java - how to retransform a class at runtime

Question

I am tring modify class which already loaded in a jvm. The solution which I found is:

• 1st Attach an agent to a jvm specified by pid. (e.g. 8191)(Codes: AttachTest)
• 2nd Find the class which you want modified from those that have already been loaded in the jvm(e.g. 8191).
• 3rd Add transformer using Instrument (Codes: AgentMain)
• 4th Modify the class(e.g. Person) in transform method(Codes: DemoTransformer)
• 5th Retransform the class using retransformClasses

It works fine from 1st step to 5th step, but there are problems at retransformClasses. It called transform again which contains codes to modify class. And It modify other classes which I never wanna modify. I think the problem may occured during addTransformer or retransformClasses. But I still confused. Well, how to retransform a class? Any ideas? thx

public class AttachTest {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws AttachNotSupportedException,
        IOException, AgentLoadException, AgentInitializationException { 
        String agentPath = "D:\work\workspace\myjar\loaded.jar";
        String vid = args[0]; 
        VirtualMachine vm = VirtualMachine.attach(vid);
        vm.loadAgent(agentPath);
    }
}

//Agent

public class AgentMain {
    public static void agentmain (String agentArgs, Instrumentation inst)
        throws ClassNotFoundException, UnmodifiableClassException,
        InterruptedException {
    Class<?> [] allLoadedClasses = inst.getAllLoadedClasses();
        String tmpString = null;
        for (int i = 0; i<allLoadedClasses.length; i++) {
        tmpString = allLoadedClasses[i].getName();


        if (0 != tmpString.length()) {
            if (-1 != tmpString.lastIndexOf(".")) {
                tmpString = tmpString.substring(tmpString.lastIndexOf(".")+1,tmpString.length());
            }
            if (tmpString.equals("Person")) {

                inst.addTransformer(new DemoTransformer(), true);
                inst.retransformClasses(allLoadedClasses[i]);

                }
            }
        }
    }
}

|

public class DemoTransformer implements ClassFileTransformer {

    @Override
    public byte[] transform (ClassLoader loader, String className,
        Class<?> classBeingRedefined, ProtectionDomain protectionDomain,
        byte[] classfileBuffer) throws IllegalClassFormatException {

    ModifyMethodTest tm = new ModifyMethodTest(classfileBuffer);

    byte[] byteArray = null;
    try {
        byteArray = tm.modiySleepMethod();

