Getting hold of the outer class object from the inner class object

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Within the inner class itself, you can use OuterClass.this. This expression, which allows to refer to any lexically enclosing instance, is described in the JLS as Qualified this.

I don’t think there’s a way to get the instance from outside the code of the inner class though. Of course, you can always introduce your own property:

public OuterClass getOuter() {
    return OuterClass.this;
}

EDIT: By experimentation, it looks like the field holding the reference to the outer class has package level access – at least with the JDK I’m using.

EDIT: The name used (this$0) is actually valid in Java, although the JLS discourages its use:

The $ character should be used only in
mechanically generated source code or,
rarely, to access pre-existing names on
legacy systems.

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