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## java.net
Class URLClassLoader

    java.lang.Object
      |
      +--java.lang.ClassLoader
            |
            +--java.security.SecureClassLoader
                  |
                  +--java.net.URLClassLoader

public class URLClassLoader
extends SecureClassLoader

This class loader is used to load classes and resources from a search path of URLs referring to both JAR files and directories. Any URL that ends with a '/' is assumed to refer to a directory. Otherwise, the URL is assumed to refer to a JAR file which will be opened as needed.

The AccessControlContext of the thread that created the instance of URLClassLoader will be used when subsequently loading classes and resources.

The classes that are loaded are by default granted permission only to access the URLs specified when the URLClassLoader was created.

Since:
  1.2

Constructor Summary
`URLClassLoader(URL[] urls)` Constructs a new URLClassLoader for the specified URLs using the default delegation parent `ClassLoader`.
`URLClassLoader(URL[] urls, ClassLoader parent)` Constructs a new URLClassLoader for the given URLs.
`URLClassLoader(URL[] urls, ClassLoader parent, URLStreamHandlerFactory factory)` Constructs a new URLClassLoader for the specified URLs, parent class loader, and URLStreamHandlerFactory.

Method Summary
`protected void` | `addURL(URL url)` Appends the specified URL to the list of URLs to search for classes and resources.
`protected Package` | `definePackage(String name, Manifest man, URL url)` Defines a new package by name in this ClassLoader.
`protected Class` | `findClass(String name)` Finds and loads the class with the specified name from the URL search path.
`URL` | `findResource(String name)` Finds the resource with the specified name on the URL search path.
`Enumeration` | `findResources(String name)` Returns an Enumeration of URLs representing all of the resources on the URL search path having the specified name.
`protected PermissionCollection` | `getPermissions(CodeSource codesource)` Returns the permissions for the given codesource object.
`URL[]` | `getURLs()` Returns the search path of URLs for loading classes and resources.
`static URLClassLoader` | `newInstance(URL[] urls)` Creates a new instance of URLClassLoader for the specified URLs and default parent class loader.
`static URLClassLoader` | `newInstance(URL[] urls, ClassLoader parent)` Creates a new instance of URLClassLoader for the specified URLs and parent class loader.

Methods inherited from class java.security.SecureClassLoader
`defineClass`

Methods inherited from class java.lang.ClassLoader
`clearAssertionStatus, defineClass, defineClass, defineClass, definePackage, findLibrary, findLoadedClass, findSystemClass, getPackage, getPackages, getParent, getResource, getResourceAsStream, getResources, getSystemClassLoader, getSystemResource, getSystemResourceAsStream, getSystemResources, loadClass, loadClass, resolveClass, setClassAssertionStatus, setDefaultAssertionStatus, setPackageAssertionStatus, setSigners`

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
`clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait`

Constructor Detail

### URLClassLoader

    public URLClassLoader(URL[] urls,
                          ClassLoader parent)

  Constructs a new URLClassLoader for the given URLs. The URLs will be searched in the order specified for classes and resources after first searching in the specified parent class loader. Any URL that ends with a '/' is assumed to refer to a directory. Otherwise, the URL is assumed to refer to a JAR file which will be downloaded and opened as needed.

  If there is a security manager, this method first calls the security manager's `checkCreateClassLoader` method to ensure creation of a class loader is allowed.

Parameters:
  `urls` - the URLs from which to load classes and resources
  `parent` - the parent class loader for delegation
Throws:
  `SecurityException` - if a security manager exists and its `checkCreateClassLoader` method doesn't allow creation of a class loader.
See Also:
  `SecurityManager.checkCreateClassLoader()`

### URLClassLoader

    public URLClassLoader(URL[] urls)

  Constructs a new URLClassLoader for the specified URLs using the default delegation parent `ClassLoader`. The URLs will be searched in the order specified for classes and resources after first searching in the parent class loader. Any URL that ends with a '/' is assumed to refer to a directory. Otherwise, the URL is assumed to refer to a JAR file which will be downloaded and opened as needed.

  If there is a security manager, this method first calls the security manager's `checkCreateClassLoader` method to ensure creation of a class loader is allowed.

Parameters:
  `urls` - the URLs from which to load classes and resources
Throws:
  `SecurityException` - if a security manager exists and its `checkCreateClassLoader` method doesn't allow creation of a class loader.
See Also:
  `SecurityManager.checkCreateClassLoader()`

### URLClassLoader

    public URLClassLoader(URL[] urls,
                          ClassLoader parent,
                          URLStreamHandlerFactory factory)

  Constructs a new URLClassLoader for the specified URLs, parent class loader, and URLStreamHandlerFactory. The parent argument will be used as the parent class loader for delegation. The factory argument will be used as the stream handler factory to obtain protocol handlers when creating new URLs.