    } catch (Exception e) {

        e.printStackTrace();
    }


    return byteArray;
    }
}

OUTPUTS: THE ATTACH PROGRAM

javax.management.RuntimeMBeanException: java.lang.RuntimeException: Failed to transform [Person]
    at com.sun.jmx.interceptor.DefaultMBeanServerInterceptor.rethrow(DefaultMBeanServerInterceptor.java:856)
    at com.sun.jmx.interceptor.DefaultMBeanServerInterceptor.rethrowMaybeMBeanException(DefaultMBeanServerInterceptor.java:869)
    at com.sun.jmx.interceptor.DefaultMBeanServerInterceptor.invoke(DefaultMBeanServerInterceptor.java:838)
    at com.sun.jmx.mbeanserver.JmxMBeanServer.invoke(JmxMBeanServer.java:761)
    at javax.management.remote.rmi.RMIConnectionImpl.doOperation(RMIConnectionImpl.java:1427)
    at javax.management.remote.rmi.RMIConnectionImpl.access$200(RMIConnectionImpl.java:72)
    at javax.management.remote.rmi.RMIConnectionImpl$PrivilegedOperation.run(RMIConnectionImpl.java:1265)
    at javax.management.remote.rmi.RMIConnectionImpl.doPrivilegedOperation(RMIConnectionImpl.java:1360)
    at javax.management.remote.rmi.RMIConnectionImpl.invoke(RMIConnectionImpl.java:788)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:39)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at sun.rmi.server.UnicastServerRef.dispatch(UnicastServerRef.java:305)
    at sun.rmi.transport.Transport$1.run(Transport.java:159)
    at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
    at sun.rmi.transport.Transport.serviceCall(Transport.java:155)
    at sun.rmi.transport.tcp.TCPTransport.handleMessages(TCPTransport.java:535)
    at sun.rmi.transport.tcp.TCPTransport$ConnectionHandler.run0(TCPTransport.java:790)
    at sun.rmi.transport.tcp.TCPTransport$ConnectionHandler.run(TCPTransport.java:649)
    at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.runTask(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:886)
    at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:908)
    at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:619)
    at sun.rmi.transport.StreamRemoteCall.exceptionReceivedFromServer(StreamRemoteCall.java:255)
    at sun.rmi.transport.StreamRemoteCall.executeCall(StreamRemoteCall.java:233)
    at sun.rmi.server.UnicastRef.invoke(UnicastRef.java:142)
    at com.sun.jmx.remote.internal.PRef.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at javax.management.remote.rmi.RMIConnectionImpl_Stub.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at javax.management.remote.rmi.RMIConnector$RemoteMBeanServerConnection.invoke(RMIConnector.java:993)
    at AttachStackOverflow.main(AttachStackOverflow.java:57)
Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: Failed to transform [Person]
    at loaded3.TransformerService.transform(TransformerService.java:75)
    at loaded3.TransformerService.transformClass(TransformerService.java:38)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:39)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at com.sun.jmx.mbeanserver.StandardMBeanIntrospector.invokeM2(StandardMBeanIntrospector.java:93)
    at com.sun.jmx.mbeanserver.StandardMBeanIntrospector.invokeM2(StandardMBeanIntrospector.java:27)
    at com.sun.jmx.mbeanserver.MBeanIntrospector.invokeM(MBeanIntrospector.java:208)
    at com.sun.jmx.mbeanserver.PerInterface.invoke(PerInterface.java:120)
    at com.sun.jmx.mbeanserver.MBeanSupport.invoke(MBeanSupport.java:262)
    at com.sun.jmx.interceptor.DefaultMBeanServerInterceptor.invoke(DefaultMBeanServerInterceptor.java:836)
    at com.sun.jmx.mbeanserver.JmxMBeanServer.invoke(JmxMBeanServer.java:761)
    at javax.management.remote.rmi.RMIConnectionImpl.doOperation(RMIConnectionImpl.java:1427)
    at javax.management.remote.rmi.RMIConnectionImpl.access$200(RMIConnectionImpl.java:72)
    at javax.management.remote.rmi.RMIConnectionImpl$PrivilegedOperation.run(RMIConnectionImpl.java:1265)
    at javax.management.remote.rmi.RMIConnectionImpl.doPrivilegedOperation(RMIConnectionImpl.java:1360)
    at javax.management.remote.rmi.RMIConnectionImpl.invoke(RMIConnectionImpl.java:788)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:39)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:25)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:597)
    at sun.rmi.server.UnicastServerRef.dispatch(UnicastServerRef.java:305)
    at sun.rmi.transport.Transport$1.run(Transport.java:159)
    at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
    at sun.rmi.transport.Transport.serviceCall(Transport.java:155)
    at sun.rmi.transport.tcp.TCPTransport.handleMessages(TCPTransport.java:535)
    at sun.rmi.transport.tcp.TCPTransport$ConnectionHandler.run0(TCPTransport.java:790)
    at sun.rmi.transport.tcp.TCPTransport$ConnectionHandler.run(TCPTransport.java:649)
    at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.runTask(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:886)
    at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:908)
    at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:619)
Caused by: java.lang.UnsupportedOperationException: class redefinition failed: attempted to change the schema (add/remove fields)
    at sun.instrument.InstrumentationImpl.retransformClasses0(Native Method)
    at sun.instrument.InstrumentationImpl.retransformClasses(InstrumentationImpl.java:124)
    at loaded3.TransformerService.transform(TransformerService.java:72)
    ... 31 more

