Dynamic Proxy Enhancements in Lucee 7

Dynamic Proxy Enhancements in Lucee 7

Lucee 7 introduces significant improvements to dynamic proxy creation, making Java interoperability more seamless and predictable when components implement Java interfaces.

What Changed in Lucee 7

Component Functions and Properties Always Included

In previous versions, when creating a dynamic proxy from a component that implements Java interfaces, not all component functions and properties were consistently included in the proxy. Lucee 7 ensures that all component functions and properties are always included in the dynamic proxy.

This enhancement (LDEV-5421) makes dynamic proxies behave more predictably and eliminates subtle issues where component methods might not be accessible through the proxy.

Basic Usage

When you create a component that implements a Java interface, you can use createDynamicProxy() to get a Java proxy object:

// Define a component implementing java.util.Map
myComponent = new component implements="java:java.util.Map" {

	function size(){
		return 42;
	}

	function isEmpty(){
		return false;
	}

	// Custom function (not part of Map interface)
	function customMethod(){
		return "This is now always included in the proxy!";
	}

	// Additional required Map methods...
	function get( key ){
		return "value";
	}

	function put( key, value ){
		return null;
	}

	// ... other Map interface methods
};

// Create the dynamic proxy
proxy = createDynamicProxy( myComponent, [ "java.util.Map" ] );

// All component methods are accessible through the proxy
systemOutput( proxy.size() );	// 42
systemOutput( proxy.customMethod() );	// Works in Lucee 7!

Automatic Proxy Creation with getClass()

Lucee 7 also introduces the ability to call .getClass() directly on components that implement Java interfaces, automatically creating a dynamic proxy if needed:

myComponent = new component implements="java:java.util.Map" {
	function size(){
		return 42;
	}
	// ... other methods
};

// New in Lucee 7 - automatic proxy creation
classInfo = myComponent.getClass();

// Previously required explicit proxy creation:
// classInfo = createDynamicProxy( myComponent, [ "java.util.Map" ] ).getClass();

See getClass() Method for Components for more details on this feature.

Use Cases

These enhancements are particularly valuable when:

  • Building Java library integrations - Your component methods are reliably accessible through the proxy
  • Extending Java interfaces - Add custom functionality beyond the interface contract
  • Framework development - Create components that implement Java interfaces with additional CFML-specific methods
  • Working with callbacks - Pass components to Java libraries that expect interface implementations

Example: Implementing java.lang.Runnable

// Create a component implementing Runnable
task = new component implements="java:java.lang.Runnable" {

	variables.executionCount = 0;

	function run(){
		variables.executionCount++;
		systemOutput( "Task executed ##variables.executionCount## times" );
	}

	// Custom method to check execution count
	function getExecutionCount(){
		return variables.executionCount;
	}
};

// Create proxy and pass to Java's ExecutorService
proxy = createDynamicProxy( task, [ "java.lang.Runnable" ] );

// Create a Java thread
thread = createObject( "java", "java.lang.Thread" ).init( proxy );
thread.start();
thread.join();

// Access custom methods through the original component
systemOutput( "Total executions: " & task.getExecutionCount() );

Key Benefits

  1. Predictable behavior - All component methods are consistently available through the proxy
  2. Simplified code - Automatic proxy creation with .getClass()
  3. Better Java integration - Seamlessly mix CFML and Java functionality
  4. Enhanced flexibility - Add custom methods beyond interface requirements

See Also

See also