Compile and call the class during the runtime

Question

Hi guys,
I am struggling with a project, which allow user to modify the behavior of the program.
To do this, my Java code must be able to compile the Java code (*.java) and call the class from the code during the runtime.
Here are my code:
com.sun.tools.javac.Main javac = new com.sun.tools.javac.Main();
String[] options = new String[] {"d:\\javaExternal\\RunTimeCompilation.java"};
System.out.println(Main.compile(options));This allows me to compile the .java file into .class file. However, I can't find the way to access/use the .class file.
Do you guys have solution for this?
Thanks a lot.

Answer 1

You will also need to investigate class unloading and proxies since presumably they can modify the file and compile it again.
Might note that in general this seldom works for business solutions. It seems like allowing the users to add their own functionality would be a good idea so the programmers don't have to keep doing it. But the reality is that then the users must become programmers. And often must be pretty good at it as well since they must not only know the programming language but also the framework too. The second problem is that it also becomes a maintenance nightmare for the real developers to upgrade the existing system.