In Java, reflection provides what capability at runtime?

In Java, reflection provides what capability at runtime?

• A. Static analysis of code during compilation
• B. A program's ability to examine and modify its own structure at runtime
• C. Memory management at runtime
• D. Compile-time optimization of bytecode

Answer: (B)

Reflection in Java provides a runtime capability to inspect and interact with a program’s own structure. At runtime, you can query a class about its methods, fields, constructors, and annotations, create instances, and invoke methods or access fields, even if they’re private (within security and access rules). This enables frameworks and tools to adapt to types they discover during execution, support dynamic object creation from configuration, and implement features like serialization or dependency injection. The other options describe tasks that happen at compile time or are managed by the JVM for memory and optimization, not something you perform with reflection at runtime.

Reflection in Java provides a runtime capability to inspect and interact with a program’s own structure. At runtime, you can query a class about its methods, fields, constructors, and annotations, create instances, and invoke methods or access fields, even if they’re private (within security and access rules). This enables frameworks and tools to adapt to types they discover during execution, support dynamic object creation from configuration, and implement features like serialization or dependency injection. The other options describe tasks that happen at compile time or are managed by the JVM for memory and optimization, not something you perform with reflection at runtime.