Classifying Java class transformations for pervasive virtualized access

The indirection of object accesses is a common theme for target domains as diverse as transparent distribution, persistence, and program instrumentation. Virtualizing accesses to fields and methods (by redirecting calls through accessor and indirection methods) allows interposition of arbitrary code, extending the functionality of an application beyond that intended by the original developer. We present class modifications performed by our RuggedJ transparent distribution platform for standard Java virtual machines. RuggedJ abstracts over the location of objects by implementing a single object model for local and remote objects. However the implementation of this model is complicated by the presence of native and system code; classes loaded by Java’s bootstrap class loader can be rewritten only in a limited manner, and so cannot be modified to conform to RuggedJ’s complex object model. We observe that system code comprises the majority of a given Java application: an average of...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2009
• Where: GPCE
• Authors: Phil McGachey, Antony L. Hosking, J. Eliot B. Moss
• Keywords: GPCE 2009, Object Model, Programming Languages, Single Object Model, Transparent Distribution