Core Java, Vol. II-Advanced Features, 12th Edition

Chapter 12. Native Methods

In this chapter

• 12.1 Calling a C Function from a Java Program

• 12.2 Numeric Parameters and Return Values

• 12.3 String Parameters

• 12.4 Accessing Fields

• 12.5 Encoding Signatures

• 12.6 Calling Java Methods

• 12.7 Accessing Array Elements

• 12.8 Handling Errors

• 12.9 Using the Invocation API

• 12.10 A Complete Example: Accessing the Windows Registry

• 12.11 Foreign Functions: A Glimpse into the Future

While a “100% Pure Java” solution is nice in principle, there are situations in which you will want to write (or use) code in another language. Such code is usually called native code.

Particularly in the early days of Java, many people assumed that it would be a good idea to use C or C++ to speed up critical parts of a Java application. ...