Package javax.tools

Interface JavaFileManager

All Superinterfaces:
AutoCloseable, Closeable, Flushable, OptionChecker
All Known Subinterfaces:
StandardJavaFileManager
All Known Implementing Classes:
ForwardingJavaFileManager

public interface JavaFileManager extends Closeable, Flushable, OptionChecker
File manager for tools operating on Java programming language source and class files. In this context, file means an abstraction of regular files and other sources of data.

When constructing new JavaFileObjects, the file manager must determine where to create them. For example, if a file manager manages regular files on a file system, it would most likely have a current/working directory to use as default ___location when creating or finding files. A number of hints can be provided to a file manager as to where to create files. Any file manager might choose to ignore these hints.

Some methods in this interface use class names. Such class names must be given in the Java Virtual Machine internal form of fully qualified class and interface names. For convenience '.' and '/' are interchangeable. The internal form is defined in chapter four of The Java Virtual Machine Specification.

Discussion: this means that the names "java/lang.package-info", "java/lang/package-info", "java.lang.package-info", are valid and equivalent. Compare to binary name as defined in The Java Language Specification, section 13.1 "The Form of a Binary".

The case of names is significant. All names should be treated as case-sensitive. For example, some file systems have case-insensitive, case-aware file names. File objects representing such files should take care to preserve case by using File.getCanonicalFile() or similar means. If the system is not case-aware, file objects must use other means to preserve case.

Relative names: some methods in this interface use relative names. A relative name is a non-null, non-empty sequence of path segments separated by '/'. '.' or '..' are invalid path segments. A valid relative name must match the "path-rootless" rule of RFC 3986, section 3.3. Informally, this should be true:

URI.create(relativeName).normalize().getPath().equals(relativeName)

All methods in this interface might throw a SecurityException.

An object of this interface is not required to support multi-threaded access, that is, be synchronized. However, it must support concurrent access to different file objects created by this object.

Implementation note: a consequence of this requirement is that a trivial implementation of output to a JarOutputStream is not a sufficient implementation. That is, rather than creating a JavaFileObject that returns the JarOutputStream directly, the contents must be cached until closed and then written to the JarOutputStream.

Unless explicitly allowed, all methods in this interface might throw a NullPointerException if given a null argument.

Since:
1.6
See Also:
  • Method Details

    • getClassLoader

      ClassLoader getClassLoader(JavaFileManager.Location ___location)
      Returns a class loader for loading plug-ins from the given package-oriented ___location. For example, to load annotation processors, a compiler will request a class loader for the ANNOTATION_PROCESSOR_PATH ___location.
      Parameters:
      ___location - a ___location
      Returns:
      a class loader for the given ___location; or null if loading plug-ins from the given ___location is disabled or if the ___location is not known
      Throws:
      SecurityException - if a class loader can not be created in the current security context
      IllegalStateException - if close() has been called and this file manager cannot be reopened
      IllegalArgumentException - if the ___location is a module-oriented ___location
    • list

      Iterable<JavaFileObject> list(JavaFileManager.Location ___location, String packageName, Set<JavaFileObject.Kind> kinds, boolean recurse) throws IOException
      Lists all file objects matching the given criteria in the given package-oriented ___location. List file objects in "subpackages" if recurse is true.

      Note: even if the given ___location is unknown to this file manager, it may not return null. Also, an unknown ___location may not cause an exception.

      Parameters:
      ___location - a ___location
      packageName - a package name
      kinds - return objects only of these kinds
      recurse - if true include "subpackages"
      Returns:
      an Iterable of file objects matching the given criteria
      Throws:
      IOException - if an I/O error occurred, or if close() has been called and this file manager cannot be reopened
      IllegalArgumentException - if the ___location is a module-oriented ___location
      IllegalStateException - if close() has been called and this file manager cannot be reopened
    • inferBinaryName

      String inferBinaryName(JavaFileManager.Location ___location, JavaFileObject file)
      Infers a binary name of a file object based on a package-oriented ___location. The binary name returned might not be a valid binary name according to The Java Language Specification.
      Parameters:
      ___location - a ___location
      file - a file object
      Returns:
      a binary name or null the file object is not found in the given ___location
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if the ___location is a module-oriented ___location
      IllegalStateException - if close() has been called and this file manager cannot be reopened
    • isSameFile

      boolean isSameFile(FileObject a, FileObject b)
      Compares two file objects and return true if they represent the same underlying object.
      Parameters:
      a - a file object
      b - a file object
      Returns:
      true if the given file objects represent the same underlying object
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if either of the arguments were created with another file manager and this file manager does not support foreign file objects
    • handleOption