OUTPUTS: TARGET PROGRAM

print Call sayHello()
print Hello World!
Supported Redefine
Supported Retransform
Call transform() in TransformerService
Add transformer
support redefine. return TRUE
support retransforme. return TRUE
IsModifiable class "class Person". return TRUE
Retransform classes
Number of times to Call transform() in DemoTransformer:1
####ASM CODE####
consturct ModifyMethodTest
Call modifySleepMethod
new classreader
new classwriter
construct ModifyClassAdapter
sayHello
consturct Modifymethod
[arg1] = java/io/PrintStream  [arg2] = println  #5
[arg1] = java/io/PrintStream  [arg2] = println  #13
[arg1] = java/util/concurrent/TimeUnit  [arg2] = sleep  #22
[arg1] = java/io/PrintStream  [arg2] = println  #30
sayHello2
consturct Modifymethod
[arg1] = java/io/PrintStream  [arg2] = println  #5
[arg1] = java/io/PrintStream  [arg2] = println  #13
<init>
consturct Modifymethod
[arg1] = java/lang/Object  [arg2] = <init>  #1
main
consturct Modifymethod
[arg1] = Person  [arg2] = <init>  #4
[arg1] = Person  [arg2] = sayHello  #9
[arg1] = Person  [arg2] = sayHello2  #13
[arg1] = java/lang/InterruptedException  [arg2] = printStackTrace  #21
getName
consturct Modifymethod
setName
consturct Modifymethod
Call visitend
Finished to call modifymethodtest
####End of ASM CODE
Remove transformer
Call transform() in TransformerService
Add transformer
support redefine. return TRUE
support retransforme. return TRUE
IsModifiable class "class Person". return TRUE
Retransform classes
Number of times to Call transform() in DemoTransformer:2
####ASM CODE####
consturct ModifyMethodTest
Call modifySleepMethod
new classreader
new classwriter
construct ModifyClassAdapter
sayHello
consturct Modifymethod
[arg1] = java/io/PrintStream  [arg2] = println  #5
[arg1] = java/io/PrintStream  [arg2] = println  #13
[arg1] = java/util/concurrent/TimeUnit  [arg2] = sleep  #22
[arg1] = java/io/PrintStream  [arg2] = println  #30
sayHello2
consturct Modifymethod
[arg1] = java/io/PrintStream  [arg2] = println  #5
[arg1] = java/io/PrintStream  [arg2] = println  #13
<init>
consturct Modifymethod
[arg1] = java/lang/Object  [arg2] = <init>  #1
main
consturct Modifymethod
[arg1] = Person  [arg2] = <init>  #4
[arg1] = Person  [arg2] = sayHello  #9
[arg1] = Person  [arg2] = sayHello2  #13
[arg1] = java/lang/InterruptedException  [arg2] = printStackTrace  #21
getName
consturct Modifymethod
setName
consturct Modifymethod
Call visitend
Finished to call modifymethodtest
####End of ASM CODE
Remove transformer
print in sayHello()
print Call sayHello2()
print Hello World!2

Answer 1

Short Answer

• Don't iterate through all the loaded classes from Instrumentation. Instead, just examine the class name passed in to the transformer and if it matches your target class, then transform it. Otherwise, simply return the passed classfileBuffer unmodified.
• Make the set up calls outside the transformer, (i.e. in your case, do the following from your agent) so initialize your transformer with the class name you're looking to transform (this will be the inner format so instead of foo.bar.Snafu, you will be looking to match against foo/bar/Snafu. Then add the transformer, call retransform and then remove the transformer.
• In order to call retransform, you will need the actual [pre-transform] class which you can find by calling Class.forName (in the agentmain), or if you absolutely have to, you could find it in Intrumentation.getAllLoadedClasses() as a last resort. If the target class has not been loaded, you will need the classloader to call Class.forName(name, boolean, classloader) in which case you can pass the URL to the target class class-path in the agent main string args.

