SecureClassLoader
public abstract class ClassLoader extends Object
ClassLoader
is an abstract class. Given the binary name of a class, a class loader should attempt to locate or generate data that constitutes a definition for the class. A typical strategy is to transform the name into a file name and then read a "class file" of that name from a file system. Every Class
object contains a reference
to the ClassLoader
that defined it.
Class
objects for array classes are not created by class loaders, but are created automatically as required by the Java runtime. The class loader for an array class, as returned by Class.getClassLoader()
is the same as the class loader for its element type; if the element type is a primitive type, then the array class has no class loader.
Applications implement subclasses of ClassLoader
in order to extend the manner in which the Java virtual machine dynamically loads classes.
Class loaders may typically be used by security managers to indicate security domains.
In addition to loading classes, a class loader is also responsible for locating resources. A resource is some data (a ".class
" file, configuration data, or an image for example) that is identified with an abstract '/'-separated path name. Resources are typically packaged with an application or library so that they can be located by code in the application or library. In some cases, the resources are included so that they can be located by other libraries.
The ClassLoader
class uses a delegation model to search for classes and resources. Each instance of ClassLoader
has an associated parent class loader. When requested to find a class or resource, a ClassLoader
instance will usually delegate the search for the class or resource to its parent class loader before attempting to find the class or resource itself.
Class loaders that support concurrent loading of classes are known as parallel capable class loaders and are required to register themselves at their class initialization time by invoking the ClassLoader.registerAsParallelCapable
method. Note that the ClassLoader
class is registered as parallel capable by default. However, its subclasses still need to register themselves if they are parallel capable. In environments in which the delegation model is not strictly hierarchical, class loaders need to be parallel capable, otherwise class loading can lead to deadlocks because the loader lock is held for the duration of the class loading process (see loadClass
methods).
Bootstrap class loader. It is the virtual machine's built-in class loader, typically represented as null
, and does not have a parent.
Platform class loader. The platform class loader is responsible for loading the platform classes. Platform classes include Java SE platform APIs, their implementation classes and JDK-specific run-time classes that are defined by the platform class loader or its ancestors. The platform class loader can be used as the parent of a ClassLoader
instance.
To allow for upgrading/overriding of modules defined to the platform class loader, and where upgraded modules read modules defined to class loaders other than the platform class loader and its ancestors, then the platform class loader may have to delegate to other class loaders, the application class loader for example. In other words, classes in named modules defined to class loaders other than the platform class loader and its ancestors may be visible to the platform class loader.
System class loader. It is also known as application class loader and is distinct from the platform class loader. The system class loader is typically used to define classes on the application class path, module path, and JDK-specific tools. The platform class loader is the parent or an ancestor of the system class loader, so the system class loader can load platform classes by delegating to its parent.
Normally, the Java virtual machine loads classes from the local file system in a platform-dependent manner. However, some classes may not originate from a file; they may originate from other sources, such as the network, or they could be constructed by an application. The method defineClass
converts an array of bytes into an instance of class Class
. Instances of this newly defined class can be created using Class.newInstance
.
The methods and constructors of objects created by a class loader may reference other classes. To determine the class(es) referred to, the Java virtual machine invokes the loadClass
method of the class loader that originally created the class.
For example, an application could create a network class loader to download class files from a server. Sample code might look like:
ClassLoader loader = new NetworkClassLoader(host, port); Object main = loader.loadClass("Main", true).newInstance(); . . .
The network class loader subclass must define the methods findClass
and loadClassData
to load a class from the network. Once it has downloaded the bytes that make up the class, it should use the method defineClass
to create a class instance. A sample implementation is:
class NetworkClassLoader extends ClassLoader { String host; int port; public Class findClass(String name) { byte[] b = loadClassData(name); return defineClass(name, b, 0, b.length); } private byte[] loadClassData(String name) { // load the class data from the connection . . . } }
Any class name provided as a String
parameter to methods in ClassLoader
must be a binary name as defined by The Java Language Specification.
Examples of valid class names include:
"java.lang.String" "javax.swing.JSpinner$DefaultEditor" "java.security.KeyStore$Builder$FileBuilder$1" "java.net.URLClassLoader$3$1"
Any package name provided as a String
parameter to methods in ClassLoader
must be either the empty string (denoting an unnamed package) or a fully qualified name as defined by The Java Language Specification.