      boolean handleOption(String current, Iterator<String> remaining)
      Handles one option. If current is an option to this file manager it will consume any arguments to that option from remaining and return true, otherwise return false.
      Parameters:
      current - current option
      remaining - remaining options
      Returns:
      true if this option was handled by this file manager, false otherwise
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if this option to this file manager is used incorrectly
      IllegalStateException - if close() has been called and this file manager cannot be reopened
    • hasLocation

      boolean hasLocation(JavaFileManager.Location ___location)
      Determines if a ___location is known to this file manager.
      Parameters:
      ___location - a ___location
      Returns:
      true if the ___location is known
    • getJavaFileForInput

      JavaFileObject getJavaFileForInput(JavaFileManager.Location ___location, String className, JavaFileObject.Kind kind) throws IOException
      Returns a file object for input representing the specified class of the specified kind in the given package-oriented ___location.
      Parameters:
      ___location - a ___location
      className - the name of a class
      kind - the kind of file, must be one of SOURCE or CLASS
      Returns:
      a file object, might return null if the file does not exist
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if the ___location is not known to this file manager and the file manager does not support unknown locations, or if the kind is not valid, or if the ___location is a module-oriented ___location
      IOException - if an I/O error occurred, or if close() has been called and this file manager cannot be reopened
      IllegalStateException - if close() has been called and this file manager cannot be reopened
    • getJavaFileForOutput

      JavaFileObject getJavaFileForOutput(JavaFileManager.Location ___location, String className, JavaFileObject.Kind kind, FileObject sibling) throws IOException
      Returns a file object for output representing the specified class of the specified kind in the given package-oriented ___location.

      Optionally, this file manager might consider the sibling as a hint for where to place the output. The exact semantics of this hint is unspecified. The JDK compiler, javac, for example, will place class files in the same directories as originating source files unless a class file output directory is provided. To facilitate this behavior, javac might provide the originating source file as sibling when calling this method.

      Parameters:
      ___location - a package-oriented ___location
      className - the name of a class
      kind - the kind of file, must be one of SOURCE or CLASS
      sibling - a file object to be used as hint for placement; might be null
      Returns:
      a file object for output
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if sibling is not known to this file manager, or if the ___location is not known to this file manager and the file manager does not support unknown locations, or if the kind is not valid, or if the ___location is not an output ___location
      IOException - if an I/O error occurred, or if close() has been called and this file manager cannot be reopened
      IllegalStateException - close() has been called and this file manager cannot be reopened
    • getJavaFileForOutputForOriginatingFiles

      default JavaFileObject getJavaFileForOutputForOriginatingFiles(JavaFileManager.Location ___location, String className, JavaFileObject.Kind kind, FileObject... originatingFiles) throws IOException
      Returns a file object for output representing the specified class of the specified kind in the given package-oriented ___location.

      The provided originatingFiles represent files that were, in an unspecified way, used to create the content of the file created by this method. See originatingElements in Filer.createSourceFile(java.lang.CharSequence, javax.lang.model.element.Element...). Elements.getFileObjectOf(javax.lang.model.element.Element) may be used to convert the Elements to FileObjects.

      Implementation Requirements:
      The default implementation calls getJavaFileForOutput(javax.tools.JavaFileManager.Location, java.lang.String, javax.tools.JavaFileObject.Kind, javax.tools.FileObject) with the first element of the originatingFiles, if any, as a sibling.
      Parameters:
      ___location - a package-oriented ___location
      className - the name of a class
      kind - the kind of file, must be one of SOURCE or CLASS
      originatingFiles - the files which are contributing to this newly created file; null is equivalent to empty originatingFiles, meaning no known originating files
      Returns:
      a file object for output
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if sibling is not known to this file manager, or if the ___location is not known to this file manager and the file manager does not support unknown locations, or if the kind is not valid, or if the ___location is not an output ___location
      IOException - if an I/O error occurred, or if close() has been called and this file manager cannot be reopened
      IllegalStateException - close() has been called and this file manager cannot be reopened
      Since:
      18
      See Also:
    • getFileForInput

      FileObject getFileForInput(JavaFileManager.Location ___location, String packageName, String relativeName) throws IOException
      Returns a file object for input representing the specified relative name in the specified package in the given package-oriented ___location.

      If the returned object represents a source or class file, it must be an instance of JavaFileObject.

