https://github.com/luontola/visualvm4idea

VisualVM Profiler, an IntelliJ IDEA plugin. [UNMAINTAINED]
https://github.com/luontola/visualvm4idea

Last synced: 4 days ago
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VisualVM Profiler, an IntelliJ IDEA plugin. [UNMAINTAINED]

• Host: GitHub
• URL: https://github.com/luontola/visualvm4idea
• Owner: luontola
• License: other
• Created: 2009-05-08T18:59:29.000Z (over 15 years ago)
• Default Branch: master
• Last Pushed: 2009-05-08T19:07:33.000Z (over 15 years ago)
• Last Synced: 2024-04-15T07:10:18.894Z (7 months ago)
• Language: Java
• Homepage: http://plugins.intellij.net/plugin/?id=3749
• Size: 434 KB
• Stars: 5
• Watchers: 4
• Forks: 2
• Open Issues: 2
• Metadata Files:
  • Readme: README.txt
  • License: LICENSE.txt

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README

        

	BUILDING

Edit the paths in profiles.xml to point to your installations of IDEA and 

VisualVM. Build with the Maven command "mvn clean package".

	RELEASING

To release a new version, use the following steps:

	svn up

	mvn release:prepare -DautoVersionSubmodules=true

	mvn release:clean

Then export from SVN the tag which was just created, and build it.

	HOW THE PLUGIN HOOKS INTO VISUALVM

To be able to send commands to VisualVM, we must load some of our own code 

inside the same JVM as VisualVM, so that we would have direct access VisualVM's 

internal classes at runtime. Then we can just send commands from the IDEA plugin 

to the VisualVM over a socket.

This is complicated by the fact that VisualVM uses NetBeans platform, which 

separates each module into its own class loader. So it's not enough that we load 

some code using the system class loader, because it would not see the classes in 

VisualVM's modules. Also, VisualVM uses a custom executable for launching 

itself, but fortunately it allows us to specify JVM command line parameters.

This plugin launches VisualVM with command line parameters (see 

VisualVmLauncher), which cause VisualVM's JVM to load a Java agent provided by 

this plugin (visualvm4idea-visualvm-agent.jar). VisualVM also recieves as 

command line options the path of this plugin's core libraries (visualvm4idea-

core.jar) and the number of the port which this plugin listens to.

The Java agent modifies the bytecode of the Installer class in VisualVM's 

profiler module (see HookLoadingClassAdapter) by inserting there a method call 

to our own HookLoader class. The HookLoader in turn takes from system properties 

the path of our plugin's core libraries, and creates a custom class loader which 

is a child class loader of VisualVM's profiler module and which adds our 

plugin's core libraries to the class path. Then it loads VisualVmHook (from 

visualvm4idea-core.jar) inside that class loader. VisualVmHook in turn connects 

to the IDEA plugin through a socket and begins to wait for commands.

This way the plugin can execute any commands inside VisualVM's JVM and it has 

access to all the same classes as VisualVM's profiler module has.