Modifier | Constructor | Description |
---|---|---|
protected |
Creates a new class loader using the ClassLoader returned by the method getSystemClassLoader() as the parent class loader. |
|
protected |
Creates a new class loader using the specified parent class loader for delegation. |
|
protected |
Creates a new class loader of the specified name and using the specified parent class loader for delegation. |
Modifier and Type | Method | Description |
---|---|---|
void |
clearAssertionStatus() |
Sets the default assertion status for this class loader to false and discards any package defaults or class assertion status settings associated with the class loader. |
protected final Class |
defineClass |
Deprecated. |
protected final Class |
defineClass |
Converts an array of bytes into an instance of class Class . |
protected final Class |
defineClass |
Converts an array of bytes into an instance of class Class , with a given ProtectionDomain . |
protected final Class |
defineClass |
|
protected Package |
definePackage |
Defines a package by name in this ClassLoader . |
protected Class |
findClass |
Finds the class with the specified binary name. |
protected Class |
findClass |
Finds the class with the given binary name in a module defined to this class loader. |
protected String |
findLibrary |
Returns the absolute path name of a native library. |
protected final Class |
findLoadedClass |
Returns the class with the given binary name if this loader has been recorded by the Java virtual machine as an initiating loader of a class with that binary name. |
protected URL |
findResource |
Finds the resource with the given name. |
protected URL |
findResource |
Returns a URL to a resource in a module defined to this class loader. |
protected Enumeration |
findResources |
Returns an enumeration of URL objects representing all the resources with the given name. |
protected final Class |
findSystemClass |
Finds a class with the specified binary name, loading it if necessary. |
protected Object |
getClassLoadingLock |
Returns the lock object for class loading operations. |
final Package |
getDefinedPackage |
Returns a Package of the given name that has been defined by this class loader. |
final Package[] |
getDefinedPackages() |
Returns all of the Package s that have been defined by this class loader. |
String |
getName() |
Returns the name of this class loader or null if this class loader is not named. |
protected Package |
getPackage |
Deprecated. If multiple class loaders delegate to each other and define classes with the same package name, and one such loader relies on the lookup behavior of getPackage to return a Package from a parent loader, then the properties exposed by the Package may not be as expected in the rest of the program. |
protected Package[] |
getPackages() |
Returns all of the Package s that have been defined by this class loader and its ancestors. |
final ClassLoader |
getParent() |
Returns the parent class loader for delegation. |
static ClassLoader |
getPlatformClassLoader() |
Returns the platform class loader. |
URL |
getResource |
Finds the resource with the given name. |
InputStream |
getResourceAsStream |
Returns an input stream for reading the specified resource. |
Enumeration |
getResources |
Finds all the resources with the given name. |
static ClassLoader |
getSystemClassLoader() |
Returns the system class loader. |
static URL |
getSystemResource |
Find a resource of the specified name from the search path used to load classes. |
static InputStream |
getSystemResourceAsStream |
Open for reading, a resource of the specified name from the search path used to load classes. |
static Enumeration |
getSystemResources |
Finds all resources of the specified name from the search path used to load classes. |
final Module |
getUnnamedModule() |
Returns the unnamed Module for this class loader. |
final boolean |
isRegisteredAsParallelCapable() |
|
Class |
loadClass |
Loads the class with the specified binary name. |
protected Class |
loadClass |
Loads the class with the specified binary name. |
protected static boolean |
registerAsParallelCapable() |
Registers the caller as parallel capable. |
protected final void |
resolveClass |
Links the specified class. |
Stream |
resources |
Returns a stream whose elements are the URLs of all the resources with the given name. |
void |
setClassAssertionStatus |
Sets the desired assertion status for the named top-level class in this class loader and any nested classes contained therein. |
void |
setDefaultAssertionStatus |
Sets the default assertion status for this class loader. |
void |
setPackageAssertionStatus |
Sets the package default assertion status for the named package. |
protected final void |
setSigners |
Sets the signers of a class. |
protected ClassLoader(String name, ClassLoader parent)
null
(for the bootstrap class loader) then there is no guarantee that all platform classes are visible.name
- class loader name; or null
if not namedparent
- the parent class loaderIllegalArgumentException
- if the given name is empty.SecurityException
- If a security manager exists and its SecurityManager.checkCreateClassLoader()
method doesn't allow creation of a new class loader.protected ClassLoader(ClassLoader parent)
If there is a security manager, its checkCreateClassLoader
method is invoked. This may result in a security exception.
