How to load JAR files dynamically at Runtime?

Question

Why is it so hard to do this in Java? If you want to have any kind of module system you need to be able to load JAR files dynamically. I\'m told there\'s a way of doing it b

Answer 1

Here is a quick workaround for Allain's method to make it compatible with newer versions of Java:

ClassLoader classLoader = ClassLoader.getSystemClassLoader();
try {
    Method method = classLoader.getClass().getDeclaredMethod("addURL", URL.class);
    method.setAccessible(true);
    method.invoke(classLoader, new File(jarPath).toURI().toURL());
} catch (NoSuchMethodException e) {
    Method method = classLoader.getClass()
            .getDeclaredMethod("appendToClassPathForInstrumentation", String.class);
    method.setAccessible(true);
    method.invoke(classLoader, jarPath);
}

Note that it relies on knowledge of internal implementation of specific JVM, so it's not ideal and it's not a universal solution. But it's a quick and easy workaround if you know that you are going to use standard OpenJDK or Oracle JVM. It might also break at some point in future when new JVM version is released, so you need to keep that in mind.