sqlite/ext/jni/README.md
stephan bfa486d5fc JNI doc additions.
FossilOrigin-Name: 0c7ac34f30e1f7e35a2ac4e5e55e5f24857b24afa81a7abecba60f1c9c68b9ff
2023-08-19 12:32:00 +00:00

237 lines
8.0 KiB
Markdown

SQLite3 via JNI
========================================================================
This directory houses a Java Native Interface (JNI) binding for the
sqlite3 API. If you are reading this from the distribution ZIP file,
links to resources in the canonical source tree will note work. The
canonical copy of this file can be browsed at:
<https://sqlite.org/src/doc/trunk/ext/jni/README.md>
Technical support is available in the forum:
<https://sqlite.org/forum>
> **FOREWARNING:** this subproject is very much in development and
subject to any number of changes. Please do not rely on any
information about its API until this disclaimer is removed. The JNI
bindgins released with version 3.43 are a "tech preview" and 3.44
will be "final," at which point strong backward compatibility
guarantees will apply.
Project goals/requirements:
- A [1-to-1(-ish) mapping of the C API](#1to1ish) to Java via JNI,
insofar as cross-language semantics allow for. A closely-related
goal is that [the C documentation](https://sqlite.org/c3ref/intro.html)
should be usable as-is, insofar as possible, for the JNI binding.
- Support Java as far back as version 8 (2014).
- Environment-independent. Should work everywhere both Java
and SQLite3 do.
- No 3rd-party dependencies beyond the JDK. That includes no
build-level dependencies for specific IDEs and toolchains. We
welcome the addition of build files for arbitrary environments
insofar as they neither interfere with each other nor become
a maintenance burden for the sqlite developers.
Non-goals:
- Creation of high-level OO wrapper APIs. Clients are free to create
them off of the C-style API.
Hello World
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
```java
import org.sqlite.jni.*;
import static org.sqlite.jni.SQLite3Jni;
...
OutputPointer.sqlite3 out = new OutputPointer.sqlite3();
int rc = sqlite3_open(":memory:", out);
final sqlite3 db = out.take();
if( 0 != rc ){
if( null != db ){
System.out.print("Error opening db: "+sqlite3_errmsg(db));
sqlite3_close(db);
}else{
System.out.print("Error opening db: rc="+rc);
}
... handle error ...
}
... use db ...
sqlite3_close_v2(db);
```
Building
========================================================================
The canonical builds assumes a Linux-like environment and requires:
- GNU Make
- A JDK supporting Java 8 or higher
- A modern C compiler. gcc and clang should both work.
Put simply:
```console
$ export JAVA_HOME=/path/to/jdk/root
$ make
$ make test
$ make clean
```
The jar distribution can be created with `make jar`.
<a id='1to1ish'></a>
One-to-One(-ish) Mapping to C
========================================================================
This JNI binding aims to provide as close to a 1-to-1 experience with
the C API as cross-language semantics allow. Changes are necessarily
made where cross-language semantics do not allow a 1-to-1, and
judiciously made where a 1-to-1 mapping would be unduly cumbersome to
use in Java.
Golden Rule: _Never_ Throw from Callbacks (Unless...)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Client-defined callbacks _must never throw exceptions_ unless _very
explicitly documented_ as being throw-safe. Exceptions are generally
reserved for higher-level bindings which are constructed to
specifically deal with them and ensure that they do not leak C-level
resources.
Unwieldy Constructs are Re-mapped
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some constructs, when modelled 1-to-1 from C to Java, are unduly
clumsy to work with in Java because they try to shoehorn C's way of
doing certain things into Java's wildly different ways. The following
subsections cover those, starting with a verbose explanation and
demonstration of where such changes are "really necessary"...
### Custom Collations
A prime example of where interface changes for Java are necessary for
usability is [registration of a custom
collation](https://sqlite.org/c3ref/create_collation.html):
```c
// C:
int sqlite3_create_collation(sqlite3 * db, const char * name, int eTextRep,
void *pUserData,
int (*xCompare)(void*,int,void const *,int,void const *));
int sqlite3_create_collation_v2(sqlite3 * db, const char * name, int eTextRep,
void *pUserData,
int (*xCompare)(void*,int,void const *,int,void const *),
void (*xDestroy)(void*));
```
The `pUserData` object is optional client-defined state for the
`xCompare()` and/or `xDestroy()` callback functions, both of which are
passed that object as their first argument. That data is passed around
"externally" in C because that's how C models the world. If we were to
bind that part as-is to Java, the result would be awkward to use (^Yes,
we tried this.):
```java
// Java:
int sqlite3_create_collation(sqlite3 db, String name, int eTextRep,
Object pUserData, xCompareType xCompare);
int sqlite3_create_collation_v2(sqlite3 db, String name, int eTextRep,
Object pUserData,
xCompareType xCompare, xDestroyType xDestroy);
```
The awkwardness comes from (A) having two distinctly different objects
for callbacks and (B) having their internal state provided separately,
which is ill-fitting in Java. For the sake of usability, C APIs which
follow that pattern use a slightly different Java interface:
```java
int sqlite3_create_collation(sqlite3 db, String name, int eTextRep,
Collation collation);
```
Where the `Collation` class has an abstract `xCompare()` method and
no-op `xDestroy()` method which can be overridden if needed, leading to
a much more Java-esque usage:
```java
int rc = sqlite3_create_collation(db, "mycollation", SQLITE_UTF8, new Collation(){
// Required comparison function:
@Override public int xCompare(byte[] lhs, byte[] rhs){ ... }
// Optional finalizer function:
@Override public void xDestroy(){ ... }
// Optional local state:
private String localState1 =
"This is local state. There are many like it, but this one is mine.";
private MyStateType localState2 = new MyStateType();
...
});
```
Noting that:
- It is possible to bind in call-scope-local state via closures, if
desired, as opposed to packing it into the Collation object.
- No capabilities of the C API are lost or unduly obscured via the
above API reshaping, so power users need not make any compromises.
- In the specific example above, `sqlite3_create_collation_v2()`
becomes superfluous because the provided interface effectively
provides both the v1 and v2 interfaces, the difference being that
overriding the `xDestroy()` method effectively gives it v2
semantics.
### User-defined SQL Functions (a.k.a. UDFs)
The [`sqlite3_create_function()`](https://sqlite.org/c3ref/create_function.html)
family of APIs make heavy use of function pointers to provide
client-defined callbacks, necessitating interface changes in the JNI
binding. The Java API has only one core function-registration function:
```java
int sqlite3_create_function(sqlite3 db, String funcName, int nArgs,
int encoding, SQLFunction func);
```
> Design question: does the encoding argument serve any purpose in
Java? That's as-yet undetermined. If not, it will be removed.
`SQLFunction` is not used directly, but is instead instantiated via
one of its three subclasses:
- `SQLFunction.Scalar` implements simple scalar functions using but a
single callback.
- `SQLFunction.Aggregate` implements aggregate functions using two
callbacks.
- `SQLFunction.Window` implements window functions using four
callbacks.
Search [`Tester1.java`](/file/ext/jni/src/org/sqlite/jni/Tester1.java) for
`SQLFunction` for how it's used.
Reminder: see the disclaimer at the top of this document regarding the
in-flux nature of this API.
### And so on...
Various APIs which accept callbacks, e.g. `sqlite3_trace_v2()` and
`sqlite3_update_hook()`, use interfaces similar to those shown above.