The Java 9 Module System

Getting your hands dirty

Public Service Announcement

  • who knows the JPMS basics?

  • there’s much to talk about
    ⇝ this can only cover parts of the JPMS

  • slides at slides.codefx.org

Impedance Mismatch

Where the JVM disagrees with us

How do you think about Software?

What is it made of?

How I think about Software

  • interacting parts

  • parts have

    • names

    • dependencies

    • capabilities

  • creates a graph

How the JVM thinks about it

  • parts are packaged as JARs

  • to the JVM JARs

    • have no names

    • dependencies are unexpressed

    • have no coherent surface

  • JVM rolls them into one big ball of mud

Consequences

  • JAR hell

    • unexpressed, transitive dependencies

    • shadowing, version conflicts

    • complex class loading

  • slow

  • unsecure

  • maintenance nightmare

Project Jigsaw

Teaching the JVM
about that graph

Quick History

2005

first discussions about modularity in JDK

2008

Project Jigsaw is created

2011-2014

exploratory phase; ends with JSR 376

2015

prototype is released

2017

Java 9 gets released with module system

Goals

  • Reliable Configuration

  • Strong Encapsulation

  • Scalable Systems (esp. the JDK)

  • Security, Performance, Maintainability

Non-Goals

  • Version Selection

  • Multiple Versions

  • Package Isolation

Means

Introducing modules, which

  • have a name

  • express dependencies

  • encapsulate internals

Everything else follows from here!

Concepts & Features

  • Modules, Readability, Accessibility

  • Implied Readability, Qualified Exports

  • Modular JARs, Module Path, Module Graph

  • Services

  • Unnamed Modules, Automatic Modules

  • Reflection, Layers

  • Run-time Images

Java Module System Basics

Getting started...

Modules

Pieces of a puzzle

These are the nodes in our graph.

Definition

Modules

  • have a unique name

  • express their dependencies

  • export specific packages
    (and hide the rest)

Implementation

  • Modules are JARs with a module-info.class
    (aka Modular JAR)

  • gets generated from module-info.java:

    module $module_name {
    	requires $other_module;
    	exports $api_package;
    }
  • this is called a Module Declaration or a
    Module Descriptor

Readability

Putting the pieces together

Readability brings edges into our graph.

It is the basis for Reliable Configuration.

Definition

For two modules A and B with

module A {
	requires B;
}

we say

  • A requires B

  • A depends on B

  • A reads B

  • B is readable by A

Reliable Configuration

Java will only compile/launch when

  • every dependency is fulfilled

  • there are no cycles

  • there is no ambiguity

Consequences

  • boost for reliability

  • module system is strict and rigid
    (no way to easily alter dependencies)

  • module name changes are not supported

  • accidental long cycles will cause problems

Accessibility

Hiding internals

Accessibility governs which types a module can see.

It builds on top of Readability.

It is the basis for Strong Encapsulation.

Definition

A type in one module is only accessible
by code in another module if

  • the type is public

  • the package is exported

  • the second module reads the first

Strong Encapsulation

  • public is no longer public

  • even reflection doesn’t work

  • more fine-grained mechanisms exist:

    • for module authors in module declaration

    • for module users as command line arguments

Consequences

  • great boost for maintainability

  • major reason for community unrest

  • critical APIs survive until Java 10
    (e.g. sun.misc.Unsafe — see JEP 260)

  • life gets tougher for reflection-based
    libraries and frameworks

Jigsaw Advent Calendar

A simple example

Find it on GitHub!

Structure

advent calendar structure

Code

public static void main(String[] args) {
	List<SurpriseFactory> factories = asList(
		new ChocolateFactory(), new QuoteFactory());
	Calendar cal = Calendar.create(factories);
	println(cal.asText());
}
_

No Module

  • modularization is not required

  • JARs continue to work as today!

(Unless you do forbidden things, more on that later.)

  • we can just put the application
    on the class path as before

(Boring...)

