JavaTM IDL: Changes between JDK 1.2 and J2SE 1.3

Documentation Contents

This release of the Java^TM 2 Platform, Standard Edition, includes RMI-IIOP, a technology that integrates Java RMI (Remote Method Invocation) and Java IDL. As a result, Java IDL now uses a new version of the IDL-to-Java compiler. This compiler supports new CORBA-standard features required for RMI-IIOP. A summary of the changes that have occurred as a result are outlined below.

RMI-IIOP supersedes Java IDL for most purposes, by enabling you to write CORBA-compliant interfaces directly in Java rather than in the OMG-specified IDL (Interface Definition Language) used with Java IDL. For details, see the RMI-IIOP documentation.

Java IDL API changes

The following list provides a summary of changes that occurred in Java IDL between the release of JDK 1.2 and J2SE v.1.3.

• NEW! IDL-to-Java compiler, idlj

  The tool that generates Java bindings froma given IDL file has been renamed from idltojava to idlj. The idltojava compiler was a separate download in JDK 1.2, the idlj compiler is available as part of the J2SE v.1.3 download and can be found in the /bin directory.

• NEW! IDL-to-Java compiler is 100% Pure Java

  The idltojava compiler was hard-coded to use a default C++ preprocessor. When using the idltojava compiler, it was necessary to add the path to the preprocessor prior to running the idltojava compiler. The idlj compiler is 100% pure Java, so no preprocessor is necessary, and no special care need be taken to set up a path to a preprocessor.

• NEW! More IDL-to-Java compiler options

  The idltojava compiler generated both client and server-side bindings by default. The idlj compiler generates only client-side bindings by default (making the assumption that client and server will reside on different hosts). You can easily emulate the default of the previous compiler by using the -fall option when compiling IDL files.

• NEW! Mapping for interfaces

  The idltojava compiler generated five files in a subdirectory with the same name as the IDL module. In accordance with the OMG IDL to Java Language Mapping Specification, Section 1.12, Mapping for Interfaces, the idlj compiler generates six files. The difference is that the signature interface no longer contains the method that corresponds to the interface defined in the IDL file. Instead, the operations interface, <interface>Operations.java, is generated in the <module> subdirectory and contains the methods defined by the interface. The operations interface is shared by both stubs and skeletons.

• NEW! Support for IDL value types

  The new IDL-to-Java compiler, idlj, support Java mapping to IDL value types, as described in the OMG IDL to Java Language Mapping Specification, Section 1.13, Mapping for ValueType.

For more information on the idlj compiler, link to idlj - The IDL-to-Java Compiler (RMI-IIOP version).

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