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JNI Functions

Chapter   4

This chapter serves as the reference section for the JNI functions. It provides a complete listing of all the JNI functions. It also presents the exact layout of the JNI function table.

Note the use of the term “must” to describe restrictions on JNI programmers. For example, when you see that a certain JNI function must receive a non-NULL object, it is your responsibility to ensure that NULL is not passed to that JNI function. As a result, a JNI implementation does not need to perform NULL pointer checks in that JNI function.

A portion of this chapter is adapted from Netscape’s JRI documentation.

The reference material groups functions by their usage. The reference section is organized by the following functional areas:

Interface Function Table

Each function is accessible at a fixed offset through the JNIEnv argument. The JNIEnv type is a pointer to a structure storing all JNI function pointers. It is defined as follows:

typedef const struct JNINativeInterface *JNIEnv; 

The VM initializes the function table, as shown by Code Example 4-1. Note that the first three entries are reserved for future compatibility with COM. In addition, we reserve a number of additional NULL entries near the beginning of the function table, so that, for example, a future class-related JNI operation can be added after FindClass, rather than at the end of the table.

Note that the function table can be shared among all JNI interface pointers.

const struct JNINativeInterface ... = {

    NULL,
    NULL,
    NULL,
    NULL,
    GetVersion,

    DefineClass,
    FindClass,

    FromReflectedMethod,
    FromReflectedField,
    ToReflectedMethod,

    GetSuperclass,
    IsAssignableFrom,

    ToReflectedField,

    Throw,
    ThrowNew,
    ExceptionOccurred,
    ExceptionDescribe,
    ExceptionClear,
    FatalError,

    PushLocalFrame,
    PopLocalFrame,

    NewGlobalRef,
    DeleteGlobalRef,
    DeleteLocalRef,
    IsSameObject,
    NewLocalRef,
    EnsureLocalCapacity,

    AllocObject,
    NewObject,
    NewObjectV,
    NewObjectA,

    GetObjectClass,
    IsInstanceOf,

    GetMethodID,

    CallObjectMethod,
    CallObjectMethodV,
    CallObjectMethodA,
    CallBooleanMethod,
    CallBooleanMethodV,
    CallBooleanMethodA,
    CallByteMethod,
    CallByteMethodV,
    CallByteMethodA,
    CallCharMethod,
    CallCharMethodV,
    CallCharMethodA,
    CallShortMethod,
    CallShortMethodV,
    CallShortMethodA,
    CallIntMethod,
    CallIntMethodV,
    CallIntMethodA,
    CallLongMethod,
    CallLongMethodV,
    CallLongMethodA,
    CallFloatMethod,
    CallFloatMethodV,
    CallFloatMethodA,
    CallDoubleMethod,
    CallDoubleMethodV,
    CallDoubleMethodA,
    CallVoidMethod,
    CallVoidMethodV,
    CallVoidMethodA,

    CallNonvirtualObjectMethod,
    CallNonvirtualObjectMethodV,
    CallNonvirtualObjectMethodA,
    CallNonvirtualBooleanMethod,
    CallNonvirtualBooleanMethodV,
    CallNonvirtualBooleanMethodA,
    CallNonvirtualByteMethod,
    CallNonvirtualByteMethodV,
    CallNonvirtualByteMethodA,
    CallNonvirtualCharMethod,
    CallNonvirtualCharMethodV,
    CallNonvirtualCharMethodA,
    CallNonvirtualShortMethod,
    CallNonvirtualShortMethodV,
    CallNonvirtualShortMethodA,
    CallNonvirtualIntMethod,
    CallNonvirtualIntMethodV,
    CallNonvirtualIntMethodA,
    CallNonvirtualLongMethod,
    CallNonvirtualLongMethodV,
    CallNonvirtualLongMethodA,
    CallNonvirtualFloatMethod,
    CallNonvirtualFloatMethodV,
    CallNonvirtualFloatMethodA,
    CallNonvirtualDoubleMethod,
    CallNonvirtualDoubleMethodV,
    CallNonvirtualDoubleMethodA,
    CallNonvirtualVoidMethod,
    CallNonvirtualVoidMethodV,
    CallNonvirtualVoidMethodA,

    GetFieldID,

    GetObjectField,
    GetBooleanField,
    GetByteField,
    GetCharField,
    GetShortField,
    GetIntField,
    GetLongField,
    GetFloatField,
    GetDoubleField,
    SetObjectField,
    SetBooleanField,
    SetByteField,
    SetCharField,
    SetShortField,
    SetIntField,
    SetLongField,
    SetFloatField,
    SetDoubleField,

    GetStaticMethodID,

    CallStaticObjectMethod,
    CallStaticObjectMethodV,
    CallStaticObjectMethodA,
    CallStaticBooleanMethod,
    CallStaticBooleanMethodV,
    CallStaticBooleanMethodA,
    CallStaticByteMethod,
    CallStaticByteMethodV,
    CallStaticByteMethodA,
    CallStaticCharMethod,
    CallStaticCharMethodV,
    CallStaticCharMethodA,
    CallStaticShortMethod,
    CallStaticShortMethodV,
    CallStaticShortMethodA,
    CallStaticIntMethod,
    CallStaticIntMethodV,
    CallStaticIntMethodA,
    CallStaticLongMethod,
    CallStaticLongMethodV,
    CallStaticLongMethodA,
    CallStaticFloatMethod,
    CallStaticFloatMethodV,
    CallStaticFloatMethodA,
    CallStaticDoubleMethod,
    CallStaticDoubleMethodV,
    CallStaticDoubleMethodA,
    CallStaticVoidMethod,
    CallStaticVoidMethodV,
    CallStaticVoidMethodA,

    GetStaticFieldID,

    GetStaticObjectField,
    GetStaticBooleanField,
    GetStaticByteField,
    GetStaticCharField,
    GetStaticShortField,
    GetStaticIntField,
    GetStaticLongField,
    GetStaticFloatField,
    GetStaticDoubleField,

    SetStaticObjectField,
    SetStaticBooleanField,
    SetStaticByteField,
    SetStaticCharField,
    SetStaticShortField,
    SetStaticIntField,
    SetStaticLongField,
    SetStaticFloatField,
    SetStaticDoubleField,

    NewString,

    GetStringLength,
    GetStringChars,
    ReleaseStringChars,

    NewStringUTF,
    GetStringUTFLength,
    GetStringUTFChars,
    ReleaseStringUTFChars,

    GetArrayLength,

    NewObjectArray,
    GetObjectArrayElement,
    SetObjectArrayElement,

    NewBooleanArray,
    NewByteArray,
    NewCharArray,
    NewShortArray,
    NewIntArray,
    NewLongArray,
    NewFloatArray,
    NewDoubleArray,

    GetBooleanArrayElements,
    GetByteArrayElements,
    GetCharArrayElements,
    GetShortArrayElements,
    GetIntArrayElements,
    GetLongArrayElements,
    GetFloatArrayElements,
    GetDoubleArrayElements,

    ReleaseBooleanArrayElements,
    ReleaseByteArrayElements,
    ReleaseCharArrayElements,
    ReleaseShortArrayElements,
    ReleaseIntArrayElements,
    ReleaseLongArrayElements,
    ReleaseFloatArrayElements,
    ReleaseDoubleArrayElements,