No Module

Compilation, Packaging, Execution

# compile
$ javac -d classes/advent ${*.java}
# package with manifest
$ jar --create --file jars/advent.jar
    --manifest ${manifest}
    ${*.class}
# run
$ java -jar jars/advent.jar

A single module

Modularization

advent calendar module single
module advent {
	// java.base is implicitly required
	// requires no other modules
	// exports no API
}

(Still Boring...)

A single module

Compilation, Packaging, Execution

# compile with module-info.java
$ javac -d classes/advent ${*.java}
# package with module-info.class
# and specify main class
$ jar --create
    --file mods/advent.jar
    --main-class advent.Main
    ${*.class}
# run by specifying a module path
# and a module to run (by name)
$ java --module-path mods --module advent

A single module

Readability & Accessibility

advent calendar readability accessibility

Multiple Modules

b2e21fbf

Multiple Modules

advent calendar module multi
module surprise {
	// requires no other modules
	exports org.codefx.advent.surprise;
}
module calendar {
	requires surprise;
	exports org.codefx.advent.calendar;
}
module factories {
	requires surprise;
	exports org.codefx.advent.factories;
}
module advent {
	requires calendar;
	requires factories;
	requires surprise;
}

Multiple Modules

Compilation, Packaging, Execution

# compile all modules at once
$ javac -d classes
    --module-source-path "src"
    --module advent
# package one by one, eventually advent
$ jar --create
    --file mods/advent.jar
    --main-class advent.Main
    ${*.class}
# launch the application
$ java --module-path mods --module advent

Java Module System Beyond The Basics

Transitive Dependencies
Optional Dependencies
Services
Qualified Exports
Reflective Access

Java Module System Beyond The Basics

Transitive Dependencies
Optional Dependencies
Services
Qualified Exports
Reflective Access

Transitive Dependencies

Not all dependencies are created equal:

  • most are used within a module

  • some are used on the boundary
    between modules

Transitive dependencies are about the latter.

Exposing dependencies

Example in calendar exposing surprise:

public static Calendar create(
		List<SurpriseFactory> factories) {
	// ...
}
advent requires transitive problem

⇝ Module calendar is unusable without surprise!

Try and Error?

How can users of exposing module
determine required dependencies?

Try and error?

No!

Implied Readability

Exposing module can mark dependencies
on exposed modules with
requires transitive:

module A {
	requires transitive B;
}
  • A reads B as usual

  • modules reading A will read B
    without having to require it

A implies readability of B

Implied Readability

Applied to the advent calendar:

module calendar {
	requires transitive surprise;
	// ...
}
advent requires transitive solution

Further Applications

Implied readability is surprisingly versatile

  • aggregator modules

  • splitting modules up

  • even merging modules

  • renaming modules

Aggregator Modules

Making it easier to consume
calendar, factories, surprise:

module adventcalendar {
	requires transitive calendar;
	requires transitive factories;
	requires transitive surprise;
}

Splitting Modules

If factories gets split into
api, chocolate, and quotes:

module factories {
	requires transitive factory.api;
	requires transitive factory.chocolate;
	requires transitive factory.quotes;
}

Merging Modules

If calendar, factories, surprise
are merged into adventcalendar:

module calendar {
	requires transitive adventcalendar;
}

module factories {
	requires transitive adventcalendar;
}

module surprise {
	requires transitive adventcalendar;
}

Careful: Users suddenly depend on a large module!

Renaming Modules

If factories becomes surprisefactories:

module factories {
	requires transitive surprisefactories;
}

Summary

With A requires transitive B:

  • A reads B

  • any module reading A reads B

Applications:

  • make API usable without further dependencies

  • aggregator modules

  • splitting, merging, renaming modules

More at codefx.org:

Java Module System Beyond The Basics

Transitive Dependencies
Optional Dependencies
Services
Qualified Exports
Reflective Access

Optional Dependencies

Not all dependencies are equally required:

  • some are needed for a module to function

  • some can be absent and code adapts

  • some are only needed to enhance
    another module’s features

Optional dependencies are about the latter two.

