Java Language Java plugin system implementations Using URLClassLoader
Example
There are several ways to implement a plugin system for a Java application. One of the simplest is to use URLClassLoader. The following example will involve a bit of JavaFX code.
Suppose we have a module of a main application. This module is supposed to load plugins in form of Jars from 'plugins' folder. Initial code:
package main;
public class MainApplication extends Application
{
@Override
public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception
{
File pluginDirectory=new File("plugins"); //arbitrary directory
if(!pluginDirectory.exists())pluginDirectory.mkdir();
VBox loadedPlugins=new VBox(6); //a container to show the visual info later
Rectangle2D screenbounds=Screen.getPrimary().getVisualBounds();
Scene scene=new Scene(loadedPlugins,screenbounds.getWidth()/2,screenbounds.getHeight()/2);
primaryStage.setScene(scene);
primaryStage.show();
}
public static void main(String[] a)
{
launch(a);
}
}
Then, we create an interface which will represent a plugin.
package main;
public interface Plugin
{
default void initialize()
{
System.out.println("Initialized "+this.getClass().getName());
}
default String name(){return getClass().getSimpleName();}
}
We want to load classes which implement this interface, so first we need to filter files which have a '.jar' extension:
File[] files=pluginDirectory.listFiles((dir, name) -> name.endsWith(".jar"));
If there are any files, we need to create collections of URLs and class names:
if(files!=null && files.length>0)
{
ArrayList<String> classes=new ArrayList<>();
ArrayList<URL> urls=new ArrayList<>(files.length);
for(File file:files)
{
JarFile jar=new JarFile(file);
jar.stream().forEach(jarEntry -> {
if(jarEntry.getName().endsWith(".class"))
{
classes.add(jarEntry.getName());
}
});
URL url=file.toURI().toURL();
urls.add(url);
}
}
Let's add a static HashSet to MainApplication which will hold loaded plugins:
static HashSet<Plugin> plugins=new HashSet<>();
Next, we instantiate a URLClassLoader, and iterate over class names, instantiating classes which implement Plugin interface:
URLClassLoader urlClassLoader=new URLClassLoader(urls.toArray(new URL[urls.size()]));
classes.forEach(className->{
try
{
Class cls=urlClassLoader.loadClass(className.replaceAll("/",".").replace(".class","")); //transforming to binary name
Class[] interfaces=cls.getInterfaces();
for(Class intface:interfaces)
{
if(intface.equals(Plugin.class)) //checking presence of Plugin interface
{
Plugin plugin=(Plugin) cls.newInstance(); //instantiating the Plugin
plugins.add(plugin);
break;
}
}
}
catch (Exception e){e.printStackTrace();}
});
Then, we can call plugin's methods, for example, to initialize them:
if(!plugins.isEmpty())loadedPlugins.getChildren().add(new Label("Loaded plugins:"));
plugins.forEach(plugin -> {
plugin.initialize();
loadedPlugins.getChildren().add(new Label(plugin.name()));
});
The final code of MainApplication:
package main;
public class MainApplication extends Application
{
static HashSet<Plugin> plugins=new HashSet<>();
@Override
public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception
{
File pluginDirectory=new File("plugins");
if(!pluginDirectory.exists())pluginDirectory.mkdir();
File[] files=pluginDirectory.listFiles((dir, name) -> name.endsWith(".jar"));
VBox loadedPlugins=new VBox(6);
loadedPlugins.setAlignment(Pos.CENTER);
if(files!=null && files.length>0)
{
ArrayList<String> classes=new ArrayList<>();
ArrayList<URL> urls=new ArrayList<>(files.length);
for(File file:files)
{
JarFile jar=new JarFile(file);
jar.stream().forEach(jarEntry -> {
if(jarEntry.getName().endsWith(".class"))
{
classes.add(jarEntry.getName());
}
});
URL url=file.toURI().toURL();
urls.add(url);
}
URLClassLoader urlClassLoader=new URLClassLoader(urls.toArray(new URL[urls.size()]));
classes.forEach(className->{
try
{
Class cls=urlClassLoader.loadClass(className.replaceAll("/",".").replace(".class",""));
Class[] interfaces=cls.getInterfaces();
for(Class intface:interfaces)
{
if(intface.equals(Plugin.class))
{
Plugin plugin=(Plugin) cls.newInstance();
plugins.add(plugin);
break;
}
}
}
catch (Exception e){e.printStackTrace();}
});
if(!plugins.isEmpty())loadedPlugins.getChildren().add(new Label("Loaded plugins:"));
plugins.forEach(plugin -> {
plugin.initialize();
loadedPlugins.getChildren().add(new Label(plugin.name()));
});
}
Rectangle2D screenbounds=Screen.getPrimary().getVisualBounds();
Scene scene=new Scene(loadedPlugins,screenbounds.getWidth()/2,screenbounds.getHeight()/2);
primaryStage.setScene(scene);
primaryStage.show();
}
public static void main(String[] a)
{
launch(a);
}
}
Let's create two plugins. Obviously, the plugin's source should be in a separate module.
package plugins;
import main.Plugin;
public class FirstPlugin implements Plugin
{
//this plugin has default behaviour
}
Second plugin:
package plugins;
import main.Plugin;
public class AnotherPlugin implements Plugin
{
@Override
public void initialize() //overrided to show user's home directory
{
System.out.println("User home directory: "+System.getProperty("user.home"));
}
}
These plugins have to be packaged into standard Jars - this process depends on your IDE or other tools.
When Jars will be put into 'plugins' directly, MainApplication will detect them and instantiate appropriate classes.
