Missing super class from dependencies could throw NullPointerException java

Question

Can someone explain if creating an object of a class that have in constructor the super call and the super class are missing from dependencies jar could throw a null pointer exception?

e.g. a class that ApplicationFrame extends javax.xml.ws.Service and as construct let say it's:

ApplicationFrame(String wsdlLocation, QName namespace){
 super(wsdlLocation, namespace);
 }

When doing this I receive a NPE. It's possible?

• ratchet freak: My gut says it should throw a ClassNotFound when trying to load the class with the missing parent.

Answer 1

No. rachet's gut feeling is spot on. Unless the classloader is overridden, the classloader loads the parent before it loads a class and if that parent isn't there, you would receive a ClassNotFoundException, and not a NullPointerException.

However, you should consider the possibility that some code in a static block is being run in the parent class that does throw a NullPointerException. This happens before you even enter the constructor, so you should probably put a breakpoint in your constructor to see if that is the case.

The same can be said for a static block in your own class if you have one, so in that case, I would double-check that your own static block isn't causing the problem.

Hope that helps!