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Trail: Java Native Interface

by Beth Stearns

The lessons in this trail show you how to integrate native code with programs written in Java. You will learn how to write native methods. Native methods are methods implemented in another programming language such as C.

The JNI is for programmers who must take advantage of platform-specific functionality outside of the Java Virtual Machine. Because of this, it is recommended that only experienced programmers should attempt to write native methods or use the Invocation API!

Overview of the JNI begins with an introduction to the JNI concepts.

Writing Java Programs with Native Methods describes how to compile and run a Java program with a native method. It walks you step by step through a simple example (the "Hello World!" of native methods) to illustrate how to write, compile, and run a Java program that includes native methods.

Integrating Java and Native Programs shows you how to map Java types to native types. This lesson includes information about passing arguments of various data types into a native method and returning values of various data types from a native method. It also shows how to implement a native method within a Java program.

Interacting with Java from the Native Side describes many useful functions that your native language code can use to access Java objects and their members, create Java objects, throw exceptions, and more.

Invoking the Java Virtual Machine explains how to invoke the Java Virtual Machine from your native application.

Summary of the JNI lists the JNI methods and mapping tables to remind you of what you've learned.

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Note: Available now from amazon.com

For more complete information, refer to the new book, The JavaTM Native Interface: Programmer's Guide and Specification written by Sheng Liang. Published by Addison Wesley Longman, Inc. June 1999. This book is the definitive resource and a comprehensive guide to working with the JNI. Entirely up-to-date, the book offers a tutorial, a detailed description of JNI features and programming techniques, JNI design justifications, and the official specification for all JNI types and functions.

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Security consideration:  Note that the ability to load dynamic libraries is subject to approval by the current security manager. When working with native methods, you must load dynamic libraries. Some applets may not be able to use native methods because the browser or viewer they are running in restricts the ability to load dynamic libraries. See Security Restrictions for information about the security restrictions placed on applets.

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Note: MacOS programmers should refer to MacOS Runtime for Java.

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