Types (Hierarchy) of Java Class Loaders
Java class loaders can be broadly classified into below categories:

Bootstrap Class Loader
Bootstrap class loader loads java’s core classes like java.lang, java.util etc. These are classes that are part of java runtime environment. Bootstrap class loader is native implementation and so they may differ across different JVMs.

Extensions Class Loader
JAVA_HOME/jre/lib/ext contains jar packages that are extensions of standard core java classes. Extensions class loader loads classes from this ext folder. Using the system environment propery java.ext.dirs you can add ‘ext’ folders and jar files to be loaded using extensions class loader.

System Class Loader
Java classes that are available in the java classpath are loaded using System class loader.

Why you need class Loaders
Applications written in statically compiled programming languages, such as C and C++, are compiled into native, machine-specific instructions and saved as an executable file. The process of combining the code into an executable native code is called linking – the merging of separately compiled code with shared library code to create an executable application. This is different in dynamically compiled programming languages such as Java. In Java, the .class files generated by the Java compiler remain as-is until loaded into the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) — in other words, the linking process is performed by the JVM at runtime. Classes are loaded into the JVM on an ‘as needed’ basis. And when a loaded class depends on another class, then that class is loaded as well.

When a Java application is launched, the first class to run (or the entry point into the application) is the one with public static void method called main(). This class usually has references to other classes, and all attempts to load the referenced classes are carried out by the class loader.

java.lang.ClassLoader
The java.lang.ClassLoader is an abstract class that can be subclassed by applications that need to extend the manner in which the JVM dynamically loads classes. Constructors in java.lang.ClassLoader (and its subclasses) allow you to specify a parent when you instantiate a new class loader. If you don’t explicitly specify a parent, the virtual machine’s system class loader will be assigned as the default parent.