idlj(1) Java IDL and RMI-IIOP Tools idlj(1)NAMEidlj - Generates Java bindings for a specified Interface Definition
Language (IDL) file.
SYNOPSISidlj [ options ] idlfile
options
The command-line options. See Options. Options can appear in any
order, but must precede the idlfile.
idlfile
The name of a file that contains Interface Definition Language
(IDL) definitions.
DESCRIPTION
The IDL-to-Java Compiler generates the Java bindings for a specified
IDL file. For binding details, see Java IDL: IDL to Java Language
Mapping at
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/technotes/guides/idl/mapping/jidlMapping.html
Some earlier releases of the IDL-to-Java compiler were named idltojava.
EMIT CLIENT AND SERVER BINDINGS
The following idlj command generates an IDL file named My.idl with
client-side bindings.
idlj My.idl
The previous syntax is equivalent to the following:
idlj-fclient My.idl
The next example generates the server-side bindings, and includes the
client-side bindings plus the skeleton, all of which are POA
(Inheritance Model).
idlg -fserver My.idl
If you want to generate both client and server-side bindings, then use
one of the following (equivalent) commands:
idlj-fclient -fserver My.idl
idlj-fall My.idl
There are two possible server-side models: the Portal Servant
Inheritance Model and the Tie Model. See Tie Delegation Model.
Portable Servant Inheritance Model. The default server-side model is
the Portable Servant Inheritance Model. Given an interface My defined
in My.idl, the file MyPOA.java is generated. You must provide the
implementation for the My interface, and the My interface must inherit
from the MyPOA class. MyPOA.java is a stream-based skeleton that
extends the org.omg.PortableServer.Servant class at
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/org/omg/PortableServer/Servant.html
The My interface implements the callHandler interface and the
operations interface associated with the IDL interface the skeleton
implements.The PortableServer module for the Portable Object Adapter
(POA) defines the native Servant type. See Portable Object Adapter
(POA) at
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/technotes/guides/idl/POA.html In
the Java programming language, the Servant type is mapped to the Java
org.omg.PortableServer.Servant class. It serves as the base class for
all POA servant implementations and provides a number of methods that
can be called by the application programmer, and methods that are
called by the POA and that can be overridden by the user to control
aspects of servant behavior.Another option for the Inheritance Model is
to use the -oldImplBase flag to generate server-side bindings that are
compatible with releases of the Java programming language before Java
SE 1.4. The -oldImplBase flag is nonstandard, and these APIs are
deprecated. You would use this flag only for compatibility with
existing servers written in Java SE 1.3. In that case, you would need
to modify an existing make file to add the -oldImplBase flag to the
idlj compiler. Otherwise POA-based server-side mappings are generated.
To generate server-side bindings that are backward compatible, do the
following:
idlj-fclient -fserver -oldImplBase My.idl
idlj-fall -oldImplBase My.idl
Given an interface My defined in My.idl, the file _MyImplBase.java is
generated. You must provide the implementation for the My interface,
and the My interface must inherit from the _MyImplBase class.
Tie Delegation Model. The other server-side model is called the Tie
Model. This is a delegation model. Because it is not possible to
generate ties and skeletons at the same time, they must be generated
separately. The following commands generate the bindings for the Tie
Model:
idlj-fall My.idl
idlj-fallTIE My.idl
For the My interface, the second command generates MyPOATie.java. The
constructor to the MyPOATie class takes a delegate. In this example,
using the default POA model, the constructor also needs a POA. You must
provide the implementation for the delegate, but it does not have to
inherit from any other class, only the interface MyOperations. To use
it with the ORB, you must wrap your implementation within the MyPOATie
class, for example:
ORB orb = ORB.init(args, System.getProperties());
// Get reference to rootpoa & activate the POAManager
POA rootpoa = (POA)orb.resolve_initial_references("RootPOA");
rootpoa.the_POAManager().activate();
// create servant and register it with the ORB
MyServant myDelegate = new MyServant();
myDelegate.setORB(orb);
// create a tie, with servant being the delegate.
MyPOATie tie = new MyPOATie(myDelegate, rootpoa);
// obtain the objectRef for the tie
My ref = tie._this(orb);
You might want to use the Tie model instead of the typical Inheritance
model when your implementation must inherit from some other
implementation. Java allows any number of interface inheritance, but
there is only one slot for class inheritance. If you use the
inheritance model, then that slot is used up. With the Tie Model, that
slot is freed up for your own use. The drawback is that it introduces a
level of indirection: one extra method call occurs when a method is
called.
