In java, it is possible to get the class and method that called the current method (the method in which you get the StackTrace).
My question is, can I get the arguments that were passed to the method that called this method?
I need this for debugging purposes.
Eg:
baseClass {
initialFunc(input) {
var modifiedInput = input + " I modified you";
otherClass.doSomething(modifiedInput);
}
}
otherClass {
doSomething(input) {
//GET THE ARGUMENTS PASSED TO THE METHOD OF THE CLASS THAT CALLED THIS METHOD
}
}
Can one get this information from the stacktrace, or are there other means?
(Note that I need to be able to do this in runtime and cannot actually change the source of baseClass, this is going to be a feature of my debugging class that does not know the source beforehand)
Thanks.
I don't believe this is possible using the standard Java API.
What you could do is to use AspectJ, place a point-cut at the calling method, save the arguments, place a point-cut at the called method and pass on the arguments.
Another option (slightly more advanced) is to use a custom, bytecode-rewriting, class loader that saves the original arguments, and passes them on as extra arguments to the next method. This would probably take a day or two to implement. Suitable frameworks are BCEL or ASM.
I think this could be possible, because input
is out of scope but isn't yet accessible for garbage collection, so the value still exists, but unfortunately I don't believe there is an default API way to access it. This could be maybe possible with a custom implemented NDC (nested diagnostic context) for the logging approach.
I'm not sure why you'd ever want to do this in Java?
The only way I can think of is to create a custom wrapper object for the passed string, thus sending the reference to the wrapper instead of a new string each time.
I'd advice against it, though, since it clutters your original code, and makes it even more error prone.
Might this problem not be solved using a debugger, like the one built into eclipse, to inspect your state?
You can get name of caller method and its class, but you have to add some code in current method:
public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
call();
}
private static void call() {
Exception exception = new Exception();
for(StackTraceElement trace : exception.getStackTrace()){
System.out.println(trace.getMethodName());
}
}
This will print "call" and "main", methods name in called order (reverse).
This is possible using Reflection API !
public class StackTrace {
public static void main(String args[]) {
StackTrace st = new StackTrace();
st.func();
}
public void func() {
OtherClass os =new OtherClass();
os.getStackTrace(this);
}
}
class OtherClass {
void getStackTrace(Object obj) {
System.out.println(obj.getClass());
}
}