Long Answer

Here's a few recommendations:

1. Separate out the operation you're calling into 2 separate operations:
   1. Install the agent. This only needs to be done once.
   2. Transform the target class[es]. You might want to do this n times.
2. I would implement 1.2 by registering a simple JMX MBean when you install the agent. This MBean should provide an operation like public void transformClass(String className). and should be initialized with a reference to the agent's acquired Instrumentation instance. The MBean class, interface and any required 3rd party classes should be included in your agent's loaded.jar. It should also contain your ModifyMethodTest class (which I assume it already does).
3. At the same time that you install your agent jar, also install the management agent from $JAVA_HOME/lib/management-agent.jar which will activate the management agent so you can invoke the transform operation in the MBean you're about to register.
4. Parameterize your DemoTransformer class to accept the internal form of the name of the class you want to transform. (i.e. if your binary class name is foo.bar.Snafu, the internal form will be foo/bar/Snafu. As your DemoTransformer instance starts getting transform callbacks, ignore all class names that do not match the internal form class name you specified. (i.e. simply return the classfileBuffer unmodified)
5. Your tranformer MBean transformClass operation should then:
   1. Convert the passed class name to internal form.
   2. Create a new DemoTransformer, passing the internal form class name.
   3. Register the DemoTransformer instance using Instrumentation.addTransformer(theNewDemoTransformer, true) .
   4. Call Instrumentation.retransformClasses(ClassForName(className)) (with the binary class name passed to the MBean operation). When this call returns, your class will be transformed.
   5. Remove the transformer with Intrumentation.removeTransformer(theNewDemoTransformer).

The following is an untested approximation of what I mean:

Transformer MBean

public interface TransformerServiceMBean {
    /**
     * Transforms the target class name
     * @param className The binary name of the target class
     */
    public void transformClass(String className);
}

Transformer Service

public class TransformerService implements TransformerServiceMBean {
    /** The JVM's instrumentation instance */
    protected final Instrumentation instrumentation;

    /**
     * Creates a new TransformerService
     * @param instrumentation  The JVM's instrumentation instance 
     */
    public TransformerService(Instrumentation instrumentation) {
        this.instrumentation = instrumentation;
    }

    /**
     * {@inheritDoc}
     * @see com.heliosapm.shorthandexamples.TransformerServiceMBean#transformClass(java.lang.String)
     */
    @Override
    public void transformClass(String className) {
        Class<?> targetClazz = null;
        ClassLoader targetClassLoader = null;
        // first see if we can locate the class through normal means
        try {
            targetClazz = Class.forName(className);
            targetClassLoader = targetClazz.getClassLoader();
            transform(targetClazz, targetClassLoader);
            return;
        } catch (Exception ex) { /* Nope */ }
        // now try the hard/slow way
        for(Class<?> clazz: instrumentation.getAllLoadedClasses()) {
            if(clazz.getName().equals(className)) {
                targetClazz = clazz;
                targetClassLoader = targetClazz.getClassLoader();
                transform(targetClazz, targetClassLoader);
                return;             
            }
        }
        throw new RuntimeException("Failed to locate class [" + className + "]");
    }

    /**
     * Registers a transformer and executes the transform
     * @param clazz The class to transform
     * @param classLoader The classloader the class was loaded from
     */
    protected void transform(Class<?> clazz, ClassLoader classLoader) {
        DemoTransformer dt = new DemoTransformer(clazz.getName(), classLoader);
        instrumentation.addTransformer(dt, true);
        try {
            instrumentation.retransformClasses(clazz);
        } catch (Exception ex) {
            throw new RuntimeException("Failed to transform [" + clazz.getName() + "]", ex);
        } finally {
            instrumentation.removeTransformer(dt);
        }       
    }
}

The Class Transformer

public class DemoTransformer implements ClassFileTransformer {
    /** The internal form class name of the class to transform */
    protected String className;
    /** The class loader of the class */
    protected ClassLoader classLoader;
    /**
     * Creates a new DemoTransformer
     * @param className The binary class name of the class to transform
     * @param classLoader The class loader of the class
     */
    public DemoTransformer(String className, ClassLoader classLoader) {
        this.className = className.replace('.', '/');
        this.classLoader = classLoader;
    }