For server-side generation, Tie model bindings that are compatible with
versions of the IDL to Java language mapping in versions earlier than
Java SE 1.4.
idlj-oldImplBase -fall My.idl
idlj-oldImplBase -fallTIE My.idl
For the My interface, the this generates My_Tie.java. The constructor
to the My_Tie class takes an impl object. You must provide the
implementation for impl, but it does not have to inherit from any other
class, only the interface HelloOperations. But to use it with the ORB,
you must wrap your implementation within My_Tie, for example:
ORB orb = ORB.init(args, System.getProperties());
// create servant and register it with the ORB
MyServant myDelegate = new MyServant();
myDelegate.setORB(orb);
// create a tie, with servant being the delegate.
MyPOATie tie = new MyPOATie(myDelegate);
// obtain the objectRef for the tie
My ref = tie._this(orb);
SPECIFY ALTERNATE LOCATIONS FOR EMITTED FILES
If you want to direct the emitted files to a directory other than the
current directory, then call the compiler this way: idlj-td /altdir
My.idl.
For the My interface, the bindings are emitted to /altdir/My.java,
etc., instead of ./My.java.
SPECIFY ALTERNATE LOCATIONS FOR INCLUDE FILES
If the My.idl file includes another idl file, MyOther.idl, then the
compiler assumes that the MyOther.idl file resides in the local
directory. If it resides in /includes, for example, then you call the
compiler with the following command:
idlj-i /includes My.idl
If My.idl also included Another.idl that resided in /moreIncludes, for
example, then you call the compiler with the following command:
idlj-i /includes -i /moreIncludes My.idl
Because this form of include can become long, another way to indicate
to the compiler where to search for included files is provided. This
technique is similar to the idea of an environment variable. Create a
file named idl.config in a directory that is listed in your CLASSPATH
variable. Inside of idl.config, provide a line with the following form:
includes=/includes;/moreIncludes
The compiler will find this file and read in the includes list. Note
that in this example the separator character between the two
directories is a semicolon (;). This separator character is platform
dependent. On the Windows platform, use a semicolon, on the Unix
platform, use a colon, and so on.
EMIT BINDINGS FOR INCLUDE FILES
By default, only those interfaces, structures, and so on, that are
defined in the idl file on the command line have Java bindings
generated for them. The types defined in included files are not
generated. For example, assume the following two idl files:
My.idl file:
#include <MyOther.idl>
interface My
{
};
MyOther.idl file:
interface MyOther
{
};
There is a caveat to the default rule. Any #include statements that
appear at the global scope are treated as described. These #include
statements can be thought of as import statements. The #include
statements that appear within an enclosed scope are treated as true
#include statements, which means that the code within the included file
is treated as though it appeared in the original file and, therefore,
Java bindings are emitted for it. Here is an example:
My.idl file:
#include <MyOther.idl>
interface My
{
#include <Embedded.idl>
};
MyOther.idl file:
interface MyOther
{
};
Embedded.idl
enum E {one, two, three};
Runidlj My.idlto generate the following list of Java files. Notice that
MyOther.java is not generated because it is defined in an import-like
#include. But E.java was generated because it was defined in a true
#include. Notice that because the Embedded.idl file is included within
the scope of the interface My, it appears within the scope of My (in
MyPackage). If the -emitAll flag had been used, then all types in all
included files would have been emitted.
./MyHolder.java
./MyHelper.java
./_MyStub.java
./MyPackage
./MyPackage/EHolder.java
./MyPackage/EHelper.java
./MyPackage/E.java
./My.java
INSERT PACKAGE PREFIXES
Suppose that you work for a company named ABC that has constructed the
following IDL file:
Widgets.idl file:
module Widgets
{
interface W1 {...};
interface W2 {...};
};
If you run this file through the IDL-to-Java compiler, then the Java
bindings for W1 and W2 are placed within the Widgets package. There is
an industry convention that states that a company's packages should
reside within a package named com.<company name>. To follow this
convention, the package name should be com.abc.Widgets. To place this
package prefix onto the Widgets module, execute the following:
idlj-pkgPrefix Widgets com.abc Widgets.idl
If you have an IDL file that includes Widgets.idl, then the -pkgPrefix
flag must appear in that command also. If it does not, then your IDL
file will be looking for a Widgets package rather than a
com.abc.Widgets package.