Adapting Code

Use case:

  • a library may be absent from some deployments

  • code is aware and does not call absent modules

Example:

  • each SurpriseFactory implementation
    has its own module

  • advent works without any specific factory

Adapting Code

advent requires static

Enhancing A Module

Use case:

  • a project may provide usability functions
    for other libraries

  • such code will not be called if library modules
    are absent

Example:

  • hypothetical library uber-lib

  • provides usability functions for various libraries

Enhancing A Module

uber lib requires static

Conundrum

With what we know so far:

  • for code to compile against another module
    that module has to be required

  • a required module has to be present
    at launch time

⇝ If a module’s types are used
it has to be present at run time

(Reliable configuration!)

Optional Dependencies

Dependency can be marked requires static:

module A {
	requires static B;
}
  • at compile time: A requires B as usual

  • at run time:

    • if B is present, A reads B

    • otherwise, app can launch
      but access to B can fail

Adapting Code

For advent and the two factories:

module advent {
	requires calendar;
	requires surprise;
	requires static factory.chocolate;
	requires static factory.quote;
}

Adapting Code

Checking whether module is present:

Optional<SurpriseFactory> createChocolateFactory() {
	if (isModulePresent("factory.chocolate"))
		return Optional.of(new ChocolateFactory());
	else
		return Optional.empty();
}

Enhancing A Module

For uber-lib:

module uber.lib {
	requires static com.google.guava;
	requires static org.apache.commons.lang;
	requires static io.vavr;
	requires static com.aol.cyclops;
}

Assumptions:

  • nobody calls into Guava part without using Guava

  • no runtime checks necessary

Summary

With A requires static B:

  • at compile time: A requires B as usual

  • at runtime: B may be absent

Two kinds of applications:

  • modules with code adapting to absence

  • utility libraries that aren’t called
    without that dependency

More at codefx.org:

Java Module System Beyond The Basics

Transitive Dependencies
Optional Dependencies
Services
Qualified Exports
Reflective Access

Dependency Inversion?

advent dependency inversion

Service Locator Pattern

Consumers and implementations
of an API should be decoupled.

Service locator pattern:

  • service registry as central arbiter

  • implementors inform registry

  • consumers call registry to get implementations

Services in JPMS

In the JPMS:

  • modules declare which services they use

  • modules declare which services they provide

  • ServiceLoader is the registry

  • code can interact with it to load services

Service Declarations

Module declarations:

// consumer
module A {
	uses some.Service;
}

// provider
module B {
	provides some.Service
		with some.Type;
}

(A and B need access to some.Service)

Loading Services

  • A never "sees" providers like B

  • module system picks up all providers

  • A can get providers from ServiceLoader

ServiceLoader.load(Service.class)

Factory Services

module advent {
	requires surprise;
	uses surprise.SurpriseFactory;
}

module factory.chocolate {
	requires surprise;
	provides surprise.SurpriseFactory
		with factory.quote.ChocolateFactory;
}

module factory.quote {
	requires surprise;
	provides surprise.SurpriseFactory
		with factory.quote.QuoteFactory;
}

Factory Services

advent services

Factory Services

public static void main(String[] args) {
	List<SurpriseFactory> factories = ServiceLoader
		.load(SurpriseFactory.class).stream()
		.map(Provider::get)
		.collect(toList());
	Calendar cal = Calendar.create(factories);
	System.out.println(cal.asText());
}

Summary

To decouple API consumers and providers:

  • consumer uses Service

  • provider provides Service with Impl

Module system is service locator;
request implementations from ServiceLoader:

ServiceLoader.load(Service.class)

Java Module System Beyond The Basics

Transitive Dependencies
Optional Dependencies
Services
Qualified Exports
Reflective Access

Qualified Exports

So far, exported packages are visible
to every reading module.

What if a set of modules wants to share code?

