Module java.base
Package java.lang.module

Class ModuleReference

java.lang.Object
java.lang.module.ModuleReference
public abstract classModuleReferenceextendsObject
A reference to a module's content.

A module reference is a concrete implementation of this class that implements the abstract methods defined by this class. It contains the module's descriptor and its location, if known. It also has the ability to create aModuleReader in order to access the module's content, which may be inside the Java run-time system itself or in an artifact such as a modular JAR file.

Since:
9
See Also:

  • Constructor Details

    • ModuleReference

      protected ModuleReference(ModuleDescriptor descriptor,URI location)
      Constructs a new instance of this class.
      Parameters:
      descriptor - The module descriptor
      location - The module location ornull if not known

  • Method Details

    • descriptor

      public final ModuleDescriptor descriptor()
      Returns the module descriptor.
      Returns:
      The module descriptor

    • location

      public final Optional<URI> location()
      Returns the location of this module's content, if known.

      This URI, when present, can be used as thelocation value of aCodeSource so that a module's classes can be granted specific permissions when loaded by aSecureClassLoader.

      Returns:
      The location or an emptyOptional if not known

    • open

      public abstract ModuleReader open() throwsIOException
      Opens the module content for reading.
      Returns:
      AModuleReader to read the module
      Throws:
      IOException - If an I/O error occurs
      SecurityException - If denied by the security manager