    GetBooleanArrayRegion,
    GetByteArrayRegion,
    GetCharArrayRegion,
    GetShortArrayRegion,
    GetIntArrayRegion,
    GetLongArrayRegion,
    GetFloatArrayRegion,
    GetDoubleArrayRegion,
    SetBooleanArrayRegion,
    SetByteArrayRegion,
    SetCharArrayRegion,
    SetShortArrayRegion,
    SetIntArrayRegion,
    SetLongArrayRegion,
    SetFloatArrayRegion,
    SetDoubleArrayRegion,

    RegisterNatives,
    UnregisterNatives,

    MonitorEnter,
    MonitorExit,

    GetJavaVM,

    GetStringRegion,
    GetStringUTFRegion,

    GetPrimitiveArrayCritical,
    ReleasePrimitiveArrayCritical,

    GetStringCritical,
    ReleaseStringCritical,

    NewWeakGlobalRef,
    DeleteWeakGlobalRef,

    ExceptionCheck,

    NewDirectByteBuffer,
    GetDirectBufferAddress,
    GetDirectBufferCapacity,

    GetObjectRefType
  };

Version Information

GetVersion

jint GetVersion(JNIEnv *env);

Returns the version of the native method interface.

LINKAGE:

Index 4 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

RETURNS:

Returns the major version number in the higher 16 bits and the minor version number in the lower 16 bits.

In JDK/JRE 1.1, GetVersion() returns 0x00010001.

In JDK/JRE 1.2, GetVersion() returns 0x00010002.

In JDK/JRE 1.4, GetVersion() returns 0x00010004.

In JDK/JRE 1.6, GetVersion() returns 0x00010006.

Constants

SINCE JDK/JRE 1.2:

#define JNI_VERSION_1_1 0x00010001
#define JNI_VERSION_1_2 0x00010002

/* Error codes */
#define JNI_EDETACHED    (-2)              /* thread detached from the VM */
#define JNI_EVERSION     (-3)              /* JNI version error 

SINCE JDK/JRE 1.4:

    #define JNI_VERSION_1_4 0x00010004

SINCE JDK/JRE 1.6:

    #define JNI_VERSION_1_6 0x00010006

Class Operations

DefineClass

jclass DefineClass(JNIEnv *env, const char *name, jobject loader,
const jbyte *buf, jsize bufLen);

Loads a class from a buffer of raw class data. The buffer containing the raw class data is not referenced by the VM after the DefineClass call returns, and it may be discarded if desired.

LINKAGE:

Index 5 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

name: the name of the class or interface to be defined. The string is encoded in modified UTF-8.

loader: a class loader assigned to the defined class.

buf: buffer containing the .class file data.

bufLen: buffer length.

RETURNS:

Returns a Java class object or NULL if an error occurs.

THROWS:

ClassFormatError: if the class data does not specify a valid class.

ClassCircularityError: if a class or interface would be its own superclass or superinterface.

OutOfMemoryError: if the system runs out of memory.

SecurityException: if the caller attempts to define a class in the "java" package tree.

FindClass

jclass FindClass(JNIEnv *env, const char *name);

In JDK release 1.1, this function loads a locally-defined class. It searches the directories and zip files specified by the CLASSPATH environment variable for the class with the specified name.

Since Java 2 SDK release 1.2, the Java security model allows non-system classes to load and call native methods. FindClass locates the class loader associated with the current native method; that is, the class loader of the class that declared the native method. If the native method belongs to a system class, no class loader will be involved. Otherwise, the proper class loader will be invoked to load and link the named class.

Since Java 2 SDK release 1.2, when FindClass is called through the Invocation Interface, there is no current native method or its associated class loader. In that case, the result of ClassLoader.getSystemClassLoader is used. This is the class loader the virtual machine creates for applications, and is able to locate classes listed in the java.class.path property.

The name argument is a fully-qualified class name or an array type signature . For example, the fully-qualified class name for the java.lang.String class is:

                   "java/lang/String"

The array type signature of the array class java.lang.Object[] is:

                   "[Ljava/lang/Object;"

LINKAGE:

Index 6 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

name: a fully-qualified class name (that is, a package name, delimited by “/”, followed by the class name). If the name begins with “[“ (the array signature character), it returns an array class. The string is encoded in modified UTF-8.

RETURNS:

Returns a class object from a fully-qualified name, or NULL if the class cannot be found.

THROWS:

ClassFormatError: if the class data does not specify a valid class.

ClassCircularityError: if a class or interface would be its own superclass or superinterface.

NoClassDefFoundError: if no definition for a requested class or interface can be found.

OutOfMemoryError: if the system runs out of memory.

GetSuperclass

jclass GetSuperclass(JNIEnv *env, jclass clazz);

If clazz represents any class other than the class Object, then this function returns the object that represents the superclass of the class specified by clazz.

If clazz specifies the class Object, or clazz represents an interface, this function returns NULL.

LINKAGE:

Index 10 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

clazz: a Java class object.

RETURNS:

Returns the superclass of the class represented by clazz, or NULL.

IsAssignableFrom

jboolean IsAssignableFrom(JNIEnv *env, jclass clazz1,
jclass clazz2);

Determines whether an object of clazz1 can be safely cast to clazz2.

LINKAGE:

Index 11 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

clazz1: the first class argument.

clazz2: the second class argument.

RETURNS:

Returns JNI_TRUE if either of the following is true:

Exceptions

Throw

jint Throw(JNIEnv *env, jthrowable obj);

Causes a java.lang.Throwable object to be thrown.

LINKAGE:

Index 13 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

obj: a java.lang.Throwable object.

RETURNS:

Returns 0 on success; a negative value on failure.

THROWS:

the java.lang.Throwable object obj.

ThrowNew

jint ThrowNew(JNIEnv *env, jclass clazz,
const char *message);

Constructs an exception object from the specified class with the message specified by message and causes that exception to be thrown.

LINKAGE:

Index 14 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

clazz: a subclass of java.lang.Throwable.

message: the message used to construct the java.lang.Throwable object. The string is encoded in modified UTF-8.

RETURNS:

Returns 0 on success; a negative value on failure.

THROWS:

the newly constructed java.lang.Throwable object.

ExceptionOccurred

jthrowable ExceptionOccurred(JNIEnv *env);

Determines if an exception is being thrown. The exception stays being thrown until either the native code calls ExceptionClear(), or the Java code handles the exception.

LINKAGE:

Index 15 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

RETURNS:

Returns the exception object that is currently in the process of being thrown, or NULL if no exception is currently being thrown.

ExceptionDescribe

void ExceptionDescribe(JNIEnv *env);

Prints an exception and a backtrace of the stack to a system error-reporting channel, such as stderr. This is a convenience routine provided for debugging.

LINKAGE:

Index 16 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

ExceptionClear

void ExceptionClear(JNIEnv *env);

Clears any exception that is currently being thrown. If no exception is currently being thrown, this routine has no effect.

LINKAGE:

Index 17 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

FatalError

void FatalError(JNIEnv *env, const char *msg);

Raises a fatal error and does not expect the VM to recover. This function does not return.