Known Problem

Similar to utility classes:

  • if class should be visible outside of package,
    it has to be public ⇝ visible to everybody

  • if package should be visible outside of module,
    it has to be exported ⇝ visible to everybody

Module system fixes the former.
What about the latter?

Qualified Exports

module A {
	exports some.pack to B;
}
  • B can access some.pack
    as if regularly exported

  • other modules can not access it
    as if not exported at all

Factory Utilities

To ease implementation of SurpriseFactory:

  • create new module factory

  • add class AbstractSurpriseFactory

  • export that package only to
    factory implementation modules

module factory {
	requires transitive surprise;
	exports factory
		to factory.chocolate, factory.quote;
}

Summary

With A exports pack to B:

  • only B can access types in some.pack

  • other modules behave as if some.pack
    is not exported

Use to share sensible code between modules.

Java Module System Beyond The Basics

Transitive Dependencies
Optional Dependencies
Services
Qualified Exports
Reflective Access

Reflective Access

Exporting a package makes it public API:

  • modules can compile code against it

  • clients expect it to be stable

What if a type is only meant
to be accessed via reflection?

(Think Spring, Hibernate, etc.)

Open Packages

module A {
	opens some.pack;
}
  • at compile time:
    types in some.pack are not accessible

  • at run time:
    all types and members in some.pack
    are accessible

A qualified variant (opens to) exists.

Open Modules

open module A {
	// no more `opens` clauses
}

The same as open packages
but for all of them!

Summary

With open modules or open packages:

  • code can be made accessible
    at run time only

  • particularly valuable to open
    for reflection

Use to make types available for reflection
without making them public API.

Command Line Options

The module system is pretty strict but…​

  • …​ not all modules are well-designed

  • …​ not all use cases were intended

What to do then?

Command line options to the rescue!
(I often call them "escape hatches".)

Command Line Options

All command line flags can be applied
to javac and java!

When used during compilation,
they do not change the resulting
module descriptor!

Add Modules

If a module is not required,
it might not make it into the module graph.

Help it get there with --add-modules:

$ java --module-path mods
#   --add-modules <module>(,<module>)*
    --add-modules java.xml.ws.annotation
    --module advent

Add Java EE Modules

Java EE modules are not resolved by default!

  • java.activation

  • java.corba

  • java.transaction

  • java.xml.bind

  • java.xml.ws

  • java.xml.ws.annotation

They need to be added with --add-modules or
be replaced with third party dependencies.

Add Readability Edges

Maybe a module in the graph is not readable
by another but you need it to be.

Add readability edges with --add-reads:

$ java --module-path mods
#   --add-reads <module>=<target>(,<more>)*
    --add-reads advent=factories
    --module advent

Add Exports

A common case:

A module needs types that
the owning module doesn’t export.

Export them with --add-exports:

$ java --module-path mods
#   --add-exports <module>/<package>=<target>
    --add-exports factories/factory.quotes=advent
    --module advent

Use target ALL-UNNAMED to export to all modules.

Open Packages

Another common case:

A module reflects on types from a package that
the owning module doesn’t open.

Open packages with add-opens:

$ java --module-path mods
#   --add-opens <module>/<package>=<target>
    --add-opens factories/factory.quotes=advent
    --module advent

Use target ALL-UNNAMED to open to all modules.

(It is not possible to open an entire module.)

Patch Modules

Maybe you have a package split…​

Mend it with --patch-module:

$ java --module-path mods
    --add-modules java.xml.ws.annotation
#   --patch-module <module>=<JAR>
    --patch-module java.xml.ws.annotation=jsr305.jar
    --module advent

All classes from jsr305.jar are put
into java.xml.ws.annotation.

Patch Module

By putting JAR content into a module A:

  • split packages can be mended

  • A needs to read JAR’s dependencies,
    which need to export used packages

  • modules using JAR content need to read A
    and A needs to export used packages

Often used with --add-reads and --add-exports.

Summary

Edit module graph with:

  • --add-modules to add modules

  • --add-reads to add readability edges

  • --add-exports to export packages to modules

  • --add-opens to open packages to modules

  • --patch-module to add classes to module

The latter two accept ALL-UNNAMED as target.

