Generating the SWT JNI Code

All of the C code used by SWT is generated by the JNIGeneratorApp application from the org.eclipse.swt.tools project in Eclipse CVS. This page describes how to use this tool when fixing bugs or adding features to SWT.

Adding native methods

1. Add the function prototype in OS.java, copying the style and structure of the other functions in that file.

2. Run JNIGeneratorAppUI from org.eclipse.swt.tools. This is a GUI application for editing the metadata and a front end to the generation phase. Select the appropriate class in the list and then find the method you added in OS.java.
   

3. Set any flags and modify the casts for any primitive types.

4. Hit Generate All to generate the C code and metadata files.

5. Refresh the org.eclipse.swt project to tell Eclipse about the C changes, and refresh the org.eclipse.swt.tools project to see the metadata changes.

6. Compile the new C code and copy the new libraries to the appropriate fragment. To compile the code, use the build.xml file in the Eclipse SWT PI/ws/library directory for your window system. Refresh your workspace after running the build to ensure Eclipse picks up the fresh binaries.
   

Adding structs

Often, methods return values or require parameters as a C struct. To add a new structure, simply add a new class in the same package as the OS.java file which matches the definition of the C structure. This will be picked up and correctly handled by JNIGeneratorApp.

If a struct is input-only or output-only, this information can be used by JNIGeneratorApp to generate more efficient C code. Use the flags attribute of the native function to indicate this in the metadata.

More Hints

• For GTK+ and Motif, all native functions must be wrapped in locking code. When adding functions, simply copy the style and structure of the other native functions.
• Many functions on Mac OS X return structs which use unions. For an example of how to add the markup for a union, see the ControlFontStyleRec structure and its metadata.

And there you go! If you're having trouble, please post to the SWT mailing list or file a new bug in bugzilla.