jdk/src/java.base/share/classes/java/lang/foreign/package-info.java
Maurizio Cimadamore f4dccfd4cf 8338596: Clarify handling of restricted and caller-sensitive methods
Co-authored-by: Hannes Wallnöfer <hannesw@openjdk.org>
Reviewed-by: alanb, jvernee
2024-10-15 09:10:13 +00:00

139 lines
7.5 KiB
Java

/*
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/**
* <p>Provides low-level access to memory and functions outside the Java runtime.
*
* <h2 id="fma">Foreign memory access</h2>
*
* <p>
* 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
* <a href=MemorySegment.html#segment-deref>access memory segments</a> using
* {@linkplain java.lang.foreign.MemoryLayout#varHandle(java.lang.foreign.MemoryLayout.PathElement...) var handles},
* which can be computed using <a href="MemoryLayout.html#layout-paths"><em>layout paths</em></a>.
* <p>
* 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 <em>native</em> 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 <em>try-with-resources</em>
* 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 <cite>The Java Language Specification</cite>.
* <p>
* 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
* <em>outside</em> the boundaries of the memory segment used by the access operation.
* We call this guarantee <em>spatial safety</em>; 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 <cite>The Java Language Specification</cite>.
* <p>
* Additionally, to prevent a region of memory from being accessed <em>after</em> it has
* been deallocated (i.e. <em>use-after-free</em>), 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 <em>temporal safety</em>.
* <p>
* 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.
*
* <h2 id="ffa">Foreign function access</h2>
*
* The key abstractions introduced to support foreign function access are
* {@link java.lang.foreign.SymbolLookup}, {@link java.lang.foreign.FunctionDescriptor} and
* {@link java.lang.foreign.Linker}. The first is used to look up symbols inside
* libraries; the second is used to model the signature of foreign functions, while the
* third is used to link foreign functions as {@link java.lang.invoke.MethodHandle}
* instances, so that clients can perform foreign function calls directly in Java,
* without the need for intermediate layers of C/C++ code (as is the case with the
* <a href="{@docRoot}/../specs/jni/index.html">Java Native Interface (JNI)</a>).
* <p>
* 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 <em>downcall method handle</em>
* 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.
* <p>
* 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;