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<p>Provides the core classes for the Java Management Extensions.</p>
<p>The Java Management Extensions
(JMX<sup><font size="-1">TM</font></sup>) API is a standard
API for management and monitoring. Typical uses include:</p>
<ul>
<li>consulting and changing application configuration</li>
<li>accumulating statistics about application behavior and
making them available</li>
<li>notifying of state changes and erroneous conditions.</li>
</ul>
<p>The JMX API can also be used as part of a solution for
managing systems, networks, and so on.</p>
<p>The API includes remote access, so a remote management
program can interact with a running application for these
purposes.</p>
<h2>MBeans</h2>
<p>The fundamental notion of the JMX API is the <em>MBean</em>.
An MBean is a named <em>managed object</em> representing a
resource. It has a <em>management interface</em> consisting
of:</p>
<ul>
written</li>
<li>named and typed operations that can be invoked</li>
<li>typed notifications that can be emitted by the MBean.</li>
</ul>
<p>For example, an MBean representing an application's
configuration could have attributes representing the different
configuration items. Reading the <code>CacheSize</code>
attribute would return the current value of that item.
Writing it would update the item, potentially changing the
behavior of the running application. An operation such as
<code>save</code> could store the current configuration
persistently. A notification such as
<code>ConfigurationChangedNotification</code> could be sent
every time the configuration is changed.</p>
<p>In the standard usage of the JMX API, MBeans are implemented
as Java objects. However, as explained below, these objects are
not usually referenced directly.</p>
<h3>Standard MBeans</h3>
<p>To make MBean implementation simple, the JMX API includes the
notion of <em>Standard MBeans</em>. A Standard MBean is one
whose attributes and operations are deduced from a Java
interface using certain naming patterns, similar to those used
by JavaBeans<sup><font size="-1">TM</font></sup>. For
example, consider an interface like this:</p>
<pre>
public interface ConfigurationMBean {
public int getCacheSize();
public void setCacheSize(int size);
public long getLastChangedTime();
public void save();
}
</pre>
<p>The methods <code>getCacheSize</code> and
<code>setCacheSize</code> define a read-write attribute of
type <code>int</code> called <code>CacheSize</code> (with an
initial capital, unlike the JavaBeans convention).</p>
<p>The method <code>getLastChangedTime</code> defines an
attribute of type <code>long</code> called
<code>LastChangedTime</code>. This is a read-only attribute,
since there is no method <code>setLastChangedTime</code>.</p>
<p>The method <code>save</code> defines an operation called
<code>save</code>. It is not an attribute, since its name
does not begin with <code>get</code>, <code>set</code>, or
<code>is</code>.</p>
<p>The exact naming patterns for Standard MBeans are detailed in
the <a href="#spec">JMX Specification</a>.</p>
<p>There are two ways to make a Java object that is an MBean
with this management interface. One is for the object to be
of a class that has exactly the same name as the Java
interface but without the <code>MBean</code> suffix. So in
the example the object would be of the class
<code>Configuration</code>, in the same Java package as
<code>ConfigurationMBean</code>. The second way is to use the
class.</p>
<h3>MXBeans</h3>
<p>An <em>MXBean</em> is a variant of Standard MBean where complex
types are mapped to a standard set of types defined in the
{@link javax.management.openmbean} package. MXBeans are appropriate
if you would otherwise need to reference application-specific
classes in your MBean interface. They are described in detail
<h3>Dynamic MBeans</h3>
<p>A <em>Dynamic MBean</em> is an MBean that defines its
management interface at run-time. For example, a configuration
MBean could determine the names and types of the attributes it
exposes by parsing an XML file.</p>
<p>Any Java object of a class that implements the {@link
Dynamic MBean.</p>
<h3>Open MBeans</h3>
<p>An <em>Open MBean</em> is a kind of Dynamic MBean where the
types of attributes and of operation parameters and return
values are built using a small set of predefined Java classes.
Open MBeans facilitate operation with remote management programs
that do not necessarily have access to application-specific
types, including non-Java programs. Open MBeans are defined by
<h3>Model MBeans</h3>
<p>A <em>Model MBean</em> is a kind of Dynamic MBean that acts
as a bridge between the management interface and the
underlying managed resource. Both the management interface and
the managed resource are specified as Java objects. The same
Model MBean implementation can be reused many times with
different management interfaces and managed resources, and it can
provide common functionality such as persistence and caching.
Model MBeans are defined by the package
<h2>MBean Server</h2>
<p>To be useful, an MBean must be registered in an <em>MBean
Server</em>. An MBean Server is a repository of MBeans.
