Hi. As requested, a source patch for java-common is included below. It's
also available at http://people.debian.org/~bab/java/jni-policy.diff .
Ben. :)
--- java-common-0.16/policy.xml 2002-09-26 00:53:03.000000000 +1000
+++ java-common-0.16.1/policy.xml 2003-02-09 23:16:23.000000000 +1100
@@ -147,6 +147,14 @@
virtual machine, you &may; name the compiler package xxxx-dev.
</para>
+ <para>
+ Some Java classes implement their routines using a "native"
+ language (such as C). This native code is compiled and stored
+ in dynamic libraries (such as JNI modules) that are loaded at
+ runtime. If a virtual machine supports native code, it &must;
+ include the directory <filename>/usr/lib/jni</filename> in its
+ search path for these dynamic libraries.
+ </para>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="policy-compiler">
@@ -245,18 +253,27 @@
This applies only to libraries, <emphasis>not</emphasis> to the core
classes provied by a the runtime environment.
</para>
-
+
+ <para>
+ Some Java libraries rely on code written in a "native" language,
+ such as JNI (Java Native Interface) code. This native code is
+ compiled into separate dynamic libraries which are loaded by the
+ Java virtual machine at runtime.
+ </para>
+
<para>
- If the Java code depends on code written in a "native" language,
- for example Java Native Interface code, the compiled native code
- &should; be shipped in a separate architecture-specific package
- named libXXX[version]-jni. The package containing Java bytecode
- &should; depend on this package.
+ If a Java library relies on native code, the dynamic libraries
+ containing this compiled native code &should; be installed into
+ the directory <filename>/usr/lib/jni</filename>. These dynamic
+ libraries &should; be shipped in a separate architecture-specific
+ package named libXXX[version]-jni. The package containing the Java
+ bytecode (generally libXXX[version]-java) &should; depend on
+ this package.
</para>
<para>
There may be situations, such as with very small packages,
where it is better to bundle the Java code and the native code
- together into a single package. Such packages should be
+ together into a single package. Such packages &should; be
architecture-specific and follow the usual libXXX[version]-java
naming convention.
</para>