      Informally, the file object returned by this method is located in the concatenation of the ___location, package name, and relative name. For example, to locate the properties file "resources/compiler.properties" in the package "com.sun.tools.javac" in the SOURCE_PATH ___location, this method might be called like so:

      getFileForInput(SOURCE_PATH, "com.sun.tools.javac", "resources/compiler.properties");
      

      If the call was executed on Windows, with SOURCE_PATH set to "C:\Documents and Settings\UncleBob\src\share\classes", a valid result would be a file object representing the file "C:\Documents and Settings\UncleBob\src\share\classes\com\sun\tools\javac\resources\compiler.properties".

      Parameters:
      ___location - a package-oriented ___location
      packageName - a package name
      relativeName - a relative name
      Returns:
      a file object, might return null if the file does not exist
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if the ___location is not known to this file manager and the file manager does not support unknown locations, or if relativeName is not valid, or if the ___location is a module-oriented ___location
      IOException - if an I/O error occurred, or if close() has been called and this file manager cannot be reopened
      IllegalStateException - if close() has been called and this file manager cannot be reopened
    • getFileForOutput

      FileObject getFileForOutput(JavaFileManager.Location ___location, String packageName, String relativeName, FileObject sibling) throws IOException
      Returns a file object for output representing the specified relative name in the specified package in the given ___location.

      Optionally, this file manager might consider the sibling as a hint for where to place the output. The exact semantics of this hint is unspecified. The JDK compiler, javac, for example, will place class files in the same directories as originating source files unless a class file output directory is provided. To facilitate this behavior, javac might provide the originating source file as sibling when calling this method.

      If the returned object represents a source or class file, it must be an instance of JavaFileObject.

      Informally, the file object returned by this method is located in the concatenation of the ___location, package name, and relative name or next to the sibling argument. See getFileForInput for an example.

      Parameters:
      ___location - an output ___location
      packageName - a package name
      relativeName - a relative name
      sibling - a file object to be used as hint for placement; might be null
      Returns:
      a file object
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if sibling is not known to this file manager, or if the ___location is not known to this file manager and the file manager does not support unknown locations, or if relativeName is not valid, or if the ___location is not an output ___location
      IOException - if an I/O error occurred, or if close() has been called and this file manager cannot be reopened
      IllegalStateException - if close() has been called and this file manager cannot be reopened
    • getFileForOutputForOriginatingFiles

      default FileObject getFileForOutputForOriginatingFiles(JavaFileManager.Location ___location, String packageName, String relativeName, FileObject... originatingFiles) throws IOException
      Returns a file object for output representing the specified relative name in the specified package in the given ___location.

      The provided originatingFiles represent files that were, in an unspecified way, used to create the content of the file created by this method. See originatingElements in Filer.createResource(javax.tools.JavaFileManager.Location, java.lang.CharSequence, java.lang.CharSequence, javax.lang.model.element.Element...). Elements.getFileObjectOf(javax.lang.model.element.Element) may be used to convert the Elements to FileObjects.

      If the returned object represents a source or class file, it must be an instance of JavaFileObject.

      Informally, the file object returned by this method is located in the concatenation of the ___location, package name, and relative name or in a ___location inferred from the originatingFiles. See getFileForInput for an example.

      Implementation Requirements:
      The default implementation calls getFileForOutput(javax.tools.JavaFileManager.Location, java.lang.String, java.lang.String, javax.tools.FileObject) with the first element of the originatingFiles, if any, as a sibling.
      Parameters:
      ___location - an output ___location
      packageName - a package name
      relativeName - a relative name
      originatingFiles - the files which are contributing to this newly created file; null is equivalent to empty originatingFiles, meaning no known originating files
      Returns:
      a file object
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if sibling is not known to this file manager, or if the ___location is not known to this file manager and the file manager does not support unknown locations, or if relativeName is not valid, or if the ___location is not an output ___location
      IOException - if an I/O error occurred, or if close() has been called and this file manager cannot be reopened
      IllegalStateException - if close() has been called and this file manager cannot be reopened
      Since:
      18
      See Also:
    • flush

      void flush() throws IOException
      Flushes any resources opened for output by this file manager directly or indirectly. Flushing a closed file manager has no effect.
      Specified by:
      flush in interface Flushable
      Throws:
      IOException - if an I/O error occurred
      See Also:
    • close

      void close() throws IOException
      Releases any resources opened by this file manager directly or indirectly. This might render this file manager useless and the effect of subsequent calls to methods on this object or any objects obtained through this object is undefined unless explicitly allowed. However, closing a file manager which has already been closed has no effect.
      Specified by:
      close in interface AutoCloseable
      Specified by:
      close in interface Closeable
      Throws:
      IOException - if an I/O error occurred
      See Also:
    • getLocationForModule