    /**
     * {@inheritDoc}
     * @see java.lang.instrument.ClassFileTransformer#transform(java.lang.ClassLoader, java.lang.String, java.lang.Class, java.security.ProtectionDomain, byte[])
     */
    @Override
    public byte[] transform(ClassLoader loader, String className,
            Class<?> classBeingRedefined, ProtectionDomain protectionDomain,
            byte[] classfileBuffer) throws IllegalClassFormatException {
        if(className.equals(this.className) && loader.equals(classLoader)) {
            return new ModifyMethodTest(classfileBuffer).modiySleepMethod();
        }
        return classfileBuffer;
    }

}

The Agent

public class AgentMain {

    public static void agentmain (String agentArgs, Instrumentation inst) throws Exception {
        TransformerService ts = new TransformerService(inst);
        ObjectName on = new ObjectName("transformer:service=DemoTransformer");
        // Could be a different MBeanServer. If so, pass a JMX Default Domain Name in agentArgs
        MBeanServer server = ManagementFactory.getPlatformMBeanServer();
        server.registerMBean(ts, on);
        // Set this property so the installer knows we're already here
        System.setProperty("demo.agent.installed", "true");     
    }

}

The Agent Installer

public class AgentInstaller {
    /**
     * Installs the loader agent on the target JVM identified in <code>args[0]</code>
     * and then transforms all the classes identified in <code>args[1..n]</code>.
     * @param args The target JVM pid in [0] followed by the classnames to transform
     */
    public static void main(String[] args)  {
        String agentPath = "D:\work\workspace\myjar\loaded.jar";
        String vid = args[0]; 
        VirtualMachine vm = VirtualMachine.attach(vid);
        // Check to see if transformer agent is installed
        if(!vm.getSystemProperties().contains("demo.agent.installed")) {
            vm.loadAgent(agentPath);  
            // that property will be set now, 
            // and the transformer MBean will be installed
        }
        // Check to see if connector is installed
        String connectorAddress = vm.getAgentProperties().getProperty("com.sun.management.jmxremote.localConnectorAddress", null);
        if(connectorAddress==null) {
            // It's not, so install the management agent
            String javaHome = vm.getSystemProperties().getProperty("java.home");
            File managementAgentJarFile = new File(javaHome + File.separator + "lib" + File.separator + "management-agent.jar");
            vm.loadAgent(managementAgentJarFile.getAbsolutePath());
            connectorAddress = vm.getAgentProperties().getProperty("com.sun.management.jmxremote.localConnectorAddress", null);
            // Now it's installed
        }
        // Now connect and transform the classnames provided in the remaining args.
        JMXConnector connector = null;
        try {
            // This is the ObjectName of the MBean registered when loaded.jar was installed.
            ObjectName on = new ObjectName("transformer:service=DemoTransformer");
            // Here we're connecting to the target JVM through the management agent
            connector = JMXConnectorFactory.connect(new JMXServiceURL(connectorAddress));
            MBeanServerConnection server = connector.getMBeanServerConnection();
            for(int i = 1; i < args.length; i++) {
                String className = args[i];
                // Call transformClass on the transformer MBean
                server.invoke(on, "transformClass", new Object[]{className}, new String[]{String.class.getName()});
            }
        } catch (Exception ex) {
            ex.printStackTrace(System.err);
        } finally {
            if(connector!=null) try { connector.close(); } catch (Exception e) {}
        }
        // Done. (Hopefully)
    }
}

================= UPDATE =================

Hey Nick; Yep, that's one of the limitations of the current (i.e. Java 5-8) class transformers. To quote from the Instrumentation javadoc:

"The retransformation may change method bodies, the constant pool and attributes. The retransformation must not add, remove or rename fields or methods, change the signatures of methods, or change inheritance. These restrictions maybe be lifted in future versions. The class file bytes are not checked, verified and installed until after the transformations have been applied, if the resultant bytes are in error this method will throw an exception."

As an aside, this same limitation is documented verbatim for redefining classes too.

As such, you have 2 options:

1. Don't add new methods. This is commonly very limitin