If you have a number of these packages that require prefixes, then it
might be easier to place them into the idl.config file described
previously. Each package prefix line should be of the form:
PkgPrefix.<type>=<prefix>. The line for the previous example would be
PkgPrefix.Widgets=com.abc. This option does not affect the Repository
ID.
DEFINE SYMBOLS BEFORE COMPILATION
You might need to define a symbol for compilation that is not defined
within the IDL file, perhaps to include debugging code in the bindings.
The command idlj-d MYDEF My.idlis equivalent to putting the line
#define MYDEF inside My.idl.
PRESERVE PREEXISTING BINDINGS
If the Java binding files already exist, then the -keep flag keeps the
compiler from overwriting them. The default is to generate all files
without considering that they already exist. If you have customized
those files (which you should not do unless you are very comfortable
with their contents), then the -keep option is very useful. The command
idlj-keep My.idl emits all client-side bindings that do not already
exist.
VIEW COMPILATION PROGRESS
The IDL-to-Java compiler generates status messages as it progresses
through its phases of execution. Use the -v option to activate the
verbose mode: idlj-v My.idl.
By default the compiler does not operate in verbose mode
DISPLAY VERSION INFORMATION
To display the build version of the IDL-to-Java compiler, specify the
-version option on the command-line: idlj-version.
Version information also appears within the bindings generated by the
compiler. Any additional options appearing on the command-line are
ignored.
OPTIONS-d symbol
This is equivalent to the following line in an IDL file:
#define symbol
-demitAll
Emit all types, including those found in #include files.
-fside
Defines what bindings to emit. The side parameter can be client,
server, serverTIE, all, or allTIE. The -fserverTIE and -fallTIE
options cause delegate model skeletons to be emitted. Defaults
to -fclient when the flag is not specified.
-i include-path
By default, the current directory is scanned for included files.
This option adds another directory.
-i keep
If a file to be generated already exists, then do not overwrite
it. By default it is overwritten.
-noWarn
Suppress warning messages.
-oldImplBase
Generates skeletons compatible with pre-1.4 JDK ORBs. By
default, the POA Inheritance Model server-side bindings are
generated. This option provides backward-compatibility with
earlier releases of the Java programming language by generating
server-side bindings that are ImplBase Inheritance Model
classes.
-pkgPrefix typeprefix
Wherever type is encountered at file scope, prefix the generated
Java package name with prefix for all files generated for that
type. The type is the simple name of either a top-level module,
or an IDL type defined outside of any module.
-pkgTranslate typepackage
Whenever the module name type is encountered in an identifier,
replace it in the identifier with package for all files in the
generated Java package. Note that pkgPrefix changes are made
first. The type value is the simple name of either a top-level
module, or an IDL type defined outside of any module and must
match the full package name exactly.
If more than one translation matches an identifier, then the
longest match is chosen as shown in the following example:
Command:
pkgTranslate type pkg -pkgTranslate type2.baz pkg2.fizz
Resulting Translation:
type => pkg
type.ext => pkg.ext
type.baz => pkg2.fizz
type2.baz.pkg => pkg2.fizz.pkg
The following package names org, org.omg, or any subpackages of
org.omg cannot be translated. Any attempt to translate these
packages results in uncompilable code, and the use of these
packages as the first argument after -pkgTranslate is treated as
an error.
-skeletonName xxx%yyy
Use xxx%yyy as the pattern for naming the skeleton. The defaults
are: %POA for the POA base class (-fserver or -fall), and
_%ImplBase for the oldImplBase class (-oldImplBase) and
(-fserver or -fall)).
-td dir
Use dir for the output directory instead of the current
directory.
-tieName xxx%yyy
Use xxx%yyy according to the pattern. The defaults are: %POA for
the POA base class (-fserverTie or -fallTie), and _%Tie for the
oldImplBase tie class (-oldImplBase) and (-fserverTie or
-fallTie))
-nowarn, -verbose
Displays release information and terminates.
-version
Displays release information and terminates.
RESTRICTIONS
Escaped identifiers in the global scope cannot have the same spelling
as IDL primitive types, Object, or ValueBase. This is because the
symbol table is preloaded with these identifiers. Allowing them to be
redefined would overwrite their original definitions. Possible
permanent restriction.
The fixed IDL type is not supported.
KNOWN PROBLEMS
No import is generated for global identifiers. If you call an
unexported local impl object, then you do get an exception, but it
seems to be due to a NullPointerException in the ServerDelegate DSI
code.
JDK 8 21 November 2013 idlj(1)