null
(for the bootstrap class loader) then there is no guarantee that all platform classes are visible.parent
- The parent class loaderSecurityException
- If a security manager exists and its checkCreateClassLoader
method doesn't allow creation of a new class loader.protected ClassLoader()
ClassLoader
returned by the method getSystemClassLoader()
as the parent class loader. If there is a security manager, its checkCreateClassLoader
method is invoked. This may result in a security exception.
SecurityException
- If a security manager exists and its checkCreateClassLoader
method doesn't allow creation of a new class loader.public String getName()
null
if this class loader is not named.null
if this class loader is not named.public Class<?> loadClass(String name) throws ClassNotFoundException
loadClass(String, boolean)
method. It is invoked by the Java virtual machine to resolve class references. Invoking this method is equivalent to invoking loadClass(name,
false)
.name
- The binary name of the classClass
objectClassNotFoundException
- If the class was not foundprotected Class<?> loadClass(String name, boolean resolve) throws ClassNotFoundException
Invoke findLoadedClass(String)
to check if the class has already been loaded.
Invoke the loadClass
method on the parent class loader. If the parent is null
the class loader built into the virtual machine is used, instead.
Invoke the findClass(String)
method to find the class.
If the class was found using the above steps, and the resolve
flag is true, this method will then invoke the resolveClass(Class)
method on the resulting Class
object.
Subclasses of ClassLoader
are encouraged to override findClass(String)
, rather than this method.
Unless overridden, this method synchronizes on the result of getClassLoadingLock
method during the entire class loading process.
name
- The binary name of the classresolve
- If true
then resolve the classClass
objectClassNotFoundException
- If the class could not be foundprotected Object getClassLoadingLock(String className)
ClassLoader
object is synchronized on during the class loading operations. Class loaders with non-hierarchical delegation should be registered as parallel capable to prevent deadlocks.ClassLoader
object is registered as parallel capable, this method returns a dedicated object associated with the specified class name. Otherwise, this method returns this ClassLoader
object.className
- The name of the to-be-loaded classNullPointerException
- If registered as parallel capable and className
is null
protected Class<?> findClass(String name) throws ClassNotFoundException
loadClass
method after checking the parent class loader for the requested class.ClassNotFoundException
.name
- The binary name of the classClass
objectClassNotFoundException
- If the class could not be foundprotected Class<?> findClass(String moduleName, String name)
null
rather than throwing ClassNotFoundException
if the class could not be found.findClass(String)
when the moduleName
is null
. It otherwise returns null
.moduleName
- The module name; or null
to find the class in the unnamed module for this class loadername
- The binary name of the classClass
object, or null
if the class could not be found.@Deprecated(since="1.1") protected final Class<?> defineClass(byte[] b, int off, int len) throws ClassFormatError
defineClass(String, byte[], int, int)
Class
. Before the Class
can be used it must be resolved. This method is deprecated in favor of the version that takes a binary name as its first argument, and is more secure.b
- The bytes that make up the class data. The bytes in positions off
through off+len-1
should have the format of a valid class file as defined by The Java Virtual Machine Specification.off
- The start offset in b
of the class datalen
- The length of the class dataClass
object that was created from the specified class dataClassFormatError
- If the data did not contain a valid classIndexOutOfBoundsException
- If either off
or len
is negative, or if off+len
is greater than b.length
.SecurityException
- If an attempt is made to add this class to a package that contains classes that were signed by a different set of certificates than this class, or if an attempt is made to define a class in a package with a fully-qualified name that starts with "java.
".protected final Class<?> defineClass(String name, byte[] b, int off, int len) throws ClassFormatError
Class
. Before the Class
can be used it must be resolved. This method assigns a default ProtectionDomain
to the newly defined class. The ProtectionDomain
is effectively granted the same set of permissions returned when Policy.getPolicy().getPermissions(new CodeSource(null, null))
is invoked. The default protection domain is created on the first invocation of defineClass
, and re-used on subsequent invocations.
