RFR(M): JDK-8041639: Don't link the java_crw_demo shared library from product tools

[Kelly O'Hair]

Keep in mind, I'm not in this team anymore, and you guys can do whatever you want, so just consider this background data and comments from the peanut gallery. ;)

I created this library early in the JVM TI development primarily for hprof, but also to allow old users of JVMPI to have an ability to replace some of the JVMPI functionality that JVM TI did not directly address.
A simple and very limited native code byte code instrumentation library, but with an API independent of hprof so the transition from JVMPI to JVM TI was easier.

I honestly do not know what Third party tools out there rely on the actual library, but I suspect quite a few have either copied this source code or depend on it in some way. The Java agent tools probably use asm or bcel and will not be impacted, and I'm not sure what native JVM TI agent tools might still be out there using this. But the bigger issue is how many products out there rely on these Third party JVM TI agents, that under the covers rely on java_crw_demo. The old transitive dependency issue. :(
So how many Java developers will be impacted, very hard to tell.

So do what you need to, but don't be surprised if you create a few ripples in the Java pool by removing this library.

-kto

On Oct 6, 2014, at 12:08 PM, Dmitry Samersoff <dmitry.samersoff at oracle.com> wrote:

> Hi Everybody,
> 
> Please review:
> 
> http://cr.openjdk.java.net/~dsamersoff/JDK-8041639/webrev.01/
> 
> The fix moves code from java_crw_demo to libhprof. Also I remove mtrace
> and minst demos that uses java_crw_demo library.
> 
> -Dmitry
> 
> -- 
> Dmitry Samersoff
> Oracle Java development team, Saint Petersburg, Russia
> * I would love to change the world, but they won't give me the sources.