rmic - The Java RMI Compiler
rmic generates stub, skeleton, and tie classes for
remote objects using either the JRMP or IIOP protocols. Also
generates OMG IDL.
SYNOPSIS
rmic [ options ] package-qualified-class-name(s)
DESCRIPTION
The rmic compiler generates stub and skeleton class files
(JRMP protocol) and stub and tie class files (IIOP protocol) for
remote objects. These classes files are generated from compiled
Java programming language classes that are remote object
implementation classes. A remote implementation class is a class
that implements the interface java.rmi.Remote. The class
names in the rmic command must be for classes that have been
compiled successfully with the javac command and must be
fully package qualified. For example, running rmic on the
class file name HelloImpl as shown here:
rmic hello.HelloImpl
creates the HelloImpl_Stub.class file in the
hello subdirectory (named for the class's package).
A skeleton for a remote object is a JRMP protocol
server-side entity that has a method that dispatches calls to the
actual remote object implementation.
A tie for a remote object is a server-side entity similar
to a skeleton, but which communicates with the client using the
IIOP protocol.
A stub is a client-side proxy for a remote object which
is responsible for communicating method invocations on remote
objects to the server where the actual remote object implementation
resides. A client's reference to a remote object, therefore, is
actually a reference to a local stub.
By default, rmic generates stub classes that use the 1.2
JRMP stub protocol version only, as if the -v1.2 option had been specified. (Note that
the -vcompat option was the default
in releases prior to 5.0.) Use the -iiop
option to generate stub and tie
classes for the IIOP protocol.
A stub implements only the remote interfaces, not any local
interfaces that the remote object also implements. Because a JRMP
stub implements the same set of remote interfaces as the remote
object itself, a client can use the Java programming language's
built-in operators for casting and type checking. For IIOP, the
PortableRemoteObject.narrow method must be used.
OPTIONS
- -bootclasspath path
- Overrides location of bootstrap class files
- -classpath path
- Specifies the path rmic uses to look up classes. This
option overrides the default or the CLASSPATH environment variable
if it is set. Directories are separated by semicolons. Thus the
general format for path is:
-
.;<your_path>
For example:
.;C:\usr\local\java\classes
- -d directory
- Specifies the root destination directory for the generated
class hierarchy. You can use this option to specify a destination
directory for the stub, skeleton, and tie files. For example, the
command
-
% rmic -d C:\java\classes foo.MyClass
would place the stub and skeleton classes derived from
MyClass
into the directory
C:\java\classes\foo. If the -d option is not
specified, the default behavior is as if "-d ." were
specified: the package hierarchy of the target class is created in
the current directory, and stub/tie/skeleton files are placed
within it. (Note that in some previous versions of rmic, if
-d was not specified, then the package hierarchy was
not created, and all of the output files were placed
directly in the current directory.)
- -extdirs path
- Overrides location of installed extensions
- -g
- Enables generation of all debugging information, including
local variables. By default, only line number information is
generated.
- -idl
- Causes rmic to generate OMG IDL for the classes
specified and any classes referenced. IDL provides a purely
declarative, programming language-independent way of specifying an
object's API. The IDL is used as a specification for methods and
data that can be written in and invoked from any language that
provides CORBA bindings. This includes Java and C++ among others.
See the
Java Language to IDL Mapping (OMG) document for a complete
description.
When the -idl
option is used, other options also
include:
-
- -always or -alwaysgenerate
- Forces re-generation even when existing stubs/ties/IDL are
newer than the input class.
- -factory
- Uses factory keyword in generated IDL.
- -idlModule fromJavaPackage[.class]
toIDLModule
- Specifies IDLEntity package mapping. For example:
-idlModule foo.bar my::real::idlmod.
- -idlFile fromJavaPackage[.class]
toIDLFile
- Specifies IDLEntity file mapping. For example:
-idlFile test.pkg.X TEST16.idl.
- -iiop
- Causes
rmic
to generate IIOP stub and tie classes,
rather than JRMP stub and skeleton classes. A stub class is a local
proxy for a remote object and is used by clients to send calls to a
server. Each remote interface requires a stub class, which
implements that remote interface. A client's reference to a remote
object is actually a reference to a stub. Tie classes are used on
the server side to process incoming calls, and dispatch the calls
to the proper implementation class. Each implementation class
requires a tie class.
Invoking rmic with the -iiop generates stubs
and ties that conform to this naming convention:
_<implementationName>_stub.class
_<interfaceName>_tie.class
When the -iiop
option is used, other options also
include:
-
- -always or -alwaysgenerate
- Forces re-generation even when existing stubs/ties/IDL are newer than the input class.
- -nolocalstubs
- Do not create stubs optimized for same-process clients and servers.
- -noValueMethods
- Must be used with the
-idl
option. Prevents addition of valuetype methods and initializers to emitted IDL. These methods and initializers are optional for valuetypes, and are generated unless the -noValueMethods option is specified when using the -idl option.
- -poa
- Changes the inheritance from org.omg.CORBA_2_3.portable.ObjectImpl to org.omg.PortableServer.Servant.
The PortableServer module for the Portable Object Adapter (POA)
defines the native Servant type. 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 may be invoked by the application programmer, as well as methods which are invoked by the POA itself and may be overridden by the user to control aspects of servant
behavior. Based on the OMG IDL to Java Language Mapping Specification, CORBA V 2.3.1 ptc/00-01-08.pdf.
- -J
- Used in conjunction with any java option, it passes
the option following the -J (no spaces between the -J and
the option) on to the java interpreter.
- -keep or -keepgenerated
- Retains the generated .java source files for the stub,
skeleton, and/or tie classes and writes them to the same directory
as the .class files.
- -nowarn
- Turns off warnings. If used the compiler does not print out any
warnings.
- -nowrite
- Does not write compiled classes to the file system.
- -vcompat
- Generates stub and skeleton classes compatible with both the
1.1 and 1.2 JRMP stub protocol versions. (This option was the
default in releases prior to 5.0.) The generated stub classes will
use the 1.1 stub protocol version when loaded in a JDK 1.1 virtual
machine and will use the 1.2 stub protocol version when loaded into
a 1.2 (or later) virtual machine. The generated skeleton classes
will support both 1.1 and 1.2 stub protocol versions. The generated
classes are relatively large in order to support both modes of
operation.
- -verbose
- Causes the compiler and linker to print out messages about what
classes are being compiled and what class files are being
loaded.
- -v1.1
- Generates stub and skeleton classes for the 1.1 JRMP stub
protocol version only. Note that this option is only useful for
generating stub classes that are serialization-compatible with
pre-existing, statically-deployed stub classes that were generated
by the rmic tool from JDK 1.1 and that cannot be upgraded
(and dynamic class loading is not being used).
- -v1.2
- (default) Generates stub classes for the 1.2 JRMP stub protocol
version only. No skeleton classes are generated with this option
because skeleton classes are not used with the 1.2 stub protocol
version. The generated stub classes will not work if they are
loaded into a JDK 1.1 virtual machine.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
- CLASSPATH
- Used to provide the system a path to user-defined classes.
Directories are separated by semicolons. For example,
-
.;C:\usr\local\java\classes
SEE ALSO
java, javac,
CLASSPATH