Nashorn: a JavaScript Engine on the JVM

A JavaScript Engine for the JVM

José Paumard
blog.paumard.org
@JosePaumard
 Module Outline

 REPL: Java in JavaScript

 Module Outline

 REPL: Java in JavaScript

 ScriptEngine: Java in JavaScript

 Module Outline

 REPL: Java in JavaScript

 ScriptEngine: Java in JavaScript

 JavaScript and JavaFX

A JavaScript REPL
 What Is a REPL?

 REPL = Read, Eval, Print Loop

 It looks like a shell, ie with a prompt

 And enables one to type in JavaScript interactively

 What Is a REPL?

 REPL = Read, Eval, Print Loop

 It looks like a shell, ie with a prompt

 And enables one to type in JavaScript interactively

 jjs is the REPL executable

 It is located in $JAVA_HOME/bin, in the same place as javac or java

 What Is a REPL?

 REPL = Read, Eval, Print Loop

 It looks like a shell, ie with a prompt

 And enables one to type in JavaScript interactively

 What Is a REPL?

 REPL = Read, Eval, Print Loop

 It looks like a shell, ie with a prompt

 And enables one to type in JavaScript interactively

jjs> 'Hello world!'.length()

12
jjs>
 What Is a REPL?

 REPL = Read, Eval, Print Loop

 It looks like a shell, ie with a prompt

 And enables one to type in JavaScript interactively

jjs> function fibo(n) { return n <= 1 ? n : n + fibo(n ‐ 1) }

function fibo(n) { return n <= 1 ? n : n + fibo(n ‐ 1) }
jjs>fibo(100)
5050
jjs>
 What Is a REPL?

 REPL = Read, Eval, Print Loop

 It looks like a shell, ie with a prompt

 And enables one to type in JavaScript interactively

jjs> function fibo(n) { return n <= 1 ? n : n + fibo(n ‐ 1) }

function fibo(n) { return n <= 1 ? n : n + fibo(n ‐ 1) }
jjs>fibo(100)
5050
jjs>function fact(n) { return n <= 1 ? n : n*fact(n ‐ 1) }
function fact(n) { return n <= 1 ? n : n*fact(n ‐ 1) }
jjs>fact(5)
120
jjs>
 What Is a REPL?

 One can create Java objects and interact with them

jjs>var s = new java.lang.String("Hello")

jjs>s
Hello
jjs>
 What Is a REPL?

 One can create Java objects and interact with them

jjs>var s = new java.lang.String("Hello")

jjs>s
Hello
jjs>s.toUpperCase()
HELLO
jjs>
 The REPL

 The Nashorn REPL allows to interactively type in an execute Java and

JavaScript
Running JavaScript in Java code
 Running JavaScript in a Java Application

 Java has been supporting script engines since Java 6 (2006)

 Many languages are available: Groovy and JRuby

 Running JavaScript in a Java Application

 Java has been supporting script engines since Java 6 (2006)

 Many languages are available: Groovy and JRuby

 One needs to get a script engine by its name

ScriptEngineManager manager = new ScriptEngineManager();

ScriptEngine engine = manager.getEngineByName("nashorn");

 Running JavaScript in a Java Application

 Java has been supporting script engines since Java 6 (2006)

 Many languages are available: Groovy and JRuby

 One needs to get a script engine by its name

ScriptEngineManager manager = new ScriptEngineManager();

ScriptEngine engine = manager.getEngineByName("nashorn");

 This object is used to interact with the JavaScript interpreter

Object result = engine.eval("/* JavaScript code here */");
 Running JavaScript in a Java Application

 Java has been supporting script engines since Java 6 (2006)

 Many languages are available: Groovy and JRuby

 One needs to get a script engine by its name

ScriptEngineManager manager = new ScriptEngineManager();

ScriptEngine engine = manager.getEngineByName("nashorn");

 This object is used to interact with the JavaScript interpreter

Object result = engine.eval("/* JavaScript code here */");

 One can also pass JavaScript code through a file

Object result = engine.eval(Files.newBufferedReader(path));
 How to Pass Objects to JavaScript

 Two ways of passing Java objects to the JavaScript engine

 Suppose we want to pass the Stage object (from JavaFX)

