# Instantiate class from string

**URL:** <https://discourse.processing.org/t/instantiate-class-from-string/32006>\
**Category:** Coding Questions\
**Created:** [August 30, 2021, 7:12am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/instantiate-class-from-string/32006 "2021-08-30T07:12:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![molo32](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@molo32](https://discourse.processing.org/u/molo32)\
**Post date:** [August 30, 2021, 7:12am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/instantiate-class-from-string/32006/1 "2021-08-30T07:12:15Z")

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I googled methods but couldn’t get it to work in processing.

what I’m looking for is something like.

```auto
String s="foo";

void setup(){

parent new_instance= new s;
}

class parent{

}

class foo extends parent{

}

```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![paulgoux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@paulgoux](https://discourse.processing.org/u/paulgoux)\
**Post date:** [August 30, 2021, 7:16am UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/instantiate-class-from-string/32006/2 "2021-08-30T07:16:07Z")

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Seems like what you might be looking for is reflections

> <https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1782598/with-java-reflection-how-to-instantiate-a-new-object-then-call-a-method-on-it>

> <https://stackoverflow.com/questions/9886266/is-there-a-way-to-instantiate-a-class-by-name-in-java>

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![jeremydouglass](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discourse.processing.org/jeremydouglass/32/20_2.png) [@jeremydouglass](https://discourse.processing.org/u/jeremydouglass)\
**Post date:** [August 31, 2021, 3:02pm UTC](https://discourse.processing.org/t/instantiate-class-from-string/32006/3 "2021-08-31T15:02:25Z")

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Re: reflection on this forum:

- [Java Reflections cheatsheet for processing](https://discourse.processing.org/t/java-reflections-cheatsheet-for-processing/16778)
- [[SOLVED] Instantiating a particular class constructor using reflection](https://discourse.processing.org/t/solved-instantiating-a-particular-class-constructor-using-reflection/7968)
- [https://forum.processing.org/two/discussion/27164/string-to-class-classnotfoundexception#Item\_3](https://forum.processing.org/two/discussion/27164/string-to-class-classnotfoundexception#Item_3)

@GoToLoop has spent quite a bit of time on reflection in Processing.

* * *

The Processing API uses a related technique, a string as a method name (rather than a class name) in, for example, [selectFolder](https://processing.org/reference/selectFolder_.html) – internally it calls selectMethod, which uses `.getMethod()` to turn the text `String callbackMethod` argument given to selectFolder into the corresponding Processing function (`Method selectMethod`) for the callback.

> <https://github.com/processing/processing/blob/36b3990ce3df4b5a8bc40e6e428532bc5aeca3d8/core/src/processing/core/PApplet.java#L6711-L6720>