Class.forName() vs ClassLoader.loadClass()

[srinivas srinivasmeenavalli]

We can load a class by using either Class.forName() or ClassLoader.loadClass() dynamically.What is the general practise in Java ?
is it Class.forName() ?

try{
		//Class.forName()
		 Class  jeep1 =   Class.forName("org.sri.corejava.basic.Jeep");
		Jeep  mahindraJeep1  = (Jeep)jeep1.newInstance();
		mahindraJeep1.setFuelCapacity(50);
		mahindraJeep1.setEngineModel("ES1234");
		System.out.println("Fuel Capacity="+mahindraJeep1.getFuelCapacity());
		System.out.println("Engine Model="+mahindraJeep1.getEngineModel());
		ClassLoader classLoader = ClassLoader.getSystemClassLoader();
		//ClassLoader.loadClass()
		Class jeep2 = classLoader.loadClass("org.sri.corejava.basic.Jeep");
		Jeep  mahindraJeep2  = (Jeep)jeep2.newInstance();
		mahindraJeep2.setFuelCapacity(75);
		mahindraJeep2.setEngineModel("EGSTL786");
		System.out.println("Fuel Capacity="+mahindraJeep2.getFuelCapacity());
		System.out.println("Engine Model="+mahindraJeep2.getEngineModel());
		
		
	}
	catch(ClassNotFoundException cnfe){
	 cnfe.printStackTrace();	
	}
	catch(InstantiationException ie){
		ie.printStackTrace();
	}
	catch(IllegalAccessException iae){
		iae.printStackTrace();
	}

?

[john sal]

Both are same however ClassLoader is a abstract class that specifially deals with the the loading the class dynamically and contains method that can be overridden in the subclasses to extend the functionality of class loading.

[Rob Spoor]

They aren't exactly the same; there are subtle differences. Class.forName(String) uses the current class loader, whereas ClassLoader.loadClass() uses the ClassLoader the method is invoked on. The latter is more similar to Class.forName(String, boolean, ClassLoader), but the latter lets you choose whether or not to initialize the class or not.

Unless you need to use a specific ClassLoader or the control over initialization, Class.forName(String) is just fine.