LINKAGE:

Index 18 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

msg: an error message. The string is encoded in modified UTF-8.

ExceptionCheck

jboolean ExceptionCheck(JNIEnv *env);

Returns JNI_TRUE when there is a pending exception; otherwise, returns JNI_FALSE.

LINKAGE:

SINCE:

JDK/JRE 1.2

Global and Local References

Global References

NewGlobalRef

jobject NewGlobalRef(JNIEnv *env, jobject obj);

Creates a new global reference to the object referred to by the obj argument. The obj argument may be a global or local reference. Global references must be explicitly disposed of by calling DeleteGlobalRef().

LINKAGE:

Index 21 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

obj: a global or local reference.

RETURNS:

Returns a global reference, or NULL if the system runs out of memory.

DeleteGlobalRef

void DeleteGlobalRef(JNIEnv *env, jobject globalRef);

Deletes the global reference pointed to by globalRef.

LINKAGE:

Index 22 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

globalRef: a global reference.

Local References

Local references are valid for the duration of a native method call. They are freed automatically after the native method returns. Each local reference costs some amount of Java Virtual Machine resource. Programmers need to make sure that native methods do not excessively allocate local references. Although local references are automatically freed after the native method returns to Java, excessive allocation of local references may cause the VM to run out of memory during the execution of a native method.

DeleteLocalRef

void DeleteLocalRef(JNIEnv *env, jobject localRef);

Deletes the local reference pointed to by localRef.

LINKAGE:

Index 23 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

localRef: a local reference.

EnsureLocalCapacity

jint EnsureLocalCapacity(JNIEnv *env, jint capacity);

Ensures that at least a given number of local references can be created in the current thread. Returns 0 on success; otherwise returns a negative number and throws an OutOfMemoryError.

Before it enters a native method, the VM automatically ensures that at least 16 local references can be created.

For backward compatibility, the VM allocates local references beyond the ensured capacity. (As a debugging support, the VM may give the user warnings that too many local references are being created. In the JDK, the programmer can supply the -verbose:jni command line option to turn on these messages.) The VM calls FatalError if no more local references can be created beyond the ensured capacity.

LINKAGE:

SINCE:

JDK/JRE 1.2

PushLocalFrame

jint PushLocalFrame(JNIEnv *env, jint capacity);

Creates a new local reference frame, in which at least a given number of local references can be created. Returns 0 on success, a negative number and a pending OutOfMemoryError on failure.

Note that local references already created in previous local frames are still valid in the current local frame.

LINKAGE:

SINCE:

JDK/JRE 1.2

PopLocalFrame

jobject PopLocalFrame(JNIEnv *env, jobject result);

Pops off the current local reference frame, frees all the local references, and returns a local reference in the previous local reference frame for the given result object.

Pass NULL as result if you do not need to return a reference to the previous frame.

LINKAGE:

SINCE:

JDK/JRE 1.2

NewLocalRef

jobject NewLocalRef(JNIEnv *env, jobject ref);

Creates a new local reference that refers to the same object as ref. The given ref may be a global or local reference. Returns NULL if ref refers to null.

LINKAGE:

SINCE:

JDK/JRE 1.2

Weak Global References

Weak global references in JNI are a simplified version of the Java Weak References, available as part of the Java 2 Platform API ( java.lang.ref package and its classes).

Clarification    (added June 2001)

Since garbage collection may occur while native methods are running, objects referred to by weak global references can be freed at any time. While weak global references can be used where global references are used, it is generally inappropriate to do so, as they may become functionally equivalent to NULL without notice.

While IsSameObject can be used to determine whether a weak global reference refers to a freed object, it does not prevent the object from being freed immediately thereafter. Consequently, programmers may not rely on this check to determine whether a weak global reference may used (as a non-NULL reference) in any future JNI function call.

To overcome this inherent limitation, it is recommended that a standard (strong) local or global reference to the same object be acquired using the JNI functions NewLocalRef or NewGlobalRef, and that this strong reference be used to access the intended object. These functions will return NULL if the object has been freed, and otherwise will return a strong reference (which will prevent the object from being freed). The new reference should be explicitly deleted when immediate access to the object is no longer required, allowing the object to be freed.

The weak global reference is weaker than other types of weak references (Java objects of the SoftReference or WeakReference classes). A weak global reference to a specific object will not become functionally equivalent to NULL until after SoftReference or WeakReference objects referring to that same specific object have had their references cleared.

The weak global reference is weaker than Java's internal references to objects requiring finalization. A weak global reference will not become functionally equivalent to NULL until after the completion of the finalizer for the referenced object, if present.

Interactions between weak global references and PhantomReferences are undefined. In particular, implementations of a Java VM may (or may not) process weak global references after PhantomReferences, and it may (or may not) be possible to use weak global references to hold on to objects which are also referred to by PhantomReference objects. This undefined use of weak global references should be avoided.

NewWeakGlobalRef

jweak NewWeakGlobalRef(JNIEnv *env, jobject obj);

Creates a new weak global reference. Returns NULL if obj refers to null, or if the VM runs out of memory. If the VM runs out of memory, an OutOfMemoryError will be thrown.

LINKAGE:

SINCE:

JDK/JRE 1.2

DeleteWeakGlobalRef

void DeleteWeakGlobalRef(JNIEnv *env, jweak obj);

Delete the VM resources needed for the given weak global reference.

LINKAGE:

SINCE:

JDK/JRE 1.2

Object Operations

AllocObject

jobject AllocObject(JNIEnv *env, jclass clazz);

Allocates a new Java object without invoking any of the constructors for the object. Returns a reference to the object.

The clazz argument must not refer to an array class.

LINKAGE:

Index 27 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

clazz: a Java class object.

RETURNS:

Returns a Java object, or NULL if the object cannot be constructed.

THROWS:

InstantiationException: if the class is an interface or an abstract class.

OutOfMemoryError: if the system runs out of memory.

NewObject
NewObjectA
NewObjectV

jobject NewObject(JNIEnv *env, jclass clazz,
jmethodID methodID, ...);

jobject NewObjectA(JNIEnv *env, jclass clazz,
jmethodID methodID, const jvalue *args);

jobject NewObjectV(JNIEnv *env, jclass clazz,
jmethodID methodID, va_list args);

Constructs a new Java object. The method ID indicates which constructor method to invoke. This ID must be obtained by calling GetMethodID() with <init> as the method name and void (V) as the return type.

The clazz argument must not refer to an array class.

NewObject

Programmers place all arguments that are to be passed to the constructor immediately following the methodID argument. NewObject() accepts these arguments and passes them to the Java method that the programmer wishes to invoke.

LINKAGE:

Index 28 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

NewObjectA

Programmers place all arguments that are to be passed to the constructor in an args array of jvalues that immediately follows the methodID argument. NewObjectA() accepts the arguments in this array, and, in turn, passes them to the Java method that the programmer wishes to invoke.

LINKAGE:

Index 30 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

NewObjectV

Programmers place all arguments that are to be passed to the constructor in an args argument of type va_list that immediately follows the methodID argument. NewObjectV() accepts these arguments, and, in turn, passes them to the Java method that the programmer wishes to invoke.

