arsd.jni

Provides easy interoperability with Java code through JNI.

Given this Java:

class Hello {
	public native void hi(String s);
	public native String stringFromJNI();
	public native String returnNull();
	public native void throwException();
	static {
		System.loadLibrary("myjni");
	}
	public static void main(String[] args) {
		System.out.println("Hello from Java!");
		Hello h = new Hello();
		// we can pass data back and forth normally
		h.hi("jni");
		System.out.println(h.stringFromJNI());
		System.out.println(h.returnNull()); // it can handle null too
		// and even forward exceptions (sort of, it puts it in a RuntimeException right now)
		h.throwException();
	}

	public void printMember() {
		System.out.println("Member: " + member);
	}
	public int member;
}

And this D:

import arsd.jni;

// if it was in a Java package, you'd pass that
// in the string here instead of "".
final class Hello : JavaClass!("", Hello) {

	@Export string stringFromJNI() {
		return "hey, D returned this";
	}

	@Export string returnNull() {
		return null;
	}

	@Export void throwException() {
		throw new Exception("exception from D");
	}

	@Export void hi(string name) {
		import std.stdio;
		writefln("hello from D, %s", name);
	}

	// D can also access Java methods
	@Import void printMember();

	// and fields, as properties
	@Import @property int member(); // getter for java's `int member`
	@Import @property void member(int); // setter for java's `int member`
}

version(Windows) {
	import core.sys.windows.dll;
	mixin SimpleDllMain;
}

We can:

$ javac Hello.java
$ dmd -shared myjni.d jni.d # compile into a shared lib
$ LD_LIBRARY_PATH=. java Hello
Hello from Java!
hello from D, jni
hey, D returned this
null
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.RuntimeException: object.Exception@myjni.d(14): exception from D
----------------
??:? void myjni.Hello.throwException() [0x7f51d86dc17b]
??:? Java_Hello_throwException [0x7f51d86dd3e0]
??:? [0x7f51dd018406]
??:? [0x7f51dd007ffc]
??:? [0x7f51dd0004e6]
??:? [0x7f51f16b0709]
??:? [0x7f51f16c1339]
??:? [0x7f51f16d208d]
??:? [0x7f51f1f97058]
??:? [0x7f51f1fae06a]
	at Hello.throwException(Native Method)
	at Hello.main(Hello.java:17)

Please note: on Windows, use -m32mscoff or -m64 when compiling with dmd.

Exact details subject to change, especially of how I pass the exceptions over.

It is also possible to call Java methods and create Java objects from D with the @Import uda.

While you can write pretty ordinary looking D code, there's some things to keep in mind for safety and efficiency.

It is YOUR responsibility to make sure parameter and return types match between D and Java. The library will static assert given unrepresentable types, but it cannot see what Java actually expects. Getting this wrong can lead to memory corruption and crashes.

All JavaClass sub-objects should be marked final on the D side. Java may subclass them, but D can't (at least not now).

Do not use default arguments on the exported methods. No promise the wrapper will do what you want when called from Java.

You may choose to only import JavaClass from here to minimize the namespace pollution.

Constructing Java objects works and it will pin it. Just remember that this inside a method is still subject to escaping restrictions!