RE: define-class and define-simple-class don't work in the latest versions

["Heineman, William P" <william_p_heineman at groton dot pfizer dot com>]

Per Bothner wrote:

> The main problem is define-class and define-simple-class really only
> work for compiled files.  If you use them on the command line or in a
> file you load you get into problems with the definition of a class
> creating a class in one Java class loader, and then code that uses the
> class trying to look for it in another class loader, usually the system
> class loader.  I think these problems can be solved by re-using class
> loaders more, but I haven't tried to work out the details.  (One issue
> is that if we re-use class loaders, then we risk thatt temporary classes
> will not get garbage collected.)

Understood. I based my assumptions on the first release of this feature,
where it worked as described. The docs should mention the restriction,
accordingly.

> Another potential problem is that the names 'test-one' and 'test-two'
> are not valid Java class names, so they need to be "mangled".  Kawa
> should do this automatically, but it is an issue to be aware of.

Same as above. The examples in the docs are '2d-vector' and '3d-vector'.

Thanks for your reply. I'll dig into the class loader docs myself. I seem to
recall there's a fix or workaround to the garbage collection issue in the
latest versions of the JVM (1.3 and higher). I really think dynamic class
definition is a plus, if not a requirement for everybody.

Cheers,

Willy Heineman





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