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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii" /><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii" /><title>The Compiler Group</title><link rel="shortcut icon" href="../../images/nanoduke.ico" /><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../page.css" /><script type="text/javascript" src="../../page.js"><noscript></noscript></script><script src="https://cdn.usefathom.com/script.js" data-site="KCYJJPZX" defer="yes"></script></head><body><div id="main"> <h1>The Java programming language Compiler Group</h1> <p><a href="/census#compiler">This group</a> is comprised of developers involved in the design, implementation, and maintenance of the <em>javac</em> compiler for the Java programming language, and associated components such as <em>javadoc</em> and <em>javap</em>.</p> <h2>Introduction</h2> <p>The <em>javac</em> compiler reads source files written in the Java programming language, and compiles them into class files. The Java programming language is defined by <a href="https://docs.oracle.com/javase/specs/jls/se11/html/index.html">The Java Language Specification</a> (JLS) and class files are defined by <a href="https://docs.oracle.com/javase/specs/jvms/se11/html/index.html">The Java Virtual Machine Specification</a> (JVMS).</p> <p>Optionally, the compiler can also process annotations found in source and <code>class</code> files using the <a href="https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/11/docs/api/java.compiler/javax/annotation/processing/package-summary.html"> Pluggable Annotation Processing API</a> (<a href="https://jcp.org/en/jsr/summary?id=269">JSR 269</a>).</p> <p>The compiler is a command-line tool but can also be invoked using the <a href="https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/11/docs/api/java.compiler/javax/tools/package-summary.html"> Java Compiler API</a> (<a href="https://jcp.org/en/jsr/summary?id=199">JSR 199</a>).</p> <h2>Source Code</h2> <p>The <code>javac</code> compiler source code is available in the OpenJDK repositories, at <a href="https://git.openjdk.org/">https://git.openjdk.org/</a>.</p> <ul> <li>The mainline sources are in <a href="https://git.openjdk.org/jdk">https://git.openjdk.org/jdk</a>.</li> </ul> <p>For general information about the OpenJDK repositories, and how to clone them, see <a href="https://openjdk.org/guide/">The OpenJDK Developer's Guide</a>.</p> <p>Note that the code for the native launcher for <em>javac</em> is shared with all the other JDK tools, and is customized for <em>javac</em> during the build.</p> <h2>Issues</h2> Issues are tracked in the <a href="https://bugs.openjdk.org">JDK Bug System</a>. Most compiler bugs are tracked in the <em>tools</em> component, <em>javac</em> subcomponent. <h2>Documentation</h2> <ul> <li><a href="doc/hhgtjavac/index.html">The Hitchhiker's Guide to javac</a></li> <li><a href="doc/package-overview/index.html">Compiler Package Overview</a></li> <li><a href="doc/compilation-overview/index.html">Compilation Overview</a></li> <li><a href="tests.html">Guidelines for “langtools” tests</a></li> </ul> <ul> <li><a href="change.html">So you want to change "javac" ...</a></li> <li><a href="http://blogs.oracle.com/darcy/entry/so_you_want_to_change">So you want to change the Java Programming Language...</a></li> </ul> <ul> <li><a href="processing-code.html">Processing Code <span style="font-size:smaller">(Or: <em>Doclets, Annotation Processors and Plugins: Oh My!</em>)</span></a></li> <li><a href="using-new-doclet.html">Using the new Doclet API</a></li> <li><a href="javadoc-architecture.html">javadoc Architecture</a></li> <li><a href="analyzing-doc-comments/analyze-doc-comments.html">Analyzing Documentation Comments</a></li> </ul> <ul> <li><a href="https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/11/tools/javac.html">Oracle home page for <em>javac</em></a></li> <li><a href="https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/11/tools/javadoc.html">Oracle home page for <em>javadoc</em></a></li> </ul> <h2>Presentations</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://blogs.oracle.com/darcy/resource/SpeakingArchive.html">Joe Darcy's Talk Archive</a></li> <li><a href="https://blogs.oracle.com/mcimadamore/resource/09J1_langtools_all.pdf"> Java Programming Language Tools in JDK7</a> (JavaOne 2009)</li> </ul> <h2>Resources</h2> <p>The following links are for resources about the compiler, provided by non-Oracle contributors. These resources may not be completely up to date.</p> <ul>  <li><a href="http://scg.unibe.ch/archive/projects/Erni08b.pdf">The Hacker's Guide to javac</a> (PDF) by David Erni and Adrian Kuhn (2008)</li> </ul> <h2>Related Projects</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://openjdk.org/projects/amber/">Amber</a></li> <li><a href="https://openjdk.org/projects/valhalla/">Valhalla</a></li> <li><a href="https://openjdk.org/projects/code-tools/">Code Tools</a></li> <li><a href="https://mail.openjdk.org/mailman/listinfo/enhanced-metadata-spec-discuss"> Mailing list for enhanced metadata in Java SE 8</a></li> </ul> <h2>Community</h2> <ul> <li style="margin-bottom:1em"><strong>Mailing lists</strong> <ul> <li><a href="https://mail.openjdk.org/mailman/listinfo/compiler-dev">compiler-dev</a></li> <li><a href="https://mail.openjdk.org/mailman/listinfo/javadoc-dev">javadoc-dev</a></li> </ul> </li>       <li style="margin-bottom:1em"><strong>Alumni</strong> <ul> <li>Peter von der Ahé</li> <li><a href="https://gafter.blogspot.com/">Neal Gafter</a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </div><div id="sidebar"><div id="openjdk-sidebar-logo"><a href="/"><img alt="OpenJDK logo" src="../../images/openjdk-small.png" /></a></div><div class="links"><div class="link"><a href="/install/">Installing</a></div><div class="link"><a href="/guide/#contributing-to-an-openjdk-project">Contributing</a></div><div class="link"><a href="/guide/#reviewing-and-sponsoring-a-change">Sponsoring</a></div><div class="link"><a href="/guide/">Developers' Guide</a></div><div class="link"><a href="/groups/vulnerability/report">Vulnerabilities</a></div><div class="link"><a href="https://jdk.java.net">JDK GA/EA Builds</a></div></div><div class="links"><div class="links"><a href="https://mail.openjdk.org">Mailing lists</a></div><div class="link"><a href="https://wiki.openjdk.org">Wiki</a> · <a href="/irc">IRC</a></div></div><div class="links"><div class="links"><a href="/bylaws">Bylaws</a> · <a 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