LINKAGE:

Index 29 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

clazz: a Java class object.

methodID: the method ID of the constructor.

Additional Parameter for NewObject:

arguments to the constructor.

Additional Parameter for NewObjectA:

args: an array of arguments to the constructor.

Additional Parameter for NewObjectV:

args: a va_list of arguments to the constructor.

RETURNS:

Returns a Java object, or NULL if the object cannot be constructed.

THROWS:

InstantiationException: if the class is an interface or an abstract class.

OutOfMemoryError: if the system runs out of memory.

Any exceptions thrown by the constructor.

GetObjectClass

jclass GetObjectClass(JNIEnv *env, jobject obj);

Returns the class of an object.

LINKAGE:

Index 31 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

obj: a Java object (must not be NULL).

RETURNS:

Returns a Java class object.

GetObjectRefType

jobjectRefType GetObjectRefType(JNIEnv* env, jobject obj);

Returns the type of the object referred to by the obj argument. The argument obj can either be a local, global or weak global reference.

LINKAGE:

Index 232 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

obj: a local, global or weak global reference.

vm: the virtual machine instance from which the interface will be retrieved.

env: pointer to the location where the JNI interface pointer for the current thread will be placed.

version: the requested JNI version.

RETURNS:

The function GetObjectRefType returns one of the following enumerated values defined as a jobjectRefType:

If the argument obj is a weak global reference type, the return will be JNIWeakGlobalRefType.

If the argument obj is a global reference type, the return value will be JNIGlobalRefType.

If the argument obj is a local reference type, the return will be JNILocalRefType.

If the obj argument is not a valid reference, the return value for this function will be JNIInvalidRefType.

An invalid reference is a reference which is not a valid handle. That is, the obj pointer address does not point to a location in memory which has been allocated from one of the Ref creation functions or returned from a JNI function.

As such, NULL would be an invalid reference and GetObjectRefType(env,NULL) would return JNIInvalidRefType.

On the other hand, a null reference, which is a reference that points to a null, would return the type of reference that the null reference was originally created as.

GetObjectRefType cannot be used on deleted references.

Since references are typically implemented as pointers to memory data structures that can potentially be reused by any of the reference allocation services in the VM, once deleted, it is not specified what value the GetObjectRefType will return.

SINCE:

JDK/JRE 1.6

IsInstanceOf

jboolean IsInstanceOf(JNIEnv *env, jobject obj,
jclass clazz);

Tests whether an object is an instance of a class.

LINKAGE:

Index 32 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

obj: a Java object.

clazz: a Java class object.

RETURNS:

Returns JNI_TRUE if obj can be cast to clazz; otherwise, returns JNI_FALSE. A NULL object can be cast to any class.

IsSameObject

jboolean IsSameObject(JNIEnv *env, jobject ref1,
jobject ref2);

Tests whether two references refer to the same Java object.

LINKAGE:

Index 24 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

ref1: a Java object.

ref2: a Java object.

RETURNS:

Returns JNI_TRUE if ref1 and ref2 refer to the same Java object, or are both NULL; otherwise, returns JNI_FALSE.

Accessing Fields of Objects

GetFieldID

jfieldID GetFieldID(JNIEnv *env, jclass clazz,
const char *name, const char *sig);

Returns the field ID for an instance (nonstatic) field of a class. The field is specified by its name and signature. The Get<type>Field and Set<type>Field families of accessor functions use field IDs to retrieve object fields.

GetFieldID() causes an uninitialized class to be initialized.

GetFieldID() cannot be used to obtain the length field of an array. Use GetArrayLength() instead.

LINKAGE:

Index 94 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

clazz: a Java class object.

name: the field name in a 0-terminated modified UTF-8 string.

sig: the field signature in a 0-terminated modified UTF-8 string.

RETURNS:

Returns a field ID, or NULL if the operation fails.

THROWS:

NoSuchFieldError: if the specified field cannot be found.

ExceptionInInitializerError: if the class initializer fails due to an exception.

OutOfMemoryError: if the system runs out of memory.

Get<type>Field Routines

NativeType Get<type>Field(JNIEnv *env, jobject obj,
jfieldID fieldID);

This family of accessor routines returns the value of an instance (nonstatic) field of an object. The field to access is specified by a field ID obtained by calling GetFieldID().

The following table describes the Get<type>Field routine name and result type. You should replace type in Get<type>Field with the Java type of the field, or use one of the actual routine names from the table, and replace NativeType with the corresponding native type for that routine.

LINKAGE:

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

obj: a Java object (must not be NULL).

fieldID: a valid field ID.

RETURNS:

Returns the content of the field.

Set<type>Field Routines

void Set<type>Field(JNIEnv *env, jobject obj, jfieldID fieldID,
NativeType value);

This family of accessor routines sets the value of an instance (nonstatic) field of an object. The field to access is specified by a field ID obtained by calling GetFieldID().

The following table describes the Set<type>Field routine name and value type. You should replace type in Set<type>Field with the Java type of the field, or use one of the actual routine names from the table, and replace NativeType with the corresponding native type for that routine.

LINKAGE:

Indices in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

obj: a Java object (must not be NULL).

fieldID: a valid field ID.

value: the new value of the field.

Calling Instance Methods

GetMethodID

jmethodID GetMethodID(JNIEnv *env, jclass clazz,
const char *name, const char *sig);

Returns the method ID for an instance (nonstatic) method of a class or interface. The method may be defined in one of the clazz’s superclasses and inherited by clazz. The method is determined by its name and signature.

GetMethodID() causes an uninitialized class to be initialized.

To obtain the method ID of a constructor, supply <init> as the method name and void (V) as the return type.

LINKAGE:

Index 33 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

clazz: a Java class object.

name: the method name in a 0-terminated modified UTF-8 string.

sig: the method signature in 0-terminated modified UTF-8 string.

RETURNS:

Returns a method ID, or NULL if the specified method cannot be found.

THROWS:

NoSuchMethodError: if the specified method cannot be found.

ExceptionInInitializerError: if the class initializer fails due to an exception.

OutOfMemoryError: if the system runs out of memory.

Call<type>Method Routines
Call<type>MethodA Routines
Call<type>MethodV Routines

NativeType Call<type>Method(JNIEnv *env, jobject obj,
jmethodID methodID, ...);

NativeType Call<type>MethodA(JNIEnv *env, jobject obj,
jmethodID methodID, const jvalue *args);

NativeType Call<type>MethodV(JNIEnv *env, jobject obj,
jmethodID methodID, va_list args);

Methods from these three families of operations are used to call a Java instance method from a native method.They only differ in their mechanism for passing parameters to the methods that they call.

These families of operations invoke an instance (nonstatic) method on a Java object, according to the specified method ID. The methodID argument must be obtained by calling GetMethodID().

When these functions are used to call private methods and constructors, the method ID must be derived from the real class of obj, not from one of its superclasses.

Call<type>Method Routines

Programmers place all arguments that are to be passed to the method immediately following the methodID argument. The Call<type>Method routine accepts these arguments and passes them to the Java method that the programmer wishes to invoke.