  If there is a security manager, this method first calls the security manager's `checkCreateClassLoader` method to ensure creation of a class loader is allowed.

Parameters:
  `urls` - the URLs from which to load classes and resources
  `parent` - the parent class loader for delegation
  `factory` - the URLStreamHandlerFactory to use when creating URLs
Throws:
  `SecurityException` - if a security manager exists and its `checkCreateClassLoader` method doesn't allow creation of a class loader.
See Also:
  `SecurityManager.checkCreateClassLoader()`

Method Detail

### addURL

    protected void addURL(URL url)

  Appends the specified URL to the list of URLs to search for classes and resources.

  Parameters:
    `url` - the URL to be added to the search path of URLs

### getURLs

    public URL[] getURLs()

  Returns the search path of URLs for loading classes and resources. This includes the original list of URLs specified to the constructor, along with any URLs subsequently appended by the addURL() method.

  Returns:
    the search path of URLs for loading classes and resources.

### findClass

    protected Class findClass(String name)
                       throws ClassNotFoundException

  Finds and loads the class with the specified name from the URL search path. Any URLs referring to JAR files are loaded and opened as needed until the class is found.

  Overrides:
    `findClass` in class `ClassLoader`
  Parameters:
    `name` - the name of the class
  Returns:
    the resulting class
  Throws:
    `ClassNotFoundException` - if the class could not be found

### definePackage

    protected Package definePackage(String name,
                                    Manifest man,
                                    URL url)
                             throws IllegalArgumentException

  Defines a new package by name in this ClassLoader. The attributes contained in the specified Manifest will be used to obtain package version and sealing information. For sealed packages, the additional URL specifies the code source URL from which the package was loaded.

  Parameters:
    `name` - the package name
    `man` - the Manifest containing package version and sealing information
    `url` - the code source url for the package, or null if none
  Returns:
    the newly defined Package object
  Throws:
    `IllegalArgumentException` - if the package name duplicates an existing package either in this class loader or one of its ancestors

### findResource

    public URL findResource(String name)

  Finds the resource with the specified name on the URL search path.

  Overrides:
    `findResource` in class `ClassLoader`
  Parameters:
    `name` - the name of the resource
  Returns:
    a `URL` for the resource, or `null` if the resource could not be found.

### findResources

    public Enumeration findResources(String name)
                              throws IOException

  Returns an Enumeration of URLs representing all of the resources on the URL search path having the specified name.

  Overrides:
    `findResources` in class `ClassLoader`
  Parameters:
    `name` - the resource name
  Returns:
    an `Enumeration` of `URL`s
  Throws:
    `IOException` - if an I/O exception occurs

### getPermissions

    protected PermissionCollection getPermissions(CodeSource codesource)

  Returns the permissions for the given codesource object. The implementation of this method first calls super.getPermissions and then adds permissions based on the URL of the codesource.

  If the protocol is "file" and the path specifies a file, then permission to read that file is granted. If protocol is "file" and the path is a directory, permission is granted to read all files and (recursively) all files and subdirectories contained in that directory.

  If the protocol is not "file", then to connect to and accept connections from the URL's host is granted.

  Overrides:
    `getPermissions` in class `SecureClassLoader`
  Parameters:
    `codesource` - the codesource
  Returns:
    the permissions granted to the codesource

### newInstance

    public static URLClassLoader newInstance(URL[] urls,
                                             ClassLoader parent)

  Creates a new instance of URLClassLoader for the specified URLs and parent class loader. If a security manager is installed, the `loadClass` method of the URLClassLoader returned by this method will invoke the `SecurityManager.checkPackageAccess` method before loading the class.

  Parameters:
    `urls` - the URLs to search for classes and resources
    `parent` - the parent class loader for delegation
  Returns:
    the resulting class loader

### newInstance

    public static URLClassLoader newInstance(URL[] urls)

  Creates a new instance of URLClassLoader for the specified URLs and default parent class loader. If a security manager is installed, the `loadClass` method of the URLClassLoader returned by this method will invoke the `SecurityManager.checkPackageAccess` before loading the class.

  Parameters:
    `urls` - the URLs to search for classes and resources
  Returns:
    the resulting class loader

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For further API reference and developer documentation, see Java 2 SDK SE Developer Documentation. That documentation contains more detailed, developer-targeted descriptions, with conceptual overviews, definitions of terms, workarounds, and working code examples.

Copyright 2002 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. Use is subject to license terms.