To assign a specific ProtectionDomain
to the class, use the defineClass
method that takes a ProtectionDomain
as one of its arguments.
This method defines a package in this class loader corresponding to the package of the Class
(if such a package has not already been defined in this class loader). The name of the defined package is derived from the binary name of the class specified by the byte array b
. Other properties of the defined package are as specified by Package
.
name
- The expected binary name of the class, or null
if not knownb
- The bytes that make up the class data. The bytes in positions off
through off+len-1
should have the format of a valid class file as defined by The Java Virtual Machine Specification.off
- The start offset in b
of the class datalen
- The length of the class dataClass
object that was created from the specified class data.ClassFormatError
- If the data did not contain a valid classIndexOutOfBoundsException
- If either off
or len
is negative, or if off+len
is greater than b.length
.SecurityException
- If an attempt is made to add this class to a package that contains classes that were signed by a different set of certificates than this class (which is unsigned), or if name
begins with "java.
".protected final Class<?> defineClass(String name, byte[] b, int off, int len, ProtectionDomain protectionDomain) throws ClassFormatError
Class
, with a given ProtectionDomain
. If the given ProtectionDomain
is null
, then a default protection domain will be assigned to the class as specified in the documentation for defineClass(String, byte[], int, int)
. Before the class can be used it must be resolved.
The first class defined in a package determines the exact set of certificates that all subsequent classes defined in that package must contain. The set of certificates for a class is obtained from the CodeSource
within the ProtectionDomain
of the class. Any classes added to that package must contain the same set of certificates or a SecurityException
will be thrown. Note that if name
is null
, this check is not performed. You should always pass in the binary name of the class you are defining as well as the bytes. This ensures that the class you are defining is indeed the class you think it is.
If the specified name
begins with "java.
", it can only be defined by the platform class loader or its ancestors; otherwise SecurityException
will be thrown. If name
is not null
, it must be equal to the binary name of the class specified by the byte array b
, otherwise a NoClassDefFoundError
will be thrown.
This method defines a package in this class loader corresponding to the package of the Class
(if such a package has not already been defined in this class loader). The name of the defined package is derived from the binary name of the class specified by the byte array b
. Other properties of the defined package are as specified by Package
.
name
- The expected binary name of the class, or null
if not knownb
- The bytes that make up the class data. The bytes in positions off
through off+len-1
should have the format of a valid class file as defined by The Java Virtual Machine Specification.off
- The start offset in b
of the class datalen
- The length of the class dataprotectionDomain
- The ProtectionDomain
of the classClass
object created from the data, and ProtectionDomain
.ClassFormatError
- If the data did not contain a valid classNoClassDefFoundError
- If name
is not null
and not equal to the binary name of the class specified by b
IndexOutOfBoundsException
- If either off
or len
is negative, or if off+len
is greater than b.length
.SecurityException
- If an attempt is made to add this class to a package that contains classes that were signed by a different set of certificates than this class, or if name
begins with "java.
" and this class loader is not the platform class loader or its ancestor.protected final Class<?> defineClass(String name, ByteBuffer b, ProtectionDomain protectionDomain) throws ClassFormatError
ByteBuffer
into an instance of class Class
, with the given ProtectionDomain
. If the given ProtectionDomain
is null
, then a default protection domain will be assigned to the class as specified in the documentation for defineClass(String, byte[], int, int)
. Before the class can be used it must be resolved. The rules about the first class defined in a package determining the set of certificates for the package, the restrictions on class names, and the defined package of the class are identical to those specified in the documentation for defineClass(String, byte[], int, int, ProtectionDomain)
.
