Java: Add Class to Jar archive at runtime

Question

Hi
I want to add some compiled classes (.class files) to directories(packages) in current Jar file at runtime
How can I do that?

Thanks

Answer 1

This cannot be done - To update a Jar file you need to create a new one and overwrite the old one with the new one.

Below is a sample on how you would do this:

import java.io.*;
import java.util.*;
import java.util.zip.*;
import java.util.jar.*;

public class JarUpdate {
   /**
    * main()
    */
   public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
      // Get the jar name and entry name from the command-line.

      String jarName = args[0];
      String fileName = args[1];

      // Create file descriptors for the jar and a temp jar.

      File jarFile = new File(jarName);
      File tempJarFile = new File(jarName + ".tmp");

      // Open the jar file.

      JarFile jar = new JarFile(jarFile);
      System.out.println(jarName + " opened.");

      // Initialize a flag that will indicate that the jar was updated.

      boolean jarUpdated = false;

      try {
         // Create a temp jar file with no manifest. (The manifest will
         // be copied when the entries are copied.)

         Manifest jarManifest = jar.getManifest();
         JarOutputStream tempJar =
            new JarOutputStream(new FileOutputStream(tempJarFile));

         // Allocate a buffer for reading entry data.

         byte[] buffer = new byte[1024];
         int bytesRead;

         try {
            // Open the given file.

            FileInputStream file = new FileInputStream(fileName);

            try {
               // Create a jar entry and add it to the temp jar.

               JarEntry entry = new JarEntry(fileName);
               tempJar.putNextEntry(entry);

               // Read the file and write it to the jar.

               while ((bytesRead = file.read(buffer)) != -1) {
                  tempJar.write(buffer, 0, bytesRead);
               }

               System.out.println(entry.getName() + " added.");
            }
            finally {
               file.close();
            }

            // Loop through the jar entries and add them to the temp jar,
            // skipping the entry that was added to the temp jar already.

            for (Enumeration entries = jar.entries(); entries.hasMoreElements(); ) {
               // Get the next entry.

               JarEntry entry = (JarEntry) entries.nextElement();

               // If the entry has not been added already, add it.

               if (! entry.getName().equals(fileName)) {
                  // Get an input stream for the entry.

                  InputStream entryStream = jar.getInputStream(entry);

                  // Read the entry and write it to the temp jar.

                  tempJar.putNextEntry(entry);

                  while ((bytesRead = entryStream.read(buffer)) != -1) {
                     tempJar.write(buffer, 0, bytesRead);
                  }
               }
            }

            jarUpdated = true;
         }
         catch (Exception ex) {
            System.out.println(ex);

            // Add a stub entry here, so that the jar will close without an
            // exception.

            tempJar.putNextEntry(new JarEntry("stub"));
         }
         finally {
            tempJar.close();
         }
      }
      finally {
         jar.close();
         System.out.println(jarName + " closed.");

         // If the jar was not updated, delete the temp jar file.

         if (! jarUpdated) {
            tempJarFile.delete();
         }
      }

      // If the jar was updated, delete the original jar file and rename the
      // temp jar file to the original name.

      if (jarUpdated) {
         jarFile.delete();
         tempJarFile.renameTo(jarFile);
         System.out.println(jarName + " updated.");
      }
   }
}

Answer 2

I'm not quite sure but I don't think it's possible to load classes from a JAR file (let's call it foo.jar), then modify the very same JAR file from which the classes were loaded, add a new class and expect the class to be found by the ClassLoader.

I'd think about refactoring the application itself and make it able to load classes dynamically (using URLClassLoader or any other technique) than trying to force the single JAR behaviour you described.