Java

RMI
CDP Tutorial

Based on

Based on the slides of Alexander Day Chaffee

 Remote Objects (Diagram)
Java Virtual Machine Java Virtual Machine

Client Remote
Object TCP Object
What is RMI?

RMI is an RPC system for an object based
language.

Objects provide a natural granularity for the
binding of functions.

RMI allows a program to hold a reference to an object
on a remote system and to call that object’s methods.

Client-Server architecture.

Server holds the object.

Client holds a small stub that accesses the object on
the Server.
 RMI Layers
Java Virtual Machine Java Virtual Machine
Client Remote
Object Object

Stub Skeleton

Remote Reference Layer Remote Reference Layer

TCP
Transport Layer Transport Layer
 Remote Objects

Remote Objects

Live on server

Accessed as if they were local
 Remote References and
Interfaces

Remote References

Refer to remote objects

Invoked on client exactly like local object
references

Remote Interfaces

Declare exposed methods

Implemented on client

Like a proxy for the remote object
 Stubs and Skeletons

Stub

lives on client

pretends to be remote object

Skeleton

lives on server

receives requests from stub

talks to true remote object

delivers response to stub
 Remote Interfaces and Stubs
Remote Interface

implements implements

Remote Object
Client Stub Skeleton
(Server)
 Registries

Name and look up remote objects

Servers can register their objects

Clients can find server objects and obtain a
remote reference

A registry is a running process on a host
machine
 RMI System Architecture
Client Virtual Machine Server Virtual Machine
Client Remote
Object

Skeleton
Stub Server

“Fred”

Registry Virtual Machine

 RMI Flow
1. Server Creates Remote Object
Client Virtual Machine Server Virtual Machine
2. Server Registers Remote Object
Client Remote
Object
1

Skeleton
Stub Server

“Fred”

Registry Virtual Machine

 RMI Flow
Client Virtual Machine Server Virtual Machine
Client Remote
3. Client requests object from Registry
Object
4. Registry returns remote reference
(and stub gets created)
Skeleton
Stub Server
3 4

“Fred”

Registry Virtual Machine

 RMI Flow
Client Virtual Machine Server Virtual Machine
Client Remote
Object
5 7

6
Skeleton
Stub Server

5. Client invokes stub method

6. Stub talks to skeleton
7. Skeleton invokes remote object
method “Fred”

Registry Virtual Machine

 RMI Usage

Start registry

Start server

Run client
 Creating Remote Objects

Define a Remote Interface

extends java.rmi.Remote

Define a class that implements the Remote
Interface

extends java.rmi.RemoteObject

or java.rmi.UnicastRemoteObject
 Remote Interface Example
import java.rmi.*;
public interface Adder
extends Remote
{
public int add(int x, int y)
throws RemoteException;
}
 Remote Class Example
import java.rmi.*;
import java.rmi.server.*;
public class AdderImpl extends UnicastRemoteObject
implements Adder
{
public AdderImpl() throws RemoteException
{
// NOTE: !!!EMPTY CONSTRUCTOR!!!
}
public int add(int x, int y) throws RemoteException
{
return x + y;
}
}
 Registering Remote Classes

start the registry

running process

Unix:
rmiregistry &

Windows:
start /m rmiregistry
 Registry CLASSPATH

Registry VM needs to be able to find stub
file(s)

You must set the CLASSPATH to include
the directory containing the stub file

An easy way to check CLASSPATH is to use the javap command,
supplying a fully package qualified class name. It uses the current
CLASSPATH to find and print the interface to a class.
 Create the server

Creates a new instance of the remote
object

Registers it in the registry with a unique
name

That’s it
 RMI Server Example
try {
AdderImpl adder = new AdderImpl();
Naming.rebind("adder", adder);
System.err.println(“Bind successful”);
}
catch (RemoteException re) {
re.printStackTrace();
}
catch (MalformedURLException me) {
me.printStackTrace();
}
 Launch the Server
% java AdderServer
Bind successful
 Server Logging

invoke from command line
java
-Djava.rmi.server.logCalls=true
YourServerImpl

or enable inside program
RemoteServer.setLog(System.err);
 Creating an RMI Client

Find a registry

use java.rmi.Naming

Lookup the name, returns a reference

Cast the reference to the appropriate
Remote Interface

Just use it!
 RMI URLs
rmi://host[:port]/name

default port is 1099

Specifies hostname of registry

can also use relative URLs

name only

assumes registry is on local host
 RMI Client Example
Adder a = (Adder)//not AdderImpl
Naming.lookup("rmi://server/adder");

int sum = a.add(2,2);

System.out.println("2+2=" + sum);
 Remote Interfaces vs. Remote
Classes

Remember that the reference is to an
interface

You must make references, arrays, etc. out
of the interface type, not the
implementation type

You can’t cast the remote reference to a
normal reference

So name your Remote Objects with “Impl”
(so you don’t get confused)
 Parameter Passing

Primitive types

passed by value

Remote objects

passed by reference

Non-remote objects

passed by value

uses Java Object Serialization
 Callbacks

They just work

Pass in a remote reference to a client
object

Server object can call its methods
transparently

Registry is out of the loop
 Object Serialization

aka Persistence

saves the state (data) of a particular
instance of an object

serialize - to save

unserialize - to load
 Java Serialization

writes object as a sequence of bytes

writes it to a Stream

recreates it on the other end

creates a brand new object with the old
data
 java.io.Serializable

Objects that implement the
java.io.Serializable interface are marked as
serializable

Also subclasses

Magically, all non-static and non-transient
data members will be serialized

Actually, it’s not magic, it’s Reflection (it’s
done with mirrors)

empty interface - just a marker

It’s a promise
 Not All Objects Are
Serializable

Any object that doesn’t implement
Serializable

Any object that would pose a security risk

e.g. FileInputStream

Any object whose value depends on VM-
specific information

e.g. Thread

Any object that contains a (non-static, non-
transient) unserializable object (recursively)
 NotSerializableException

thrown if you try to serialize or unserialize
an unserializable object

maybe you subclassed a Serializable object
and added some unserializable members
 Incompatible Changes

If class has members added or removed, it
becomes incompatible

java.io.InvalidClassException thrown if you
try to deserialize an incompatible object
stream
 Limitations of RMI

Java-only

but you can use JNI on the server

Uses TCP, not UDP

At least two sockets per connection

Untested for huge loads
 Summary

RMI is a very clean API

Easy way to write distributed programs

Wire protocol may need improvement for
large-scale problems
 Where to get more
information

Harold, Java Network Programming
(O’Reilly)

rmi-users mailing list ([email protected])

http:/ / www.developer.com/ (Gamelan)

http:/ / www.javaworld.com/ (magazine)

http:/ / www.stinky.com/ java/ (Alexander
Day Chaffee's site)

Material from the previous semester