Call<type>MethodA Routines

Programmers place all arguments to the method in an args array of jvalues that immediately follows the methodID argument. The Call<type>MethodA routine accepts the arguments in this array, and, in turn, passes them to the Java method that the programmer wishes to invoke.

Call<type>MethodV Routines

Programmers place all arguments to the method in an args argument of type va_list that immediately follows the methodID argument. The Call<type>MethodV routine accepts the arguments, and, in turn, passes them to the Java method that the programmer wishes to invoke.

The following table describes each of the method calling routines according to their result type. You should replace type in Call<type>Method with the Java type of the method you are calling (or use one of the actual method calling routine names from the table) and replace NativeType with the corresponding native type for that routine.

LINKAGE:

Indices in the JNIEnv interface function table:

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

obj: a Java object.

methodID: a method ID.

Additional Parameter for Call<type>Method Routines:

arguments to the Java method.

Additional Parameter for Call<type>MethodA Routines:

args: an array of arguments.

Additional Parameter for Call<type>MethodV Routines:

args: a va_list of arguments.

RETURNS:

Returns the result of calling the Java method.

THROWS:

Exceptions raised during the execution of the Java method.

CallNonvirtual<type>Method Routines
CallNonvirtual<type>MethodA Routines
CallNonvirtual<type>MethodV Routines

NativeType CallNonvirtual<type>Method(JNIEnv *env, jobject obj,
jclass clazz, jmethodID methodID, ...);

NativeType CallNonvirtual<type>MethodA(JNIEnv *env, jobject obj,
jclass clazz, jmethodID methodID, const jvalue *args);

NativeType CallNonvirtual<type>MethodV(JNIEnv *env, jobject obj,
jclass clazz, jmethodID methodID, va_list args);

These families of operations invoke an instance (nonstatic) method on a Java object, according to the specified class and method ID. The methodID argument must be obtained by calling GetMethodID() on the class clazz.

The CallNonvirtual<type>Method families of routines and the Call<type>Method families of routines are different. Call<type>Method routines invoke the method based on the class of the object, while CallNonvirtual<type>Method routines invoke the method based on the class, designated by the clazz parameter, from which the method ID is obtained. The method ID must be obtained from the real class of the object or from one of its superclasses.

CallNonvirtual<type>Method Routines

Programmers place all arguments that are to be passed to the method immediately following the methodID argument. The CallNonvirtual<type>Method routine accepts these arguments and passes them to the Java method that the programmer wishes to invoke.

CallNonvirtual<type>MethodA Routines

Programmers place all arguments to the method in an args array of jvalues that immediately follows the methodID argument. The CallNonvirtual<type>MethodA routine accepts the arguments in this array, and, in turn, passes them to the Java method that the programmer wishes to invoke.

CallNonvirtual<type>MethodV Routines

Programmers place all arguments to the method in an args argument of type va_list that immediately follows the methodID argument. The CallNonvirtualMethodV routine accepts the arguments, and, in turn, passes them to the Java method that the programmer wishes to invoke.

The following table describes each of the method calling routines according to their result type. You should replace type in CallNonvirtual<type>Method with the Java type of the method, or use one of the actual method calling routine names from the table, and replace NativeType with the corresponding native type for that routine.

LINKAGE:

Indices in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

clazz: a Java class.

obj: a Java object.

methodID: a method ID.

Additional Parameter for CallNonvirtual<type>Method Routines:

arguments to the Java method.

Additional Parameter for CallNonvirtual<type>MethodA Routines:

args: an array of arguments.

Additional Parameter for CallNonvirtual<type>MethodV Routines:

args: a va_list of arguments.

RETURNS:

Returns the result of calling the Java method.

THROWS:

Exceptions raised during the execution of the Java method.

Accessing Static Fields

GetStaticFieldID

jfieldID GetStaticFieldID(JNIEnv *env, jclass clazz,
const char *name, const char *sig);

Returns the field ID for a static field of a class. The field is specified by its name and signature. The GetStatic<type>Field and SetStatic<type>Field families of accessor functions use field IDs to retrieve static fields.

GetStaticFieldID() causes an uninitialized class to be initialized.

LINKAGE:

Index 144 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

clazz: a Java class object.

name: the static field name in a 0-terminated modified UTF-8 string.

sig: the field signature in a 0-terminated modified UTF-8 string.

RETURNS:

Returns a field ID, or NULL if the specified static field cannot be found.

THROWS:

NoSuchFieldError: if the specified static field cannot be found.

ExceptionInInitializerError: if the class initializer fails due to an exception.

OutOfMemoryError: if the system runs out of memory.

GetStatic<type>Field Routines

NativeType GetStatic<type>Field(JNIEnv *env, jclass clazz,
jfieldID fieldID);

This family of accessor routines returns the value of a static field of an object. The field to access is specified by a field ID, which is obtained by calling GetStaticFieldID().

The following table describes the family of get routine names and result types. You should replace type in GetStatic<type>Field with the Java type of the field, or one of the actual static field accessor routine names from the table, and replace NativeType with the corresponding native type for that routine.

LINKAGE:

Indices in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

clazz: a Java class object.

fieldID: a static field ID.

RETURNS:

Returns the content of the static field.

SetStatic<type>Field Routines

void SetStatic<type>Field(JNIEnv *env, jclass clazz,
jfieldID fieldID, NativeType value);

This family of accessor routines sets the value of a static field of an object. The field to access is specified by a field ID, which is obtained by calling GetStaticFieldID().

The following table describes the set routine name and value types. You should replace type in SetStatic<type>Field with the Java type of the field, or one of the actual set static field routine names from the table, and replace NativeType with the corresponding native type for that routine.

LINKAGE:

Indices in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

clazz: a Java class object.

fieldID: a static field ID.

value: the new value of the field.

Calling Static Methods

GetStaticMethodID

jmethodID GetStaticMethodID(JNIEnv *env, jclass clazz,
const char *name, const char *sig);

Returns the method ID for a static method of a class. The method is specified by its name and signature.

GetStaticMethodID() causes an uninitialized class to be initialized.

LINKAGE:

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

clazz: a Java class object.

name: the static method name in a 0-terminated modified UTF-8 string.

sig: the method signature in a 0-terminated modified UTF-8 string.

RETURNS:

Returns a method ID, or NULL if the operation fails.

THROWS:

NoSuchMethodError: if the specified static method cannot be found.

ExceptionInInitializerError: if the class initializer fails due to an exception.

OutOfMemoryError: if the system runs out of memory.

CallStatic<type>Method Routines
CallStatic<type>MethodA Routines
CallStatic<type>MethodV Routines

NativeType CallStatic<type>Method(JNIEnv *env, jclass clazz,
jmethodID methodID, ...);

NativeType CallStatic<type>MethodA(JNIEnv *env, jclass clazz,
jmethodID methodID, jvalue *args);

NativeType CallStatic<type>MethodV(JNIEnv *env, jclass clazz,
jmethodID methodID, va_list args);

This family of operations invokes a static method on a Java object, according to the specified method ID. The methodID argument must be obtained by calling GetStaticMethodID().

The method ID must be derived from clazz, not from one of its superclasses.

