How to Resolve java.lang.ClassNotFoundException

 package org.ph.javaee.training5;

/**
 * ClassNotFoundExceptionSimulator
 * @author Pierre-Hugues Charbonneau
 *
 */
public class ClassNotFoundExceptionSimulator {

       private static final String CLASS_TO_LOAD = "org.ph.javaee.training5.ClassA";
       private static final int PROBLEM_SCENARIO = 1;

       /**
        * @param args
        */
       public static void main(String[] args) {

             System.out.println("java.lang.ClassNotFoundException Simulator - Training 5");
             System.out.println("Author: Pierre-Hugues Charbonneau");
             System.out.println("http://javaeesupportpatterns.blogspot.com");

             switch(PROBLEM_SCENARIO) {

                    // Scenario #1 - Class.forName()
                    case 1:

                           System.out.println("\n** Problem scenario #1: Class.forName() **\n");
                           try {
                                 Class<?> newClass = Class.forName(CLASS_TO_LOAD);

                                 System.out.println("Class "+newClass+" found successfully!");

                           } catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {

                                 ex.printStackTrace();

                                 System.out.println("Class "+CLASS_TO_LOAD+" not found!");

                           } catch (Throwable any) {                           
                                 System.out.println("Unexpected error! "+any);
                           }

                           break;

                    // Scenario #2 - ClassLoader.loadClass()
                    case 2:

                           System.out.println("\n** Problem scenario #2: ClassLoader.loadClass() **\n");                     
                           try {
                                 ClassLoader classLoader = Thread.currentThread().getContextClassLoader();            
                                 Class<?> callerClass = classLoader.loadClass(CLASS_TO_LOAD);

                                 Object newClassAInstance = callerClass.newInstance();

                                 System.out.println("SUCCESS!: "+newClassAInstance);
                           } catch (ClassNotFoundException ex) {

                                 ex.printStackTrace();

                                 System.out.println("Class "+CLASS_TO_LOAD+" not found!");

                           } catch (Throwable any) {                           
                                 System.out.println("Unexpected error! "+any);
                           }

                           break;
             }

             System.out.println("\nSimulator done!");
       }
}

# ClassA

 package org.ph.javaee.training5;

/**
 * ClassA
 * @author Pierre-Hugues Charbonneau
 *
 */
public class ClassA {

private final static Class<ClassA> CLAZZ = ClassA.class;

       static {
             System.out.println("Class loading of "+CLAZZ+" from ClassLoader '"+CLAZZ.getClassLoader()+"' in progress...");
       }

       public ClassA() {
             System.out.println("Creating a new instance of "+ClassA.class.getName()+"...");

             doSomething();
       }

       private void doSomething() {           
             // Nothing to do...
       }
}

f you run the program as is, you will see the output as per below for each scenario:

#Scenario 1 output (baseline)

java.lang.ClassNotFoundException Simulator - Training 5
Author: Pierre-Hugues Charbonneau
http://javaeesupportpatterns.blogspot.com

** Problem scenario #1: Class.forName() **

Class loading of class org.ph.javaee.training5.ClassA from ClassLoader 'sun.misc.Launcher$AppClassLoader@bfbdb0' in progress...
Class class org.ph.javaee.training5.ClassA found successfully!

Simulator done!

#Scenario 2 output (baseline)

java.lang.ClassNotFoundException Simulator - Training 5
Author: Pierre-Hugues Charbonneau
http://javaeesupportpatterns.blogspot.com

** Problem scenario #2: ClassLoader.loadClass() **

Class loading of class org.ph.javaee.training5.ClassA from ClassLoader 'sun.misc.Launcher$AppClassLoader@2a340e' in progress...
Creating a new instance of org.ph.javaee.training5.ClassA...
SUCCESS!: org.ph.javaee.training5.ClassA@6eb38a

Simulator done!

For the “baseline” run, the Java program is able to load ClassA successfully.

Now let’s voluntary change the full name of ClassA and re-run the program for each scenario. The following output can be observed:

#ClassA changed to ClassB

 private static final String CLASS_TO_LOAD = "org.ph.javaee.training5.ClassB";

#Scenario 1 output (problem replication)

java.lang.ClassNotFoundException Simulator - Training 5
Author: Pierre-Hugues Charbonneau
http://javaeesupportpatterns.blogspot.com

** Problem scenario #1: Class.forName() **

java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: org.ph.javaee.training5.ClassB
       at java.net.URLClassLoader$1.run(URLClassLoader.java:366)
       at java.net.URLClassLoader$1.run(URLClassLoader.java:355)
       at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
       at java.net.URLClassLoader.findClass(URLClassLoader.java:354)
       at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:423)
       at sun.misc.Launcher$AppClassLoader.loadClass(Launcher.java:308)
       at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:356)
       at java.lang.Class.forName0(Native Method)
       at java.lang.Class.forName(Class.java:186)
       at org.ph.javaee.training5.ClassNotFoundExceptionSimulator.main(ClassNotFoundExceptionSimulator.java:29)
Class org.ph.javaee.training5.ClassB not found!

Simulator done!

#Scenario 2 output (problem replication)

java.lang.ClassNotFoundException Simulator - Training 5
Author: Pierre-Hugues Charbonneau
http://javaeesupportpatterns.blogspot.com

** Problem scenario #2: ClassLoader.loadClass() **

java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: org.ph.javaee.training5.ClassB
       at java.net.URLClassLoader$1.run(URLClassLoader.java:366)
       at java.net.URLClassLoader$1.run(URLClassLoader.java:355)
       at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
       at java.net.URLClassLoader.findClass(URLClassLoader.java:354)
       at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:423)
       at sun.misc.Launcher$AppClassLoader.loadClass(Launcher.java:308)
       at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:356)
       at org.ph.javaee.training5.ClassNotFoundExceptionSimulator.main(ClassNotFoundExceptionSimulator.java:51)
Class org.ph.javaee.training5.ClassB not found!

Simulator done!

What happened? Well since we changed the full class name to org.ph.javaee.training5.ClassB, such class was not found at runtime (does not exist), causing both Class.forName() and ClassLoader.loadClass() calls to fail.

You can also replicate this problem by packaging each class of this program to its own JAR file and then omit the jar file containing ClassA.class from the main class path  Please try this and see the results for yourself…(hint: NoClassDefFoundError)

Now let’s jump to the resolution strategies.

java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: Resolution strategies

Now that you understand this problem, it is now time to resolve it. Resolution can be fairly simple or very complex depending of the root cause.

• Don’t jump on complex root causes too quickly, rule out the simplest causes first.
• First review the java.lang.ClassNotFoundException stack trace as per the above and determine which Java class was not loaded properly at runtime e.g. application code, third party API, Java EE container itself etc.
• Identify the caller e.g. Java class you see from the stack trace just before the Class.forName() or ClassLoader.loadClass() calls. This will help you understand if your application code is at fault vs. a third party API.
• Determine if your application code is not packaged properly e.g. missing JAR file(s) from your classpath
• If the missing Java class is not from your application code, then identify if it belongs to a third party API you are using as per of your Java application. Once you identify it, you will need to add the missing JAR file(s) to your runtime classpath or web application WAR/EAR file.
• If still struggling after multiple resolution attempts, this could means a more complex class loader hierarchy problem. In this case, please review my NoClassDefFoundError article series for more examples and resolution strategies

I hope this article has helped you to understand and revisit this common Java exception.

Please feel free to post any comment or question if you are still struggling with your java.lang.ClassNotFoundException problem.