core/src/main/java/com/twitter/elephantbird/util/ThriftUtils.java
public static <M extends TBase<?, ?>> TypeRef<M> getTypeRef(String thriftClassName, ClassLoader classLoader) {
    try {
      Class<?> tClass = classLoader == null ?
          Class.forName(thriftClassName) :
          Class.forName(thriftClassName, true, classLoader);

      verifyAncestry(tClass);

      return new TypeRef<M>(tClass){};
    } catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
      throw new RuntimeException(e);
    }
  }
public static <M extends TBase<?, ?>> TypeRef<M> getTypeRef(String thriftClassName, ClassLoader classLoader) {
    try {
      Class<?> tClass = classLoader == null ?
          Class.forName(thriftClassName) :
          Class.forName(thriftClassName, true, classLoader);

      verifyAncestry(tClass);

      return new TypeRef<M>(tClass){};
    } catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
      throw new RuntimeException(e);
    }
  }
returns TypeRef for a thrift class.