More at codefx.org:

Incremental Modularization

Moving Into Module Land

Why Is It Even An Option?

  • most module systems are "in or out",

  • but modularized JDK and legacy JARs
    have to cooperate!

  • there is a boundary between
    legacy and modules

Incremental modularization means
moving that boundary.

Enablers

Incremental modularization is enabled by two features:

  • Unnamed Module(s)

  • Automatic Modules

And the fact that module and class path coexist:

  • modular JARs can be put on either

  • "regular" JARs can be put on either

The Unnamed Module

Why The Class Path "Just Works"

Definition

The Unnamed Module
contains all JARs on the class path
(including modular JARs).

  • has no name (surprise!)

  • can read all modules

  • exports all packages

Inside the unnamed module
"the chaos of the class path" lives on.

Example

Put all your JARs on the class path.

modularization unnamed

No Access

  • what if your code was modularized?
    and your dependencies were not?

  • proper modules can not depend on
    "the chaos on the class path"

  • this is not possible:

    module advent {
    	requires unnamed;
    }

No Access

modularization unnamed dependency

Automatic Modules

From Modules To The Class Path

Definition

An Automatic Module
is created for each "regular" JAR
on the module path.

  • name defined by manifest entry
    AUTOMATIC-MODULE-NAME or
    derived from JAR name

  • can read all modules
    (including the Unnamed Module)

  • exports all packages

Example

  • put guava-19.0.jar on the module path

  • then this works:

    module advent {
    	requires guava;
    }

Example

modularization automatic

What Goes Where?

Class PathModule Path

Regular JAR

Unnamed Module

Automatic Module

Modular JAR

Unnamed Module

Explicit Module

Unnamed or named module?
The user decides, not the maintainer!

Modularization Strategies

Three strategies emerge:

  • bottom-up

  • top-down

  • inside-out

Bottom-Up

Works best for projects without
unmodularized dependencies
(libraries).

  • turn project JARs into modules

  • they still work on the class path

  • clients can move them to the module path
    whenever they want

Top-Down

Required for projects with
unmodularized dependencies
(applications).

  • turn project JARs into modules

Top-Down

  • modularized dependencies:

    • require direct ones

    • put all on the module path

  • unmodularized dependencies:

    • require direct ones with automatic name

    • put direct ones on the module path

    • put others on the class path

Top-Down

When dependencies get modularized:

  • hopefully the name didn’t change

  • if they are already on the module path,
    nothing changes

  • otherwise move them there

  • check their dependencies

Inside-Out

What about published projects with
unmodularized dependencies
(libraries)?

  • top-down mostly works

  • but there’s an important detail
    about automatic module names!

Inside-Out

Automatic Module Names

  • automatic module name may
    be based on JAR name

  • file names can differ
    across build environments

  • module name can change
    when project gets modularized

⇝ Such automatic module names are unstable.

Inside-Out

Impossible Module Requirements

  • dependencies might require the same
    module by different names

  • the module system does not support that

  • there is no way to launch that application!

Do not publish modules
that depend on automatic modules
whose names are based on file names!

Inside-Out

Manifest Entry

  • thanks to manifest entry,
    projects can publish their module name

  • assumption is that it won’t change
    when project gets modularized

  • that makes these names stable

⇝ It is ok to publish modules
that depend on automatic modules
whose names are based on manifest entry.

Analyzing Dependencies With JDeps

Helping You Modularize!