An invocation of this method of the form cl.defineClass(
name,
bBuffer,
pd)
yields exactly the same result as the statements
...
byte[] temp = new byte[bBuffer.remaining
()];
bBuffer.get
(temp);
return cl.defineClass
(name, temp, 0,
temp.length, pd);
name
- The expected binary name. of the class, or null
if not knownb
- The bytes that make up the class data. The bytes from positions b.position()
through b.position() + b.limit() -1
should have the format of a valid class file as defined by The Java Virtual Machine Specification.protectionDomain
- The ProtectionDomain
of the class, or null
.Class
object created from the data, and ProtectionDomain
.ClassFormatError
- If the data did not contain a valid class.NoClassDefFoundError
- If name
is not null
and not equal to the binary name of the class specified by b
SecurityException
- If an attempt is made to add this class to a package that contains classes that were signed by a different set of certificates than this class, or if name
begins with "java.
".protected final void resolveClass(Class<?> c)
c
has already been linked, then this method simply returns. Otherwise, the class is linked as described in the "Execution" chapter of The Java Language Specification.c
- The class to linkNullPointerException
- If c
is null
.protected final Class<?> findSystemClass(String name) throws ClassNotFoundException
This method loads the class through the system class loader (see getSystemClassLoader()
). The Class
object returned might have more than one ClassLoader
associated with it. Subclasses of ClassLoader
need not usually invoke this method, because most class loaders need to override just findClass(String)
.
name
- The binary name of the classClass
object for the specified name
ClassNotFoundException
- If the class could not be foundprotected final Class<?> findLoadedClass(String name)
null
is returned.name
- The binary name of the classClass
object, or null
if the class has not been loadedprotected final void setSigners(Class<?> c, Object[] signers)
c
- The Class
objectsigners
- The signers for the classprotected URL findResource(String moduleName, String name) throws IOException
Class.getResource
, Class.getResourceAsStream
, and Module.getResourceAsStream
methods. It is not subject to the rules for encapsulation specified by Module.getResourceAsStream
.findResource(String)
when the moduleName
is null
. It otherwise returns null
.moduleName
- The module name; or null
to find a resource in the unnamed module for this class loadername
- The resource namenull
if the resource could not be found, a URL could not be constructed to locate the resource, access to the resource is denied by the security manager, or there isn't a module of the given name defined to the class loader.IOException
- If I/O errors occurpublic URL getResource(String name)
The name of a resource is a '/
'-separated path name that identifies the resource.
Resources in named modules are subject to the encapsulation rules specified by Module.getResourceAsStream
. Additionally, and except for the special case where the resource has a name ending with ".class
", this method will only find resources in packages of named modules when the package is opened
unconditionally (even if the caller of this method is in the same module as the resource).
getResources(String)
method.null
the path of the class loader built into the virtual machine is searched. If not found, this method will invoke findResource(String)
to find the resource.name
- The resource nameURL
object for reading the resource; null
if the resource could not be found, a URL
could not be constructed to locate the resource, the resource is in a package that is not opened unconditionally, or access to the resource is denied by the security manager.NullPointerException
- If name
is null
public Enumeration<URL> getResources(String name) throws IOException
The name of a resource is a /
-separated path name that identifies the resource.
Resources in named modules are subject to the encapsulation rules specified by Module.getResourceAsStream
. Additionally, and except for the special case where the resource has a name ending with ".class
", this method will only find resources in packages of named modules when the package is opened
unconditionally (even if the caller of this method is in the same module as the resource).
getResource(String)
method. This should ensure that the first element returned by the Enumeration's nextElement
method is the same resource that the getResource(String)
method would return.null
the path of the class loader built into the virtual machine is searched. It then invokes findResources(String)
to find the resources with the name in this class loader. It returns an enumeration whose elements are the URLs found by searching the parent class loader followed by the elements found with findResources
.name
- The resource nameURL
objects for the resource. If no resources could be found, the enumeration will be empty. Resources for which a URL
cannot be constructed, are in a package that is not opened unconditionally, or access to the resource is denied by the security manager, are not returned in the enumeration.IOException
- If I/O errors occurNullPointerException
- If name
is null
public Stream<URL> resources(String name)
The name of a resource is a /
-separated path name that identifies the resource.
The resources will be located when the returned stream is evaluated. If the evaluation results in an IOException
then the I/O exception is wrapped in an UncheckedIOException
that is then thrown.
