How to load a class dynamically in the current/system class loader

Question

I need to dynamically load a new jdbc driver jar to the current/system class loader... Please note that creating a new classloader will not help since the DriverManager refers to the systemclassloader itself.
Restarting the application by appending the jar to its classpath will solve the problem but I want to avoid doing this.

Answer 1

Did you then create a ClassLoader to load the JDBC
driver and then install it into the system as
directed by the JDBC specification (ie
Class.forName(someClassName))?
And then try to use it from a class loaded fromsome
other ClassLoader (i.e. the system class loader)?
If you did not try this please explain why not.O.K. I just looked at the source to
java.sql.DriverManager. I did not know what I was
talking about, as what I suggested above will not
work.
This is my new Idea:
Create a URLClassLoader to load the JDBC driver also
in this ClassLoader you need to place a helper class
that does the following:
public class Helper {
public Driver getJDBCDriver(String driverClassName,
String url) {
try {
Class.forName(driverClassName);
Driver d = DriverManager.getDriver(url);
return d;
catch(Exception ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
return null;
}Now create an instance of the Helper class in the new
ClassLoader, and call its getJDBCDriver method to get
an instance of the driver (you will probably have to
create an interface in the root class loader that the
Helper implements so that you can easily call it).
Now from the root classloader you can make calls
directly to the returned Driver and bypass the
DriverManager and its restrictions on cross
ClassLoader access.
The only catch here is that you would have to call to
the returned Driver directly and not use the Driver
Manager.This sounds like will work but I did not want to load DriverManager in a new classloader.. I did a hack
I unzip the jar dynamically in a previously known location (which I included in my classpath when launching the app). The classLoader finds the class now though it did not exist when the app was launched !
A hack of-course but works eh ..