About JDeps

  • a command line tool

  • analyzes bytecode to
    detect dependencies

  • exists since Java 8

  • really shines with modules

Simplest Invocation

$ jdeps sh-2.6.3.jar

> sh-2.6.3.jar -> java.base
> sh-2.6.3.jar -> java.datatransfer
> sh-2.6.3.jar -> java.desktop
# ... truncated more module dependencies ...
>    edu.udo.sh -> com.beust.jcommander  not found
>    edu.udo.sh -> edu.udo.sh.data       sh-2.6.3.jar
>    edu.udo.sh -> edu.udo.sh.gui        sh-2.6.3.jar
>    edu.udo.sh -> edu.udo.sh.gui.util   sh-2.6.3.jar
>    edu.udo.sh -> edu.udo.sh.util       sh-2.6.3.jar
>    edu.udo.sh -> java.io               java.base
>    edu.udo.sh -> java.lang             java.base
>    edu.udo.sh -> javax.swing           java.desktop
# ... truncated many more package dependencies ...

Analyzing Dependencies

$ jdeps
	--class-path 'libs/*' -recursive
	sh-2.6.3.jar

# ... truncated split package warnings ...
# ... truncated some module/JAR dependencies...
> sh-2.6.3.jar -> libs/commons-codec-1.6.jar
> sh-2.6.3.jar -> libs/commons-io-2.4.jar
> sh-2.6.3.jar -> libs/dom4j-1.6.1.jar
> sh-2.6.3.jar -> libs/exp4j-0.1.38.jar
> sh-2.6.3.jar -> libs/guava-18.0.jar
# ... truncated more module/JAR dependencies...
# ... truncated many, many package dependencies ...

Creating Graphs

$ jdeps
	--class-path 'libs/*' -recursive
	--dot-output dots
	sh-2.6.3.jar
# sed -i 's/-1.0-SNAPSHOT.jar//g' summary.dot
# sed -i '/java.base/d' summary.dot
$ dot -Tpng -O dots/summary.dot

JDK-Internal APIs

$ jdeps
	--class-path 'libs/*' -recursive
	--jdk-internals
	sh-2.6.3.jar

Remember This?

Benefiting From JDK Modularization

Create a JDK install with just the code you need:

  • know which modules your app uses (⇝ jdeps)

  • create an image with those modules (⇝ jlink)

This is about jlink.

A Minimal JDK Image

Create with jlink

$ jlink
#   define output folder for the image
    --output jdk
#   where to find modules?
    --module-path $JAVA_HOME/jmods
#   which modules to add (includes dependencies!)
    --add-modules java.base

Try it out:

$ jdk/bin/java --list-modules
> java.base

Image For A Backend

Say you use JAX-WS, JAXP, JAXB, JDBC, and JUL:

$ jlink
    --output jdk
    --module-path $JAVA_HOME/jmods
    --add-modules java.xml.ws,java.xml,java.xml.bind
	--add-modules java.sql,java.logging

Image For A Backend

$ jdk/bin/java --list-modules
> java.activation
> java.base
> java.compiler
> java.datatransfer
> java.desktop
> java.logging
> java.management
> java.prefs
> java.sql
> java.xml
> java.xml.bind
> java.xml.ws
> java.xml.ws.annotation
> jdk.httpserver
> jdk.unsupported

Image Including Your App

To create an image for your app
all JARs need to be modularized!
(Including dependencies.)

$ jlink
    --output jdk
    --module-path $JAVA_HOME/jmods:mods
    --add-modules advent
#   services are not resolves automatically
    --add-modules factory.surprise,factory.chocolate

Launching the app:

jdk/bin/java -module advent

Creating A Launcher

You can even create a launcher:

$ jlink
    --output jdk
    --module-path $JAVA_HOME/jmods:mods
    --add-modules advent,...
#   --launcher <name>=<module>[/<mainclass>]
    --launcher calendar=advent

Launching the app:

jdk/bin/calendar

More Options

  • --bind-services: link in all service providers

  • --limit-modules: limit universe of observable mods

  • --no-header-files: exclude include header files

  • --no-man-pages: exclude man pages

  • --strip-debug: strip debug information

Summary

You can use jlink to:

  • create a runtime image
    with just the right classes

  • create a runtime image
    including your code

This should make certain kinds of deploys
smaller and easier.

About Nicolai Parlog

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Image Credits

Introduction

Project Jigsaw

Java Module System

Incremental Modularization

Migration Challenges

Rest