CallStatic<type>Method Routines

Programmers should place all arguments that are to be passed to the method immediately following the methodID argument. The CallStatic<type>Method routine accepts these arguments and passes them to the Java method that the programmer wishes to invoke.

CallStatic<type>MethodA Routines

Programmers should place all arguments to the method in an args array of jvalues that immediately follows the methodID argument. The CallStaticMethodA routine accepts the arguments in this array, and, in turn, passes them to the Java method that the programmer wishes to invoke.

CallStatic<type>MethodV Routines

Programmers should place all arguments to the method in an args argument of type va_list that immediately follows the methodID argument. The CallStaticMethodV routine accepts the arguments, and, in turn, passes them to the Java method that the programmer wishes to invoke.

The following table describes each of the method calling routines according to their result types. You should replace type in CallStatic<type>Method with the Java type of the method, or one of the actual method calling routine names from the table, and replace NativeType with the corresponding native type for that routine.

LINKAGE:

Indices in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

clazz: a Java class object.

methodID: a static method ID.

Additional Parameter for CallStatic<type>Method Routines:

arguments to the static method.

Additional Parameter for CallStatic<type>MethodA Routines:

args: an array of arguments.

Additional Parameter for CallStatic<type>MethodV Routines:

args: a va_list of arguments.

RETURNS:

Returns the result of calling the static Java method.

THROWS:

Exceptions raised during the execution of the Java method.

String Operations

NewString

jstring NewString(JNIEnv *env, const jchar *unicodeChars,
jsize len);

Constructs a new java.lang.String object from an array of Unicode characters.

LINKAGE:

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

unicodeChars: pointer to a Unicode string.

len: length of the Unicode string.

RETURNS:

Returns a Java string object, or NULL if the string cannot be constructed.

THROWS:

OutOfMemoryError: if the system runs out of memory.

GetStringLength

jsize GetStringLength(JNIEnv *env, jstring string);

Returns the length (the count of Unicode characters) of a Java string.

LINKAGE:

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

string: a Java string object.

RETURNS:

Returns the length of the Java string.

GetStringChars

const jchar * GetStringChars(JNIEnv *env, jstring string,
jboolean *isCopy);

Returns a pointer to the array of Unicode characters of the string. This pointer is valid until ReleaseStringchars() is called.

If isCopy is not NULL, then *isCopy is set to JNI_TRUE if a copy is made; or it is set to JNI_FALSE if no copy is made.

LINKAGE:

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

string: a Java string object.

isCopy: a pointer to a boolean.

RETURNS:

Returns a pointer to a Unicode string, or NULL if the operation fails.

ReleaseStringChars

void ReleaseStringChars(JNIEnv *env, jstring string,
const jchar *chars);

Informs the VM that the native code no longer needs access to chars. The chars argument is a pointer obtained from string using GetStringChars().

LINKAGE:

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

string: a Java string object.

chars: a pointer to a Unicode string.

NewStringUTF

jstring NewStringUTF(JNIEnv *env, const char *bytes);

Constructs a new java.lang.String object from an array of characters in modified UTF-8 encoding.

LINKAGE:

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

bytes: the pointer to a modified UTF-8 string.

RETURNS:

Returns a Java string object, or NULL if the string cannot be constructed.

THROWS:

OutOfMemoryError: if the system runs out of memory.

GetStringUTFLength

jsize GetStringUTFLength(JNIEnv *env, jstring string);

Returns the length in bytes of the modified UTF-8 representation of a string.

LINKAGE:

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

string: a Java string object.

RETURNS:

Returns the UTF-8 length of the string.

GetStringUTFChars

const char * GetStringUTFChars(JNIEnv *env, jstring string,
jboolean *isCopy);

Returns a pointer to an array of bytes representing the string in modified UTF-8 encoding. This array is valid until it is released by ReleaseStringUTFChars().

If isCopy is not NULL, then *isCopy is set to JNI_TRUE if a copy is made; or it is set to JNI_FALSE if no copy is made.

LINKAGE:

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

string: a Java string object.

isCopy: a pointer to a boolean.

RETURNS:

Returns a pointer to a modified UTF-8 string, or NULL if the operation fails.

ReleaseStringUTFChars

void ReleaseStringUTFChars(JNIEnv *env, jstring string,
const char *utf);

Informs the VM that the native code no longer needs access to utf. The utf argument is a pointer derived from string using GetStringUTFChars().

LINKAGE:

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

string: a Java string object.

utf: a pointer to a modified UTF-8 string.

GetStringRegion

void GetStringRegion(JNIEnv *env, jstring str, jsize start, jsize len, jchar *buf);

Copies len number of Unicode characters beginning at offset start to the given buffer buf.

Throws StringIndexOutOfBoundsException on index overflow.

LINKAGE:

SINCE:

JDK/JRE 1.2

GetStringUTFRegion

< void GetStringUTFRegion(JNIEnv *env, jstring str, jsize start, jsize len, char *buf);

Translates len number of Unicode characters beginning at offset start into modified UTF-8 encoding and place the result in the given buffer buf.

Throws StringIndexOutOfBoundsException on index overflow.

LINKAGE:

SINCE:

JDK/JRE 1.2

GetStringCritical
ReleaseStringCritical

const jchar * GetStringCritical(JNIEnv *env, jstring string, jboolean *isCopy);
void ReleaseStringCritical(JNIEnv *env, jstring string, const jchar *carray);

The semantics of these two functions are similar to the existing Get/ReleaseStringChars functions. If possible, the VM returns a pointer to string elements; otherwise, a copy is made. However, there are significant restrictions on how these functions can be used. In a code segment enclosed by Get/ReleaseStringCritical calls, the native code must not issue arbitrary JNI calls, or cause the current thread to block.

The restrictions on Get/ReleaseStringCritical are similar to those on Get/ReleasePrimitiveArrayCritical.

LINKAGE (GetStringCritical):

LINKAGE (ReleaseStingCritical):

SINCE:

JDK/JRE 1.2

Array Operations

GetArrayLength

jsize GetArrayLength(JNIEnv *env, jarray array);

Returns the number of elements in the array.

LINKAGE:

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

array: a Java array object.

RETURNS:

Returns the length of the array.

NewObjectArray

jobjectArray NewObjectArray(JNIEnv *env, jsize length,
jclass elementClass, jobject initialElement);

Constructs a new array holding objects in class elementClass. All elements are initially set to initialElement.

LINKAGE:

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

length: array size.

elementClass: array element class.

initialElement: initialization value.

RETURNS:

Returns a Java array object, or NULL if the array cannot be constructed.

THROWS:

OutOfMemoryError: if the system runs out of memory.

GetObjectArrayElement

jobject GetObjectArrayElement(JNIEnv *env,
jobjectArray array, jsize index);

Returns an element of an Object array.

LINKAGE:

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

array: a Java array.

index: array index.

RETURNS:

Returns a Java object.

THROWS:

ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: if index does not specify a valid index in the array.

SetObjectArrayElement

void SetObjectArrayElement(JNIEnv *env, jobjectArray array,
jsize index, jobject value);

Sets an element of an Object array.

LINKAGE:

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

array: a Java array.

index: array index.

value: the new value.