Resources in named modules are subject to the encapsulation rules specified by Module.getResourceAsStream
. Additionally, and except for the special case where the resource has a name ending with ".class
", this method will only find resources in packages of named modules when the package is opened
unconditionally (even if the caller of this method is in the same module as the resource).
getResource(String)
method. This should ensure that the first element returned by the stream is the same resource that the getResource(String)
method would return.getResources
to find all the resources with the given name and returns a stream with the elements in the enumeration as the source.name
- The resource nameURL
objects. If no resources could be found, the stream will be empty. Resources for which a URL
cannot be constructed, are in a package that is not opened unconditionally, or access to the resource is denied by the security manager, will not be in the stream.NullPointerException
- If name
is null
protected URL findResource(String name)
For resources in named modules then the method must implement the rules for encapsulation specified in the Module
getResourceAsStream
method. Additionally, it must not find non-".class
" resources in packages of named modules unless the package is opened
unconditionally.
null
.name
- The resource nameURL
object for reading the resource; null
if the resource could not be found, a URL
could not be constructed to locate the resource, the resource is in a package that is not opened unconditionally, or access to the resource is denied by the security manager.protected Enumeration<URL> findResources(String name) throws IOException
URL
objects representing all the resources with the given name. Class loader implementations should override this method. For resources in named modules then the method must implement the rules for encapsulation specified in the Module
getResourceAsStream
method. Additionally, it must not find non-".class
" resources in packages of named modules unless the package is opened
unconditionally.
name
- The resource nameURL
objects for the resource. If no resources could be found, the enumeration will be empty. Resources for which a URL
cannot be constructed, are in a package that is not opened unconditionally, or access to the resource is denied by the security manager, are not returned in the enumeration.IOException
- If I/O errors occurprotected static boolean registerAsParallelCapable()
Note that once a class loader is registered as parallel capable, there is no way to change it back.
In cases where this method is called from a context where the caller is not a subclass of ClassLoader
or there is no caller frame on the stack (e.g. when called directly from a JNI attached thread), IllegalCallerException
is thrown.
true
if the caller is successfully registered as parallel capable and false
if otherwise.IllegalCallerException
- if the caller is not a subclass of ClassLoader
public final boolean isRegisteredAsParallelCapable()
true
if this class loader is parallel capable, otherwise false
.public static URL getSystemResource(String name)
getSystemClassLoader()
). Resources in named modules are subject to the encapsulation rules specified by Module.getResourceAsStream
. Additionally, and except for the special case where the resource has a name ending with ".class
", this method will only find resources in packages of named modules when the package is opened
unconditionally.
name
- The resource nameURL
to the resource;
null
if the resource could not be found, a URL could not be constructed to locate the resource, the resource is in a package that is not opened unconditionally or access to the resource is denied by the security manager.public static Enumeration<URL> getSystemResources(String name) throws IOException
Enumeration
of URL
objects. The search order is described in the documentation for getSystemResource(String)
.
Resources in named modules are subject to the encapsulation rules specified by Module.getResourceAsStream
. Additionally, and except for the special case where the resource has a name ending with ".class
", this method will only find resources in packages of named modules when the package is opened
unconditionally.
name
- The resource nameURL
objects for the resource. If no resources could be found, the enumeration will be empty. Resources for which a URL
cannot be constructed, are in a package that is not opened unconditionally, or access to the resource is denied by the security manager, are not returned in the enumeration.IOException
- If I/O errors occurpublic InputStream getResourceAsStream(String name)
The search order is described in the documentation for getResource(String)
.
Resources in named modules are subject to the encapsulation rules specified by Module.getResourceAsStream
. Additionally, and except for the special case where the resource has a name ending with ".class
", this method will only find resources in packages of named modules when the package is opened
unconditionally.
name
- The resource namenull
if the resource could not be found, the resource is in a package that is not opened unconditionally, or access to the resource is denied by the security manager.NullPointerException
- If name
is null
public static InputStream getSystemResourceAsStream(String name)
getSystemClassLoader()
). Resources in named modules are subject to the encapsulation rules specified by Module.getResourceAsStream
. Additionally, and except for the special case where the resource has a name ending with ".class
", this method will only find resources in packages of named modules when the package is opened
unconditionally.
