javah - C Header and Stub File Generator

javah produces C header files and C source files from a Java class. These files provide the connective glue that allow your Java and C code to interact.

SYNOPSIS

javah [ options ] classname. . .
javah_g [ options ] classname. . .

DESCRIPTION

javah generates C header and source files that are needed to implement native methods. The generated header and source files are used by C programs to reference an object's instance variables from native source code. The .h file contains a struct definition whose layout parallels the layout of the corresponding class. The fields in the struct correspond to instance variables in the class.

The name of the header file and the structure declared within it are derived from the name of the class. If the class passed to javah is inside a package, the package name is prepended to both the header file name and the structure name. Underscores (_) are used as name delimiters.

By default javah creates a header file for each class listed on the command line and puts the files in the current directory. Use the -stubs option to create source files. Use the -o option to concatenate the results for all listed classes into a single file.

The new native method interface, Java Native Interface (JNI), does not require header information or stub files. javah can still be used with the -jni option to generate native method function proptotypes needed for JNI-style native methods. The result is placed in the .h file.

javah_g is a non-optimized version of javah suitable for use with debuggers like jdb.

-o outputfile

Concatenates the resulting header or source files for all the classes listed on the command line into outputfile.

-d directory

Sets the directory where javah saves the header files or the stub files.

-td directory

Sets the directory where javah stores temporary files. By default, javah stores temporary files in the directory specified by the %TEMP% environment variable. If %TEMP% is unspecified, then javah checks for a %TMP% environment variable. And finally, if %TMP% is unspecified, javah creates the directory C:\tmp and stores the files there.

-stubs

Causes javah to generate C declarations from the Java object file.

-v

Indicates verbose output and causes javah to print a message to stdout concerning the status of the generated files.

-help

Print out this message.

-trace

Add tracing information to the stubs file.

-version

Print out build version.

-jni

Causes javah to create an output file containing JNI-style native method function prototypes.

-classpath path

Specifies the path javah uses to look up classes. Overrides the default or the CLASSPATH environment variable if it is set. Directories are separated by semi-colons. Thus the general format for path is:

   .;<your_path>

For example:

   .;C:\users\dac\classes;C:\tools\java\classes

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

CLASSPATH

Used to provide the system a path to user-defined classes. Directories are separated by semi-colons, for example,

   .;C:\users\dac\classes;C:\tools\java\classes

SEE ALSO

javac, java, jdb, javap, javadoc