THROWS:

ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: if index does not specify a valid index in the array.

ArrayStoreException: if the class of value is not a subclass of the element class of the array.

New<PrimitiveType>Array Routines

ArrayType New<PrimitiveType>Array(JNIEnv *env, jsize length);

A family of operations used to construct a new primitive array object. Table 4-8 describes the specific primitive array constructors. You should replace New<PrimitiveType>Array with one of the actual primitive array constructor routine names from the following table, and replace ArrayType with the corresponding array type for that routine.

LINKAGE:

Indices in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

length: the array length.

RETURNS:

Returns a Java array, or NULL if the array cannot be constructed.

Get<PrimitiveType>ArrayElements Routines

NativeType *Get<PrimitiveType>ArrayElements(JNIEnv *env,
ArrayType array, jboolean *isCopy);

A family of functions that returns the body of the primitive array. The result is valid until the corresponding Release<PrimitiveType>ArrayElements() function is called. Since the returned array may be a copy of the Java array, changes made to the returned array will not necessarily be reflected in the original array until Release<PrimitiveType>ArrayElements() is called.

If isCopy is not NULL, then *isCopy is set to JNI_TRUE if a copy is made; or it is set to JNI_FALSE if no copy is made.

The following table describes the specific primitive array element accessors. You should make the following substitutions:

Regardless of how boolean arrays are represented in the Java VM, GetBooleanArrayElements() always returns a pointer to jbooleans, with each byte denoting an element (the unpacked representation). All arrays of other types are guaranteed to be contiguous in memory.

LINKAGE:

Indices in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

array: a Java string object.

isCopy: a pointer to a boolean.

RETURNS:

Returns a pointer to the array elements, or NULL if the operation fails.

Release<PrimitiveType>ArrayElements Routines

void Release<PrimitiveType>ArrayElements(JNIEnv *env,
ArrayType array, NativeType *elems, jint mode);

A family of functions that informs the VM that the native code no longer needs access to elems. The elems argument is a pointer derived from array using the corresponding Get<PrimitiveType>ArrayElements() function. If necessary, this function copies back all changes made to elems to the original array.

The mode argument provides information on how the array buffer should be released. mode has no effect if elems is not a copy of the elements in array. Otherwise, mode has the following impact, as shown in the following table:

In most cases, programmers pass “0” to the mode argument to ensure consistent behavior for both pinned and copied arrays. The other options give the programmer more control over memory management and should be used with extreme care.

The next table describes the specific routines that comprise the family of primitive array disposers. You should make the following substitutions:

LINKAGE:

Indices in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

array: a Java array object.

elems: a pointer to array elements.

mode: the release mode.

Get<PrimitiveType>ArrayRegion Routines

void Get<PrimitiveType>ArrayRegion(JNIEnv *env, ArrayType array,
jsize start, jsize len, NativeType *buf);

A family of functions that copies a region of a primitive array into a buffer.

The following table describes the specific primitive array element accessors. You should do the following substitutions:

LINKAGE:

Indices in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

array: a Java array.

start: the starting index.

len: the number of elements to be copied.

buf: the destination buffer.

THROWS:

ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: if one of the indexes in the region is not valid.

Set<PrimitiveType>ArrayRegion Routines

void Set<PrimitiveType>ArrayRegion(JNIEnv *env, ArrayType array,
jsize start, jsize len, const NativeType *buf);

A family of functions that copies back a region of a primitive array from a buffer.

The following table describes the specific primitive array element accessors. You should make the following replacements:

LINKAGE:

Indices in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

array: a Java array.

start: the starting index.

len: the number of elements to be copied.

buf: the source buffer.

THROWS:

ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: if one of the indexes in the region is not valid.

GetPrimitiveArrayCritical
ReleasePrimitiveArrayCritical

void * GetPrimitiveArrayCritical(JNIEnv *env, jarray array, jboolean *isCopy);
void ReleasePrimitiveArrayCritical(JNIEnv *env, jarray array, void *carray, jint mode);

The semantics of these two functions are very similar to the existing Get/Release<primitivetype>ArrayElements functions. If possible, the VM returns a pointer to the primitive array; otherwise, a copy is made. However, there are significant restrictions on how these functions can be used.

After calling GetPrimitiveArrayCritical, the native code should not run for an extended period of time before it calls ReleasePrimitiveArrayCritical. We must treat the code inside this pair of functions as running in a "critical region." Inside a critical region, native code must not call other JNI functions, or any system call that may cause the current thread to block and wait for another Java thread. (For example, the current thread must not call read on a stream being written by another Java thread.)

These restrictions make it more likely that the native code will obtain an uncopied version of the array, even if the VM does not support pinning. For example, a VM may temporarily disable garbage collection when the native code is holding a pointer to an array obtained via GetPrimitiveArrayCritical.

Multiple pairs of GetPrimtiveArrayCritical and ReleasePrimitiveArrayCritical may be nested. For example:

  jint len = (*env)->GetArrayLength(env, arr1);
  jbyte *a1 = (*env)->GetPrimitiveArrayCritical(env, arr1, 0);
  jbyte *a2 = (*env)->GetPrimitiveArrayCritical(env, arr2, 0);
  /* We need to check in case the VM tried to make a copy. */
  if (a1 == NULL || a2 == NULL) {
    ... /* out of memory exception thrown */
  }
  memcpy(a1, a2, len);
  (*env)->ReleasePrimitiveArrayCritical(env, arr2, a2, 0);
  (*env)->ReleasePrimitiveArrayCritical(env, arr1, a1, 0);

Note that GetPrimitiveArrayCritical might still make a copy of the array if the VM internally represents arrays in a different format. Therefore we need to check its return value against NULL for possible out of memory situations.

LINKAGE (GetPrimitiveArrayCritical):

Linkage Index 222 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

LINKAGE (ReleasePrimitiveArrayCritical):

Linkage Index 223 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

SINCE:

JDK/JRE 1.2

Registering Native Methods

RegisterNatives

jint RegisterNatives(JNIEnv *env, jclass clazz,
const JNINativeMethod *methods, jint nMethods);

Registers native methods with the class specified by the clazz argument. The methods parameter specifies an array of JNINativeMethod structures that contain the names, signatures, and function pointers of the native methods. The name and signature fields of the JNINativeMethod structure are pointers to modified UTF-8 strings. The nMethods parameter specifies the number of native methods in the array. The JNINativeMethod structure is defined as follows:

typedef struct { 

    char *name; 

    char *signature; 

    void *fnPtr; 

} JNINativeMethod; 

The function pointers nominally must have the following signature:

ReturnType (*fnPtr)(JNIEnv *env, jobject objectOrClass, ...); 

LINKAGE:

Index 215 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

clazz: a Java class object.

methods: the native methods in the class.

nMethods: the number of native methods in the class.

RETURNS:

Returns “0” on success; returns a negative value on failure.

THROWS:

NoSuchMethodError: if a specified method cannot be found or if the method is not native.

UnregisterNatives

jint UnregisterNatives(JNIEnv *env, jclass clazz);

Unregisters native methods of a class. The class goes back to the state before it was linked or registered with its native method functions.

This function should not be used in normal native code. Instead, it provides special programs a way to reload and relink native libraries.

