Load and Unload¶

As documented in Javet Design, Javet supports loading and unloading the JNI libraries during runtime in both Node.js and V8 modes.

Can Javet Native Library be Loaded or Unloaded On-demand?¶

Yes, Javet supports that.

Unload¶

Assuming the JNI library per mode is already loaded, here are the step-by-step on how to unload it.

// Step 1: Set library reloadable. Why? Because Javet defaults that switch to false.
V8Host.setLibraryReloadable(true);
// Step 2: Get V8Host per JS runtime type.
V8Host v8Host = V8Host.getInstance(jsRuntimeType);
// Step 3: Unload the library.
v8Host.unloadLibrary();
// Step 4: Restore the switch.
V8Host.setLibraryReloadable(false);

How does unloadLibrary() work? There is no API that allows unloading a JNI library explicitly. The only way is GC will automatically unload the library if all references to that library are garbage collectable. So, application is supposed to close all V8 values, V8 runtimes prior to calling unloadLibrary().

Load¶

Assuming the JNI library per mode is already unloaded, here are the step-by-step on how to load it again.

// Step 1: Get V8Host per JS runtime type.
V8Host v8Host = V8Host.getInstance(jsRuntimeType);
// Step 2: Load the library.
v8Host.loadLibrary();

Note

unloadLibrary() can only take effect after all references are garbage collectable.
loadLibrary() is internally called by Javet at the first time and only takes effect after unloadLibrary() is called.
loadLibrary() and unloadLibrary() are for experiment only. They may be unstable and crash JVM. Please use this feature at your own risk.

Can Javet Native Library be Deployed to a Custom Location?¶

Yes. By default, the native library is deployed to system temp which might not be accessible in some cases. Here is a simple way of telling Javet where to deploy the library.

JavetLibLoader.setLibLoadingListener(new IJavetLibLoadingListener() {
    @Override
    public File getLibPath(JSRuntimeType jsRuntimeType) {
        return new File("/../anywhere");
    }
});

By default, the native library is deployed by Javet. To bypass the deployment, one more function is required to be overridden. That also means the applications are responsible for deploying the native library to the right location.

JavetLibLoader.setLibLoadingListener(new IJavetLibLoadingListener() {
    @Override
    public File getLibPath(JSRuntimeType jsRuntimeType) {
        return new File("/../anywhere");
    }

    @Override
    boolean isDeploy(JSRuntimeType jsRuntimeType) {
        return false;
    }
});

Caution

JavetLibLoader.setLibLoadingListener() must be called before V8Host is called, otherwise it won't take effect.
The return path from getLibPath() does not include the library file name because Javet will prepare it.

Can Javet Native Library Deployment be Skipped?¶

Yes. In some cases, the native library can be directly deployed to system library path to avoid dynamic deployment. That brings better performance and less jar file size. Here is a sample way of telling Javet to skip the deployment.

JavetLibLoader.setLibLoadingListener(new IJavetLibLoadingListener() {
    @Override
    public boolean isLibInSystemPath(JSRuntimeType jsRuntimeType) {
        return true;
    }
});

Caution

JavetLibLoader.setLibLoadingListener() must be called before V8Host is called, otherwise it won't take effect.

Can already loaded in another classloader be Suppressed?¶

In some cases, the applications are hosted by some other classloaders (e.g. Mavin plug-in host, Osgi, etc.) that actively load and unload the applications on demand. That causes the Javet native library to be loaded repeatedly. However, JVM only allows one memory copy of a particular JNI library regardless of at which classloader it stays.

java.lang.UnsatisfiedLinkError: Native Library ***libjavet*** already loaded in another classloader

By default, Javet treats that as an error and prevent all API from working. But, applications may want to suppress this error because the Javet native library has already been loaded. Yes, Javet allows that. Here is a sample.

JavetLibLoader.setLibLoadingListener(new IJavetLibLoadingListener() {
    @Override
    public boolean isSuppressingError(JSRuntimeType jsRuntimeType) {
        return true;
    }
});

Caution

JavetLibLoader.setLibLoadingListener() must be called before V8Host is called, otherwise it won't take effect.

Can Javet Lib Loading Listener Take Environment Variables?¶

Yes. In some cases, it is inconvenient to inject a listener. No worry, JavetLibLoadingListener can take javet.lib.loading.path, javet.lib.loading.type and javet.lib.loading.suppress.error so that applications can inject custom lib loading mechanism without implementing a new listener.

# Load the Javet library from /abc with auto-deployment
java ... -Djavet.lib.loading.path=/abc

# Load the Javet library from /abc without auto-deployment
java ... -Djavet.lib.loading.path=/abc -Djavet.lib.loading.type=custom

# Load the Javet library from system library path
java ... -Djavet.lib.loading.type=system

# Suppress the error in loading the library
java ... -Djavet.lib.loading.suppress.error=true

Caution

This doesn't apply to Android.

Can Javet Libraries be Removed from the Jar File?¶

Yes, javet-core is available without the libraries. Just update javet or javet-macos to javet-core in the Installation.

Caution

This doesn't apply to Android.