invoke-custom

Starting from DEX version 038, the invoke-custom instruction was introduced to enable flexible, dynamic invocation of methods. It plays a crucial role in dynamic method handling, particularly useful for lambda expressions and functional programming in Java and allows Dalvik VM to dynamically call methods at runtime by referencing a “call site”, which points to specific runtime metadata defining the method to be called. In simple terms, invoke-custom makes it possible to execute methods that are not directly known or accessible at compile time but are defined dynamically when the application runs. This dynamic invocation mechanism aligns with Java’s java.lang.invoke API and provides key support for features like lambda expressions.

Instruction Syntax and Structure

Here’s a basic outline of the syntax:

invoke-custom {vC, vD, vE, vF, vG}, call_site@BBBB

Each invoke-custom instruction has the following fields:

The Role of call_site_item

call_site_item is a special DEX structure used to hold metadata about a call site. It’s located in the DEX file’s data section and contains details about the method to be invoked, including the following:

  1. Bootstrap Method Handle: A reference to a “bootstrap” method that sets up the call site. This method typically belongs to classes like LambdaMetafactory in Java and must return a java.lang.invoke.CallSite.
  2. Method Name: A string representing the name of the method to be resolved.
  3. Method Type: A descriptor defining the method’s argument and return types.

This setup gives invoke-custom the information needed to invoke a method dynamically.

Example of a call_site_item

Here’s what a typical call_site_item would look like conceptually:

{
    bootstrap_method: VALUE_METHOD_HANDLE (e.g., LambdaMetafactory.metafactory),
    method_name: VALUE_STRING (e.g., "isSplitMetaElement"),
    method_type: VALUE_METHOD_TYPE (e.g., (Lcom/reandroid/arsc/chunk/xml/ResXmlElement;)Z)
}

Additional arguments can also be included as constant values, passed to the bootstrap method in order.

Execution Phases of invoke-custom

The invoke-custom instruction executes in two main phases:

  1. Call Site Resolution:

    • The DEX interpreter checks if there’s an existing CallSite object for the specified call site.
    • If a CallSite doesn’t exist, the bootstrap method specified in call_site_item is invoked with the provided arguments. This bootstrap method returns a CallSite object that represents the method to be called.
    • The CallSite object is cached for future calls to improve performance.

  2. Call Site Invocation:

    • After the CallSite is resolved, the MethodHandle within the CallSite is invoked.
    • This invocation works similarly to the invoke-polymorphic instruction, where the arguments passed in the invoke-custom instruction are used directly.

Practical Example: invoke-custom in Action

Consider this Java code in the ApkSplitInfoCleaner class:

FilterIterator.of(manifest.recursiveElements(), ApkSplitInfoCleaner::isSplitMetaElement)

In bytecode, this invocation of isSplitMetaElement as a lambda will be compiled into an invoke-custom call, where the DEX file contains a call_site_item that references LambdaMetafactory.metafactory to create a lambda expression.

Bytecode Example

Here’s what this might look like in Dalvik bytecode:

invoke-custom {}, call_site_2("test", ()Ljava/util/function/Predicate;, (Ljava/lang/Object;)Z, 
                  invoke-static@Lcom/reandroid/apk/ApkSplitInfoCleaner;->isSplitMetaElement(Lcom/reandroid/arsc/chunk/xml/ResXmlElement;)Z, 
                  (Lcom/reandroid/arsc/chunk/xml/ResXmlElement;)Z)@Ljava/lang/invoke/LambdaMetafactory;->metafactory(Ljava/lang/invoke/MethodHandles$Lookup;Ljava/lang/String;Ljava/lang/invoke/MethodType;Ljava/lang/invoke/MethodType;Ljava/lang/invoke/MethodHandle;Ljava/lang/invoke/MethodType;)Ljava/lang/invoke/CallSite;

This example showcases the following:

  1. call_site_2 defines the arguments for the LambdaMetafactory.metafactory bootstrap method.
  2. The bootstrap method generates a CallSite instance, enabling the isSplitMetaElement method to be invoked as a lambda expression matching a functional interface.

invoke-polymorphic

invoke-polymorphic is another bytecode instruction (Also introduced starting from DEX version 038 onwards) similar to invoke-custom, but it’s specifically used for invoking MethodHandle methods like invoke or invokeExact. While invoke-custom is for more general dynamic invocation, invoke-polymorphic is restricted to methods directly supporting polymorphic invocation in MethodHandle.

References

invoke-polymorphic →