 1st solution:

public void start(Stage stage) {

engine.put("stage", stage);
engine.eval(script); // script is my JavaScript code
}

 In this case the stage variable is available in the JavaScript « global

scope »
 How to Pass Objects to JavaScript

 Two ways of passing Java objects to the JavaScript engine

 Suppose we want to pass the Stage object (from JavaFX)

 2nd solution: we want to scope our variable

Bindings scope = engine.createBindings();

scope.put("stage", stage);
engine.eval(script, scope);

 In this case the stage variable is only available in the scope defined by
the scope object
 Invoking Getters and Setters

 The JavaFX stage object has a property named title

 In Java a property = a getter and a setter

 Invoking Getters and Setters

 The JavaFX stage object has a property named title

 In Java a property = a getter and a setter

 In JavaScript one can write this:

stage.setTitle('This is JavaScript!')
 Invoking Getters and Setters

 The JavaFX stage object has a property named title

 In Java a property = a getter and a setter

 In JavaScript one can write this:

stage.setTitle('This is JavaScript!')

 But also this:

stage.title = 'This is JavaScript!'
 Invoking Getters and Setters

 The JavaFX stage object has a property named title

 In Java a property = a getter and a setter

 In JavaScript one can write this:

stage.setTitle('This is JavaScript!')

 But also this:

stage.title = 'This is JavaScript!'

 And also this:

stage['title'] = 'This is JavaScript!'
Nashorn and JavaFX
 Lauching a JavaFX Application Through Nashorn

 One can use jjs to launch a JavaFX application

$ jjs –fx myJavaFXApp.js
 Lauching a JavaFX Application Through Nashorn

 One can use jjs to launch a JavaFX application

$ jjs –fx myJavaFXApp.js

 Nashorn will make the stage object available through $STAGE

var message =
new javafx.scene.control.Label("This is JavaScript!");
message.font =
new javafx.scene.text.Font(100);
$STAGE.scene = new javafx.scene.Scene(message);
$STAGE.title = "Hello World!";
 Summary

 Quick overview of Java / JavaScript integration using Nashorn

 How to type in JavaScript code through the REPL jjs

 How to use Java objects and classes in the JavaScript code

 How to evaluate JavaScript code in a Java application

 How to pass Java objects in the JavaScript code

 How to create a JavaFX application using JavaScript

 Course Summary

 Lamba expressions
 Anonymous class, functional interfaces, method references, collection API
 Course Summary

 Lamba expressions
 Anonymous class, functional interfaces, method references, collection API

 Streams & Collectors

 Map / filter / reduce, patterns to build a stream, operations on a Stream
 Course Summary

 Lamba expressions
 Anonymous class, functional interfaces, method references, collection API

 Streams & Collectors

 Map / filter / reduce, patterns to build a stream, operations on a Stream

 Java Date & Time API

 Instance / Duration, LocalDate / Period, LocalTime, Zoned Time
 Course Summary

 Lamba expressions
 Anonymous class, functional interfaces, method references, collection API

 Streams & Collectors

 Map / filter / reduce, patterns to build a stream, operations on a Stream

 Java Date & Time API

 Instance / Duration, LocalDate / Period, LocalTime, Zoned Time

 Strings, I/O, and other Bits & Pieces

 Strings, I/O, Collection, Comparators, Numbers, Maps, Annotations
 Course Summary

 Lamba expressions
 Anonymous class, functional interfaces, method references, collection API

 Streams & Collectors

 Map / filter / reduce, patterns to build a stream, operations on a Stream

 Java Date & Time API

 Instance / Duration, LocalDate / Period, LocalTime, Zoned Time

 Strings, I/O, and other Bits & Pieces

 Strings, I/O, Collection, Comparators, Numbers, Maps, Annotations

 Java FX
 Course Summary

 Lamba expressions
 Anonymous class, functional interfaces, method references, collection API

 Streams & Collectors

 Map / filter / reduce, patterns to build a stream, operations on a Stream

 Java Date & Time API

 Instance / Duration, LocalDate / Period, LocalTime, Zoned Time

 Strings, I/O, and other Bits & Pieces

 Strings, I/O, Collection, Comparators, Numbers, Maps, Annotations

 Java FX

 Nashorn and JavaScript