jParser is a compact Java library designed to facilitate the integration of C/C++ code with desktop, mobile, and web platforms, enabling inline writing within Java source code.
Inspired by gdx-jnigen, jParser allows you to embed native code within a code block. This block is then translated into the appropriate target-specific code. You can define multiple code block targets within the same Java source file, and for each target, jParser generates a corresponding Java source file.
For web applications, jParser requires Emscripten to produce JS/WASM files and utilizes TeaVM. The classes generated in the TeaVM module use JSBody annotation solution to interact with JavaScript.
Currently, jParser supports only JNI and TEAVM code targets.
jParser consists of two main components:
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Code Generation: It reads the Java source code containing the jParser solution and generates new Java source code for each target platform. The
basemodule is used for this purpose. For desktop and mobile platforms, the generated JNI code is located in thecoremodule, while the web-specific code is placed in theteavmmodule. -
C/C++ Compilation: It compiles the C/C++ code for various platforms, including Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, iOS, and the Web.
To further streamline the lengthy process of manually porting each method, jParser includes support for Emscripten WebIDL. By creating a WebIDL file, you can automatically generate binding code for both JNI and TeaVM. While this feature may not cover every scenario, it significantly reduces the effort required to bind large libraries. For a comprehensive example, refer to the example:lib module or gdx-imgui.
The generated methods will match those defined in the WebIDL file. If the C++ code is case-sensitive, as seen in ImGui, the corresponding Java methods will also maintain case sensitivity. Additionally, C/C++ attributes are converted into methods prefixed with set_ or get_.
- IDL classes, such as IDLInt or IDLIntArray, provide a way to pass primitive pointers to C++ code. These classes are compatible with Emscripten, desktop, and mobile platforms. Use them when you need to pass a pointer array or a primitive that the C++ code will modify.
- C++ enums are converted into classes, where each enum name represents an integer value.
- Methods annotated with [Value] return a copy of the object. The object is cached in both C++ and Java. Each time you call the same method, it overwrites the previous data, so avoid retaining references to the returned object.
- JParser does not automatically dispose of C++ objects. It will issue a warning if there is a memory leak, and it is your responsibility to call dispose to free the memory. For classes marked with [NoDelete], there is no need to call dispose.
Libraries using jParser:
¹: The focus is on maintaining this project.
²: This project is currently inactive and may only be used to test the generator.