can serialize. But not what OP is asking.

Regards
Dheeraj Joshi

[momotaro]

Hi everyone thank you for your answers and sorry for being late to respond.
what am trying to do is quite simple,I have an XML file representing a data base, I managed to automatically generate instances of classes based on the XML file now I want these instance of classes to be printed down in a file.java.

thank's in advance.

[Markus]

Dheeraj, if you have reflection data, then surely you can write it to a file with Java.

var reflection-data = object.get-reflection-data
var file-handle = file-path.open-for-writing

file-handle.write: 
  reflection-data.class-access class reflection-data.class-name {
    // etc
  }

I wrote it in pseudo-code because I don't do Java :P

[Dheeraj Joshi]

OK Mark, Then how you will differentiate the private members, access specifiers etc?And methods Signatures? Return types? What if there is a anonymous inner classes?

@momotaro: Are you asking about serialization?

Regards
Dheeraj Joshi

[Markus]

I thought reflection provided that information.

Private members: http://tutorials.jenkov.com/java-ref...d-methods.html
Shows return types, etc: http://java.sun.com/developer/techni...LT/Reflection/

[momotaro]

Hi again,
It's ok I managed to write them down now based on that I have again to work on ORMs...
I'll keep you posted.
thx.