name
- The resource namenull
if the resource could not be found, the resource is in a package that is not opened unconditionally, or access to the resource is denied by the security manager.public final ClassLoader getParent()
null
to represent the bootstrap class loader. This method will return null
in such implementations if this class loader's parent is the bootstrap class loader.ClassLoader
SecurityException
- If a security manager is present, and the caller's class loader is not null
and is not an ancestor of this class loader, and the caller does not have the RuntimePermission
("getClassLoader")
public final Module getUnnamedModule()
Module
for this class loader.public static ClassLoader getPlatformClassLoader()
"platform"
.ClassLoader
.SecurityException
- If a security manager is present, and the caller's class loader is not null
, and the caller's class loader is not the same as or an ancestor of the platform class loader, and the caller does not have the RuntimePermission
("getClassLoader")
public static ClassLoader getSystemClassLoader()
ClassLoader
instances, and is typically the class loader used to start the application. This method is first invoked early in the runtime's startup sequence, at which point it creates the system class loader. This class loader will be the context class loader for the main application thread (for example, the thread that invokes the main
method of the main class).
The default system class loader is an implementation-dependent instance of this class.
If the system property "java.system.class.loader
" is defined when this method is first invoked then the value of that property is taken to be the name of a class that will be returned as the system class loader. The class is loaded using the default system class loader and must define a public constructor that takes a single parameter of type ClassLoader
which is used as the delegation parent. An instance is then created using this constructor with the default system class loader as the parameter. The resulting class loader is defined to be the system class loader. During construction, the class loader should take great care to avoid calling getSystemClassLoader()
. If circular initialization of the system class loader is detected then an IllegalStateException
is thrown.
The name of the built-in system class loader is "app"
. The system property "java.class.path
" is read during early initialization of the VM to determine the class path. An empty value of "java.class.path
" property is interpreted differently depending on whether the initial module (the module containing the main class) is named or unnamed: If named, the built-in system class loader will have no class path and will search for classes and resources using the application module path; otherwise, if unnamed, it will set the class path to the current working directory.
JAR files on the class path may contain a Class-Path
manifest attribute to specify dependent JAR files to be included in the class path. Class-Path
entries must meet certain conditions for validity (see the JAR File Specification for details). Invalid Class-Path
entries are ignored. For debugging purposes, ignored entries can be printed to the console if the jdk.net.URLClassPath.showIgnoredClassPathEntries
system property is set to true
.
ClassLoader
SecurityException
- If a security manager is present, and the caller's class loader is not null
and is not the same as or an ancestor of the system class loader, and the caller does not have the RuntimePermission
("getClassLoader")
IllegalStateException
- If invoked recursively during the construction of the class loader specified by the "java.system.class.loader
" property.Error
- If the system property "java.system.class.loader
" is defined but the named class could not be loaded, the provider class does not define the required constructor, or an exception is thrown by that constructor when it is invoked. The underlying cause of the error can be retrieved via the Throwable.getCause()
method.protected Package definePackage(String name, String specTitle, String specVersion, String specVendor, String implTitle, String implVersion, String implVendor, URL sealBase)
ClassLoader
. Package names must be unique within a class loader and cannot be redefined or changed once created.
If a class loader wishes to define a package with specific properties, such as version information, then the class loader should call this definePackage
method before calling defineClass
. Otherwise, the defineClass
method will define a package in this class loader corresponding to the package of the newly defined class; the properties of this defined package are specified by Package
.
URL
of the JAR file is typically used as the sealBase
. If classes of package 'p'
defined by this class loader are loaded from multiple JARs, the Package
object may contain different information depending on the first class of package 'p'
defined and which JAR's manifest is read first to explicitly define package 'p'
. It is strongly recommended that a class loader does not call this method to explicitly define packages in named modules; instead, the package will be automatically defined when a class is being defined. If it is desirable to define Package
explicitly, it should ensure that all packages in a named module are defined with the properties specified by Package
. Otherwise, some Package
objects in a named module may be for example sealed with different seal base.
