Java Program to Convert String to Object

Objectis the root class of the class hierarchy, so aStringcan be assigned directly to anObjectreference. The actual object remains aString, even though it is referenced through a variable of typeObject.

• Assigning a String to anObjectreference does not change the String into a different type.
• getClass()can be used to determine the actual runtime type of the object.
• Class.forName()is used to load and obtain metadata about a class from its name; it doesnotconvert a String value into an Object.

Methods To Convert String To Object

1. Using the Assignment Operator

SinceStringis a subclass ofObject, a String can be assigned directly to anObjectreference. This is an example ofupcasting, where a child-class object is referred to using a parent-class reference.

public class Main {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        // Create a String
        String str = "GeeksForGeeks";

        // Assign String to an Object reference
        Object object = str;

        // Display the actual class of the object
        System.out.println("Class of object: "
                           + object.getClass().getName());

        // Display the object
        System.out.println("Object: " + object);
    }
}

Class of object: java.lang.String
Object: GeeksForGeeks

Explanation: The String is assigned to an Object reference because String extends Object. The getClass() method confirms that the actual object stored in the reference is still a String.

2. UsingClass.forName()Method

TheClass.forName()method is used when the name of a class is available as a String and we want to obtain the correspondingClassobject.

Syntax

Class.forName(String className);

The method accepts the fully qualified class name as a String and returns a Class object representing that class. If the specified class cannot be found, it throws ClassNotFoundException.

public class Main {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        try {
            // Class name provided as a String
            String className = "java.lang.String";

            // Get the Class object
            Class<?> classObject = Class.forName(className);

            // Display the class name
            System.out.println("Class name: "
                               + classObject.getName());

            // Display the superclass name
            System.out.println("Superclass name: "
                               + classObject.getSuperclass().getName());

        } catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
            System.out.println("Class not found: "
                               + e.getMessage());
        }
    }
}

Class name: java.lang.String
Superclass name: java.lang.Object

Explanation: Here, "java.lang.String" is a String containing the name of a class. Class.forName() loads that class and returns a Class object representing String. The getSuperclass() method then shows that String directly extends Object.