Check if parent class is instance of child class
java
Solution
You can use `instanceof`:
Car car = cars.get(0);
if (car instanceof Audi) {
// It's an Audi, now you can safely cast it
Audi audi = (Audi) car;
// ...do whatever needs to be done with the Audi
}
However, in practice you should use `instanceof` sparingly - it goes against object oriented programming principles. See, for example: Is This Use of the "instanceof" Operator Considered Bad Design?
Problem
I have one class defined like this: ``` class Car { } ``` And many other defined like this: ``` class Audi extends Car { } class Seat extends Car { } class Mercedes extends Car { } class Opel extends Car { } ... ``` I have a situation where I receive a list of all these cars which is defined like this: ``` List<Car> cars = new ArrayList<Car>(); ``` In that list there are many different cars so how can I find out which one is Audi, which one is Seat etc? I've tried to do this for cars for which I know they are of type Audi: ``` Audi audi = (Audi) cars.get(0); ``` This throws `ClassCastException`. How to handle this situation?