name
- The package name
specTitle
- The specification titlespecVersion
- The specification versionspecVendor
- The specification vendorimplTitle
- The implementation titleimplVersion
- The implementation versionimplVendor
- The implementation vendorsealBase
- If not null
, then this package is sealed with respect to the given code source URL
object. Otherwise, the package is not sealed.Package
objectNullPointerException
- if name
is null
.IllegalArgumentException
- if a package of the given name
is already defined by this class loaderpublic final Package getDefinedPackage(String name)
Package
of the given name that has been defined by this class loader.name
- The package name
Package
of the given name that has been defined by this class loader, or null
if not foundNullPointerException
- if name
is null
.public final Package[] getDefinedPackages()
Package
s that have been defined by this class loader. The returned array has no duplicated Package
s of the same name.Set
or Stream
for consistency with the existing getPackages()
method.Package
objects that have been defined by this class loader; or a zero length array if no package has been defined by this class loader.@Deprecated(since="9") protected Package getPackage(String name)
getPackage
to return a Package
from a parent loader, then the properties exposed by the Package
may not be as expected in the rest of the program. For example, the Package
will only expose annotations from the package-info.class
file defined by the parent loader, even if annotations exist in a package-info.class
file defined by a child loader. A more robust approach is to use the getDefinedPackage(java.lang.String)
method which returns a Package
for the specified class loader. If this class loader defines a Package
of the given name, the Package
is returned. Otherwise, the ancestors of this class loader are searched recursively (parent by parent) for a Package
of the given name.
platform class loader
may delegate to the application class loader but the application class loader is not its ancestor. When invoked on the platform class loader, this method will not find packages defined to the application class loader.name
- The package name
Package
of the given name that has been defined by this class loader or its ancestors, or null
if not found.NullPointerException
- if name
is null
.protected Package[] getPackages()
Package
s that have been defined by this class loader and its ancestors. The returned array may contain more than one Package
object of the same package name, each defined by a different class loader in the class loader hierarchy.platform class loader
may delegate to the application class loader. In other words, packages in modules defined to the application class loader may be visible to the platform class loader. On the other hand, the application class loader is not its ancestor and hence when invoked on the platform class loader, this method will not return any packages defined to the application class loader.Package
objects that have been defined by this class loader and its ancestorsprotected String findLibrary(String libname)
null
, the VM searches the library along the path specified as the "java.library.path
" property.libname
- The library namepublic void setDefaultAssertionStatus(boolean enabled)
setPackageAssertionStatus(String, boolean)
or setClassAssertionStatus(String, boolean)
.enabled
- true
if classes loaded by this class loader will henceforth have assertions enabled by default, false
if they will have assertions disabled by default.public void setPackageAssertionStatus(String packageName, boolean enabled)
A subpackage of a package named p is any package whose name begins with "p.
". For example, javax.swing.text
is a subpackage of javax.swing
, and both java.util
and java.lang.reflect
are subpackages of java
.
In the event that multiple package defaults apply to a given class, the package default pertaining to the most specific package takes precedence over the others. For example, if javax.lang
and javax.lang.reflect
both have package defaults associated with them, the latter package default applies to classes in javax.lang.reflect
.
Package defaults take precedence over the class loader's default assertion status, and may be overridden on a per-class basis by invoking setClassAssertionStatus(String, boolean)
.
packageName
- The name of the package whose package default assertion status is to be set. A null
value indicates the unnamed package that is "current" (see section 7.4.2 of The Java Language Specification.)enabled
- true
if classes loaded by this classloader and belonging to the named package or any of its subpackages will have assertions enabled by default, false
if they will have assertions disabled by default.public void setClassAssertionStatus(String className, boolean enabled)
If the named class is not a top-level class, this invocation will have no effect on the actual assertion status of any class.
className
- The fully qualified class name of the top-level class whose assertion status is to be set.enabled
- true
if the named class is to have assertions enabled when (and if) it is initialized, false
if the class is to have assertions disabled.public void clearAssertionStatus()
false
and discards any package defaults or class assertion status settings associated with the class loader. This method is provided so that class loaders can be made to ignore any command line or persistent assertion status settings and "start with a clean slate."
© 1993, 2023, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
Documentation extracted from Debian's OpenJDK Development Kit package.
Licensed under the GNU General Public License, version 2, with the Classpath Exception.
Various third party code in OpenJDK is licensed under different licenses (see Debian package).
Java and OpenJDK are trademarks or registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/21/docs/api/java.base/java/lang/ClassLoader.html
defineClass(String, byte[], int, int)