If there is no instance available then .class syntax is used to get the corresponding Class object for a class otherwise you can use getClass() method to get Class object. Since, there is no instance of primitive data type, we have to use .class syntax for primitive data types.
package test;
public class Test {
public static void main(String[] args)
{
//there is no instance available for class Test, so use Test.class
System.out.println("Test.class.getName() ::: " + Test.class.getName());
// Now create an instance of class Test use getClass()
Test testObj = new Test();
System.out.println("testObj.getClass().getName() ::: " + testObj.getClass().getName());
//For primitive type
System.out.println("boolean.class.getName() ::: " + boolean.class.getName());
System.out.println("int.class.getName() ::: " + int.class.getName());
System.out.println("char.class.getName() ::: " + char.class.getName());
System.out.println("long.class.getName() ::: " + long.class.getName());
}
}