Summary
Here is some Java code which uses the BCEL to convert a class file into java byte code.

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I have been playing with Java byte code lately and I've just discovered the awesome Byte Code Engineering Library (BCEL). I feel like a kitten with a ball of yarn. Here is the source for a simple decompiler:

import java.io.*;

import java.util.Iterator;
import org.apache.bcel.*;
import org.apache.bcel.classfile.*;
import org.apache.bcel.generic.*;
import org.apache.bcel.Repository;

public class Decompiler
{
  public static void main(String[] argv)
  {
    try
    {
      // Load the class from CLASSPATH.
      JavaClass       clazz   = Repository.lookupClass(argv[0]);
      Method[]        methods = clazz.getMethods();
      ConstantPoolGen cp = new ConstantPoolGen(clazz.getConstantPool());
      InstructionFactory f = new InstructionFactory(cp);

      for(int i=0; i < methods.length; i++)
      {
        Method m = methods[i];
        MethodGen mg = new MethodGen(m, clazz.getClassName(), cp);
        decompileMethod(mg, f);
      }
    }
    catch(Exception e)
    {
      e.printStackTrace();
    }
  }

  private static final void decompileMethod(MethodGen mg, InstructionFactory f)
  {
    InstructionList   il    = mg.getInstructionList();
    int               count = 0;

    System.out.println("Method " + mg.getName());
    InstructionHandle ih = il.getStart();
    while (ih != null) {
      System.out.println(ih.toString());
      ih = ih.getNext();
    }

    il.dispose(); // Reuse instruction handles
  }
}

I am planning next on a writing a ClassLoader which hacks code as it loads it. This is so much fun!

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About the Blogger

Christopher Diggins is a software developer and freelance writer. Christopher loves programming, but is eternally frustrated by the shortcomings of modern programming languages. As would any reasonable person in his shoes, he decided to quit his day job to write his own ( www.heron-language.com ). Christopher is the co-author of the C++ Cookbook from O'Reilly. Christopher can be reached through his home page at www.cdiggins.com.