Java, renowned for its platform independence and wide ecosystem, offers developers an excellent set of tools for writing applications that run seamlessly across different environments. However, there are times when native functionality — often written in C, C++, or other lower-level languages — is needed for performance optimization or to interact with hardware, legacy systems, or third-party libraries.
This is where the Java Native Interface (JNI) comes into play. JNI allows Java code to interface with native applications and libraries, giving Java programs the ability to leverage non-Java code for specific purposes. In this blog post, we will delve into the fundamentals of JNI, how it works, when to use it, and provide an example of its usage.
What is JNI?
JNI stands for Java Native Interface. It is a framework that enables Java applications to call and be called by native applications written in languages like C, C++, or assembly. JNI provides a way for Java programs to interact with platforms and hardware-specific code, thereby expanding the scope of what Java can do.
At its core, JNI is used for:
- Calling native methods from Java: Java can invoke methods that are written in other languages.