LINKAGE:

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

clazz: a Java class object.

RETURNS:

Returns “0” on success; returns a negative value on failure.

Monitor Operations

MonitorEnter

jint MonitorEnter(JNIEnv *env, jobject obj);

Enters the monitor associated with the underlying Java object referred to by obj.

Each Java object has a monitor associated with it. If the current thread already owns the monitor associated with obj, it increments a counter in the monitor indicating the number of times this thread has entered the monitor. If the monitor associated with obj is not owned by any thread, the current thread becomes the owner of the monitor, setting the entry count of this monitor to 1. If another thread already owns the monitor associated with obj, the current thread waits until the monitor is released, then tries again to gain ownership.

A monitor entered through a MonitorEnter JNI function call cannot be exited using the monitorexit Java virtual machine instruction or a synchronized method return. A MonitorEnter JNI function call and a monitorenter Java virtual machine instruction may race to enter the monitor associated with the same object.

To avoid deadlocks, a monitor entered through a MonitorEnter JNI function call must be exited using the MonitorExit JNI call, unless the DetachCurrentThread call is used to implicitly release JNI monitors.

LINKAGE:

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

obj: a normal Java object or class object.

RETURNS:

Returns “0” on success; returns a negative value on failure.

MonitorExit

jint MonitorExit(JNIEnv *env, jobject obj);

The current thread must be the owner of the monitor associated with the underlying Java object referred to by obj. The thread decrements the counter indicating the number of times it has entered this monitor. If the value of the counter becomes zero, the current thread releases the monitor.

Native code must not use MonitorExit to exit a monitor entered through a synchronized method or a monitorenter Java virtual machine instruction.

LINKAGE:

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

obj: a normal Java object or class object.

RETURNS:

Returns “0” on success; returns a negative value on failure.

EXCEPTIONS:

IllegalMonitorStateException: if the current thread does not own the monitor.

NIO Support

The NIO-related entry points allow native code to access java.nio direct buffers. The contents of a direct buffer can, potentially, reside in native memory outside of the ordinary garbage-collected heap. For information about direct buffers, please see New I/O APIs and the specification of the java.nio.ByteBuffer class.

• NewDirectByteBuffer
• GetDirectBufferAddress
• GetDirectBufferCapacity

Every implementation of the Java virtual machine must support these functions, but not every implementation is required to support JNI access to direct buffers. If a JVM does not support such access then the NewDirectByteBuffer and GetDirectBufferAddress functions must always return NULL, and the GetDirectBufferCapacity function must always return -1. If a JVM does support such access then these three functions must be implemented to return the appropriate values.

NewDirectByteBuffer

jobject NewDirectByteBuffer(JNIEnv* env, void* address, jlong capacity);

Allocates and returns a direct java.nio.ByteBuffer referring to the block of memory starting at the memory address address and extending capacity bytes.

Native code that calls this function and returns the resulting byte-buffer object to Java-level code should ensure that the buffer refers to a valid region of memory that is accessible for reading and, if appropriate, writing. An attempt to access an invalid memory location from Java code will either return an arbitrary value, have no visible effect, or cause an unspecified exception to be thrown.

LINKAGE:

Index 229 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNIEnv interface pointer

address: the starting address of the memory region (must not be NULL)

capacity: the size in bytes of the memory region (must be positive)

RETURNS:

Returns a local reference to the newly-instantiated java.nio.ByteBuffer object. Returns NULL if an exception occurs, or if JNI access to direct buffers is not supported by this virtual machine.

EXCEPTIONS:

OutOfMemoryError: if allocation of the ByteBuffer object fails

SINCE:

JDK/JRE 1.4

GetDirectBufferAddress

void* GetDirectBufferAddress(JNIEnv* env, jobject buf);

Fetches and returns the starting address of the memory region referenced by the given direct java.nio.Buffer.

This function allows native code to access the same memory region that is accessible to Java code via the buffer object.

LINKAGE:

Index 230 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNIEnv interface pointer

buf: a direct java.nio.Buffer object (must not be NULL)

RETURNS:

Returns the starting address of the memory region referenced by the buffer. Returns NULL if the memory region is undefined, if the given object is not a direct java.nio.Buffer, or if JNI access to direct buffers is not supported by this virtual machine.

SINCE:

JDK/JRE 1.4

GetDirectBufferCapacity

jlong GetDirectBufferCapacity(JNIEnv* env, jobject buf);

Fetches and returns the capacity of the memory region referenced by the given direct java.nio.Buffer. The capacity is the number of elements that the memory region contains.

LINKAGE:

Index 231 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNIEnv interface pointer

buf: a direct java.nio.Buffer object (must not be NULL)

RETURNS:

Returns the capacity of the memory region associated with the buffer. Returns -1 if the given object is not a direct java.nio.Buffer, if the object is an unaligned view buffer and the processor architecture does not support unaligned access, or if JNI access to direct buffers is not supported by this virtual machine.

SINCE:

JDK/JRE 1.4

Reflection Support

Programmers can use the JNI to call Java methods or access Java fields if they know the name and type of the methods or fields. The Java Core Reflection API allows programmers to introspect Java classes at runtime. JNI provides a set of conversion functions between field and method IDs used in the JNI to field and method objects used in the Java Core Reflection API.

FromReflectedMethod

jmethodID FromReflectedMethod(JNIEnv *env, jobject method);

Converts a java.lang.reflect.Method or java.lang.reflect.Constructor object to a method ID.

LINKAGE:

Index 7 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

SINCE:

JDK/JRE 1.2

FromReflectedField

jfieldID FromReflectedField(JNIEnv *env, jobject field);

Converts a java.lang.reflect.Field to a field ID.

LINKAGE:

SINCE:

JDK/JRE 1.2

ToReflectedMethod

jobject ToReflectedMethod(JNIEnv *env, jclass cls,
   jmethodID methodID, jboolean isStatic);

Converts a method ID derived from cls to a java.lang.reflect.Method or java.lang.reflect.Constructor object. isStatic must be set to JNI_TRUE if the method ID refers to a static field, and JNI_FALSE otherwise.

Throws OutOfMemoryError and returns 0 if fails.

LINKAGE:

Index 9 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

SINCE:

JDK/JRE 1.2

ToReflectedField

jobject ToReflectedField(JNIEnv *env, jclass cls,
   jfieldID fieldID, jboolean isStatic);

Converts a field ID derived from cls to a java.lang.reflect.Field object. isStatic must be set to JNI_TRUE if fieldID refers to a static field, and JNI_FALSE otherwise.

Throws OutOfMemoryError and returns 0 if fails.

LINKAGE:

Index 12 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

SINCE:

JDK/JRE 1.2

Java VM Interface

GetJavaVM

jint GetJavaVM(JNIEnv *env, JavaVM **vm);

Returns the Java VM interface (used in the Invocation API) associated with the current thread. The result is placed at the location pointed to by the second argument, vm.

LINKAGE:

Index 219 in the JNIEnv interface function table.

PARAMETERS:

env: the JNI interface pointer.

vm: a pointer to where the result should be placed.

RETURNS:

Returns “0” on success; returns a negative value on failure.