man > idlj(1)

idlj(1)                              Java IDL and RMI-IIOP Tools                             idlj(1)

NAME
       idlj - Generates Java bindings for a specified Interface Definition Language (IDL) file.

SYNOPSIS
       idlj [ 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)