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This documentation is for the unreleased GraalVM version.Download Early Access Builds from GitHub.

Native Image C API

Native Image provides a GraalVM-specific API to manage Java objects from the C/C++ languages, initialize isolates and attach threads. The C API is available when Native Image is built as a shared library and its declarations are included in the header file that is generated during the native image build.

/*
 * Structure representing an isolate. A pointer to such a structure can be
 * passed to an entry point as the execution context.
 */
struct __graal_isolate_t;
typedef struct _graal_isolate_t graal_isolate_t;

/*
 * Structure representing a thread that is attached to an isolate. A pointer to
 * such a structure can be passed to an entry point as the execution context,
 * requiring that the calling thread has been attached to that isolate.
 */
struct __graal_isolatethread_t;
typedef struct __graal_isolatethread_t graal_isolatethread_t;

/* Parameters for the creation of a new isolate. */
struct __graal_create_isolate_params_t {
    /* for future use */
};
typedef struct __graal_create_isolate_params_t graal_create_isolate_params_t;

/*
 * Create a new isolate, considering the passed parameters (which may be NULL).
 * Returns 0 on success, or a non-zero value on failure.
 * On success, the current thread is attached to the created isolate, and the
 * address of the isolate and the isolate thread structures is written to the
 * passed pointers if they are not NULL.
 */
int graal_create_isolate(graal_create_isolate_params_t* params, graal_isolate_t** isolate, graal_isolatethread_t** thread);

/*
 * Attaches the current thread to the passed isolate.
 * On failure, returns a non-zero value. On success, writes the address of the
 * created isolate thread structure to the passed pointer and returns 0.
 * If the thread has already been attached, the call succeeds and also provides
 * the thread's isolate thread structure.
 */
int graal_attach_thread(graal_isolate_t* isolate, graal_isolatethread_t** thread);

/*
 * Given an isolate to which the current thread is attached, returns the address of
 * the thread's associated isolate thread structure.  If the current thread is not
 * attached to the passed isolate or if another error occurs, returns NULL.
 */
graal_isolatethread_t* graal_get_current_thread(graal_isolate_t* isolate);

/*
 * Given an isolate thread structure, determines to which isolate it belongs and
 * returns the address of its isolate structure. If an error occurs, returns NULL
 * instead.
 */
graal_isolate_t* graal_get_isolate(graal_isolatethread_t* thread);

/*
 * Detaches the passed isolate thread from its isolate and discards any state or
 * context that is associated with it. At the time of the call, no code may still
 * be executing in the isolate thread's context.
 * Returns 0 on success, or a non-zero value on failure.
 */
int graal_detach_thread(graal_isolatethread_t* thread);

/*
 * Tears down the isolate of the passed (and still attached) isolate thread
 * waiting for any attached threads to detach from it, then discards its objects,
 * threads, and any other state or context that is associated with it.
 * Returns 0 on success, or a non-zero value on failure.
 */
int graal_tear_down_isolate(graal_isolatethread_t* thread);

In addition to the C level API, you can use the JNI Invocation API to create an isolate from Java, expose and call Java methods embedded in a native shared library.

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