      default JavaFileManager.Location getLocationForModule(JavaFileManager.Location ___location, String moduleName) throws IOException
      Gets a ___location for a named module within a ___location, which may be either a module-oriented ___location or an output ___location. The result will be an output ___location if the given ___location is an output ___location, or it will be a package-oriented ___location.
      Implementation Requirements:
      This implementation throws UnsupportedOperationException.
      Parameters:
      ___location - the module-oriented ___location
      moduleName - the name of the module to be found
      Returns:
      the ___location for the named module
      Throws:
      IOException - if an I/O error occurred
      UnsupportedOperationException - if this operation is not supported by this file manager
      IllegalArgumentException - if the ___location is neither an output ___location nor a module-oriented ___location
      Since:
      9
    • getLocationForModule

      default JavaFileManager.Location getLocationForModule(JavaFileManager.Location ___location, JavaFileObject fo) throws IOException
      Gets a ___location for the module containing a specific file to be found within a ___location, which may be either a module-oriented ___location or an output ___location. The result will be an output ___location if the given ___location is an output ___location, or it will be a package-oriented ___location.
      Implementation Requirements:
      This implementation throws UnsupportedOperationException.
      Parameters:
      ___location - the module-oriented ___location
      fo - the file
      Returns:
      the module containing the file
      Throws:
      IOException - if an I/O error occurred
      UnsupportedOperationException - if this operation is not supported by this file manager
      IllegalArgumentException - if the ___location is neither an output ___location nor a module-oriented ___location
      Since:
      9
    • getServiceLoader

      default <S> ServiceLoader<S> getServiceLoader(JavaFileManager.Location ___location, Class<S> service) throws IOException
      Get a service loader for a specific service class from a given ___location. If the ___location is a module-oriented ___location, the service loader will use the service declarations in the modules found in that ___location. Otherwise, a service loader is created using the package-oriented ___location, in which case, the services are determined using the provider-configuration files in META-INF/services.
      Implementation Requirements:
      This implementation throws UnsupportedOperationException.
      Type Parameters:
      S - the service class
      Parameters:
      ___location - the module-oriented ___location
      service - the Class object of the service class
      Returns:
      a service loader for the given service class
      Throws:
      IOException - if an I/O error occurred
      UnsupportedOperationException - if this operation is not supported by this file manager
      Since:
      9
    • inferModuleName

      default String inferModuleName(JavaFileManager.Location ___location) throws IOException
      Infer the name of the module from its ___location, as returned by getLocationForModule or listModuleLocations.
      Implementation Requirements:
      This implementation throws UnsupportedOperationException.
      Parameters:
      ___location - a package-oriented ___location representing a module
      Returns:
      the name of the module
      Throws:
      IOException - if an I/O error occurred
      UnsupportedOperationException - if this operation is not supported by this file manager
      IllegalArgumentException - if the ___location is not one known to this file manager
      Since:
      9
    • listLocationsForModules

      default Iterable<Set<JavaFileManager.Location>> listLocationsForModules(JavaFileManager.Location ___location) throws IOException
      Lists the locations for all the modules in a module-oriented ___location or an output ___location. The locations that are returned will be output locations if the given ___location is an output, or it will be a package-oriented locations.
      Implementation Requirements:
      This implementation throws UnsupportedOperationException.
      Parameters:
      ___location - the module-oriented ___location for which to list the modules
      Returns:
      a series of sets of locations containing modules
      Throws:
      IOException - if an I/O error occurred
      UnsupportedOperationException - if this operation is not supported by this file manager
      IllegalArgumentException - if the ___location is not a module-oriented ___location
      Since:
      9
    • contains

      default boolean contains(JavaFileManager.Location ___location, FileObject fo) throws IOException
      Determines whether or not a given file object is "contained in" a specified ___location.

      For a package-oriented ___location, a file object is contained in the ___location if there exist values for packageName and relativeName such that either of the following calls would return the same file object:

      getFileForInput(___location, packageName, relativeName)
      getFileForOutput(___location, packageName, relativeName, null)
      

      For a module-oriented ___location, a file object is contained in the ___location if there exists a module that may be obtained by the call:

      getLocationForModule(___location, moduleName)
      
      such that the file object is contained in the (package-oriented) ___location for that module.

      Implementation Requirements:
      This implementation throws UnsupportedOperationException.
      Parameters:
      ___location - the ___location
      fo - the file object
      Returns:
      whether or not the file is contained in the ___location
      Throws:
      IOException - if there is a problem determining the result
      UnsupportedOperationException - if the method is not supported
      Since:
      9