Provides low-level access to memory and functions outside the Java runtime. * *
* The main abstraction introduced to support foreign memory access is * {@link java.lang.foreign.MemorySegment}, that models a contiguous region of memory, * residing either inside or outside the Java heap. Memory segments are typically * allocated using an {@link java.lang.foreign.Arena}, which controls the lifetime of * the regions of memory backing the segments it allocates. The contents of a * memory segment can be described using a {@link java.lang.foreign.MemoryLayout memory layout}, * which provides basic operations to query sizes, offsets, and alignment constraints. * Memory layouts also provide an alternate, more abstract way, to * access memory segments using * {@linkplain java.lang.foreign.MemoryLayout#varHandle(java.lang.foreign.MemoryLayout.PathElement...) var handles}, * which can be computed using layout paths. *
* For example, to allocate an off-heap region of memory big enough to hold 10 values of * the primitive type {@code int}, and fill it with values ranging from {@code 0} to * {@code 9}, we can use the following code: * * {@snippet lang = java: * try (Arena arena = Arena.ofConfined()) { * MemorySegment segment = arena.allocate(10 * 4); * for (int i = 0 ; i < 10 ; i++) { * segment.setAtIndex(ValueLayout.JAVA_INT, i, i); * } * } * } * * This code creates a native memory segment, that is, a memory segment backed * by off-heap memory; the size of the segment is 40 bytes, enough to store 10 values of * the primitive type {@code int}. The native segment is allocated using a * {@linkplain java.lang.foreign.Arena#ofConfined() confined arena}. As such, access to * the native segment is restricted to the current thread (the thread that created the * arena). Moreover, when the arena is closed, the native segment is invalidated, and * its backing region of memory is deallocated. Note the use of the try-with-resources * construct: this idiom ensures that the off-heap region of memory backing the native * segment will be released at the end of the block, according to the semantics described * in Section {@jls 14.20.3} of The Java Language Specification. *
* Memory segments provide strong safety guarantees when it comes to memory access. * First, when accessing a memory segment, the access coordinates are validated * (upon access), to make sure that access does not occur at any address that resides * outside the boundaries of the memory segment used by the access operation. * We call this guarantee spatial safety; in other words, access to * memory segments is bounds-checked, in the same way as array access is, as described in * Section {@jls 15.10.4} of The Java Language Specification. *
* Additionally, to prevent a region of memory from being accessed after it has * been deallocated (i.e. use-after-free), a segment is also validated * (upon access) to make sure that the arena from which it has been obtained has not * been closed. We call this guarantee temporal safety. *
* Together, spatial and temporal safety ensure that each memory access operation either * succeeds - and accesses a valid location within the region of memory backing the * memory segment - or fails. * *
* For example, to compute the length of a string using the C standard library function * {@code strlen} on a Linux/x64 platform, we can use the following code: * * {@snippet lang = java: * Linker linker = Linker.nativeLinker(); * SymbolLookup stdlib = linker.defaultLookup(); * MethodHandle strlen = linker.downcallHandle( * stdlib.findOrThrow("strlen"), * FunctionDescriptor.of(ValueLayout.JAVA_LONG, ValueLayout.ADDRESS) * ); * * try (Arena arena = Arena.ofConfined()) { * MemorySegment cString = arena.allocateFrom("Hello"); * long len = (long)strlen.invokeExact(cString); // 5 * } *} * * Here, we obtain a {@linkplain java.lang.foreign.Linker#nativeLinker() native linker} * and we use it to {@linkplain java.lang.foreign.SymbolLookup#findOrThrow(java.lang.String) look up} * the {@code strlen} function in the standard C library; a downcall method handle * targeting said function is subsequently * {@linkplain java.lang.foreign.Linker#downcallHandle(FunctionDescriptor, Linker.Option...) obtained}. * To complete the linking successfully, we must provide a * {@link java.lang.foreign.FunctionDescriptor} instance, describing the signature of the * {@code strlen} function. From this information, the linker will uniquely determine * the sequence of steps which will turn the method handle invocation (here performed * using {@link java.lang.invoke.MethodHandle#invokeExact(java.lang.Object...)}) * into a foreign function call, according to the rules specified by the ABI of the * underlying platform. *
* The {@link java.lang.foreign.Arena} class also provides many useful methods for * interacting with foreign code, such as * {@linkplain java.lang.foreign.SegmentAllocator#allocateFrom(java.lang.String) converting} * Java strings into zero-terminated, UTF-8 strings, as demonstrated in the above example. * * @apiNote Usual memory model guarantees (see {@jls 17.4}) do not apply when accessing * native memory segments as these segments are backed by off-heap regions of memory. * * @spec jni/index.html Java Native Interface Specification * * @since 22 */ package java.lang.foreign;