Usually the only access to the MBeans is through the MBean
Server. In other words, code no longer accesses the Java
object implementing the MBean directly, but instead accesses
the MBean by name through the MBean Server. Each MBean has a
unique name within the MBean Server, defined by the {@link
<p>An MBean Server is an object implementing the interface
The most convenient MBean Server to use is the
<em>Platform MBean Server</em>. This is a
single MBean Server that can be shared by different managed
components running within the same Java Virtual Machine. The
Platform MBean Server is accessed with the method {@link
<p>Application code can also create a new MBean Server, or
access already-created MBean Servers, using the {@link
<h3>Creating MBeans in the MBean Server</h3>
<p>There are two ways to create an MBean. One is to construct a
Java object that will be the MBean, then use the {@link
method to register it in the MBean Server. The other is to
create and register the MBean in a single operation using one
<p>The <code>registerMBean</code> method is simpler for local
use, but cannot be used remotely. The
<code>createMBean</code> method can be used remotely, but
sometimes requires attention to class loading issues.</p>
<p>An MBean can perform actions when it is registered in or
unregistered from an MBean Server if it implements the {@link
interface.</p>
<h3>Accessing MBeans in the MBean Server</h3>
<p>Given an <code>ObjectName</code> <code>name</code> and an
<code>MBeanServer</code> <code>mbs</code>, you can access
attributes and operations as in this example:</p>
<pre>
int cacheSize = mbs.getAttribute(name, "CacheSize");
new Attribute("CacheSize", new Integer(2000));
mbs.setAttribute(name, newCacheSize);
mbs.invoke(name, "save", new Object[0], new Class[0]);
</pre>
<p id="proxy">Alternatively, if you have a Java interface that
corresponds to the management interface for the MBean, you can use an
<em>MBean proxy</em> like this:</p>
<pre>
ConfigurationMBean conf =
JMX.newMBeanProxy}(mbs, name, ConfigurationMBean.class);
int cacheSize = conf.getCacheSize();
conf.setCacheSize(2000);
conf.save();
</pre>
<p>Using an MBean proxy is just a convenience. The second
example ends up calling the same <code>MBeanServer</code>
operations as the first one.</p>
<p>An MBean Server can be queried for MBeans whose names match
constraints. Name patterns are constructed using the {@link
class. The methods {@link
perform the query.</p>
<h3>MBean lifecycle</h3>
MBeanRegistration} interface in order to be told when it is registered
and unregistered in the MBean Server. Additionally, the {@link
allows the MBean to get a reference to the <code>MBeanServer</code>
object and to get its <code>ObjectName</code> within the MBean
Server.</p>
<h2>Notifications</h2>
<p>A <em>notification</em> is an instance of the {@link
subclass. In addition to its Java class, it has a
<em>type</em> string that can distinguish it from other
notifications of the same class.</p>
<p>An MBean that will emit notifications must implement the
NotificationBroadcaster} or {@link
interface. Usually, it does this by subclassing
NotificationBroadcasterSupport} or delegating to an instance of
that class. Here is an example:</p>
<pre>
public class Configuration <b>extends NotificationBroadcasterSupport</b>
implements ConfigurationMBean {
...
private void updated() {
Notification n = new Notification(...);
sendNotification}(n)</b>;
}
}
</pre>
<p>Notifications can be received by a <em>listener</em>, which
is an object that implements the {@link
interface. You can add a listener to an MBean with the method
{@link
NotificationListener, NotificationFilter, Object)}.
You can optionally supply a <em>filter</em> to this method, to
select only notifications of interest. A filter is an object
NotificationFilter} interface.</p>
<p>An MBean can be a listener for notifications emitted by other
MBeans in the same MBean Server. In this case, it implements
NotificationListener} and the method {@link
ObjectName, NotificationFilter, Object)} is used to listen.</p>
<h2>Remote Access to MBeans</h2>
<p>An MBean Server can be accessed remotely through a
<em>connector</em>. A connector allows a remote Java
application to access an MBean Server in essentially the same
way as a local one. The package
<p>The JMX specification also defines the notion of an
<em>adaptor</em>. An adaptor translates between requests in a
protocol such as SNMP or HTML and accesses to an MBean Server.
So for example an SNMP GET operation might result in a
<code>getAttribute</code> on the MBean Server.</p>
<h3 id="interop">Interoperability between versions of the JMX
specification</h3>
<p>When a client connects to a server using the JMX Remote
API, it is possible that they do not have the same version
of the JMX specification. The version of the JMX
specification described here is version 1.4. Previous
versions were 1.0, 1.1, and 1.2. (There was no 1.3.)
The standard JMX Remote API is defined to work with version
1.2 onwards, so in standards-based deployment the only
interoperability questions that arise concern version 1.2
onwards.</p>
<p>Every version of the JMX specification continues to
implement the features of previous versions. So when the
client is running an earlier version than the server, there
should not be any interoperability concerns.</p>
<p>When the client is running a later version than the server,
certain newer features may not be available, as detailed in
the next sections. The client can determine the server's
version by examining the {@link
SpecificationVersion} attribute of the {@code
MBeanServerDelegate}.</p>
<h4 id="interop-1.2">If the remote MBean Server is 1.2</h4>
<ul>
<li><p>You cannot use wildcards in a key property of an
example {@code domain:type=Foo,name=*}. Wildcards that
match whole properties are still allowed, for example
{@code *:*} or {@code *:type=Foo,*}.</p>
<li><p>You cannot use {@link
in a query.</p>
<li><p>You cannot use dot syntax such as {@code
HeapMemoryUsage.used} in the {@linkplain
observed attribute} of a monitor, as described in the
documentation for the {@link javax.management.monitor}
package.</p>
</ul>
<p id="spec">
@see <a href="{@docRoot}/technotes/guides/jmx/index.html">
Java Platform documentation on JMX technology</a>
in particular the
<a href="{@docRoot}/technotes/guides/jmx/JMX_1_4_specification.pdf">
JMX Specification, version 1.4(pdf).</a>
@since 1.5
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