cau-repl

Extend Java programs with Groovy at runtime. Add an interactive SSH-based REPL to any JVM and tweak it with your own custom Groovy classes.

The cau-repl comes bundled with an additional MyCoRe module for easy integration with your document repository.

Disclaimer

This project is in a very early stage: expect bugs.

As of today, testing was exclusively on Linux. While the code is intended to be OS agnostic, there will certainly be issues if you run it on Windows (it might run fine on the WSL, though). Pull requests for compatibility are welcome!

Testing of the MyCoRe plugin was until now conducted only in a Tomcat environment.

Features

cau-repl enables you to:

• Connect to your JVMs via SSH and run Groovy commands in them. You can use all the classes interactively.
• Load any Maven artifact into the REPL at runtime and use it just in your session
• Start long-running batch jobs from the SSH console that persist after you disconnect, monitor their status and easily retry failed steps. Job inputs can be processed in parallel, with automatic tuning to determine the number of workers that maximize throughput.
• Extend any Java program with your own Groovy classes, e.g. for dependency injection.
• Automatically run your own Groovy code each time the application is started.
• (experimental) Patch classes of any Java program replacing their methods with your own Groovy code, even if the methods are private. All changes are applied ad-hoc each time the application starts without altering its installation.
• Use interactive breakpoints that transfer control to the SSH console under certain circumstances.
• (very experimental) change the code of methods at runtime, even if those methods are called from Java code.

cau-repl can be built as a MyCoRe plugin that enables better integration:

• Simple installation: just put one .jar in your lib/ directory and enable the REPL in your .properties
• Extend your repository with your own EventHandlers, CronJobs, etc. - no need to create a plugin, set up a full development environment or (re-)compile anything: just drop a single .groovy file in the right directory and the class will be available in MyCoRe.
• Numerous helper functions that make interacting with your repository from the REPL easy:
  • SOLR searches
  • Retrieving documents and their XML via XPath
  • Displaying, changing (by XSLT or manually), saving XML
  • Generating diffs between updated XML and the original before saving
  • Easy MyCoRe session management: run any command as any user, with automatic transactions
• The REPL's Job system is integrated with MyCoRe's, so jobs started from the REPL can also be managed via the webinterface.
• MyCoRe's own CLI commands are also available and can be used from the REPL.

Requirements

• Java 17 or 21 (other versions > 17 may or may not work)
• Maven
• vim or any other console text editor that can run without a tty (optional: only if you want to edit files within the SSH session)
• MyCoRe 2022.06 or 2023.06 (optional: only if you would like to use the MyCoRe plugin; other versions may or may not work)

License

cau-repl is MIT licensed. Designated portions of it were imported from other projects and are Apache 2.0 licensed.

The optional MyCoRe support module is GPL 3.0 licensed. It is not included in the build by default. The documentation contains instructions on building a version with the MyCoRe-specific helpers enabled (the -gpl build). You can use this build under the terms of the GPL 3.0. In this sense, cau-repl is dual-licensed under either the MIT or GPL 3.0 license.

See the bundled LICENSE.txt file and the SPDX identifier of each source file for details.

Quickstart

cau-repl can be built in two flavors: as a MyCoRe plugin, or as a generic Java agent from all kinds of java applications. Choose the quickstart instructions that apply to your use-case.

For generic use, built without MyCoRe GPL code

mvn clean package
java -javaagent:target/cau-repl-X.Y.Z-fatjar-mit.jar -jar /path/to/your/application.jar
# a message like "REPL: Session Password auto-generated: XXXXXXXXXX" should be printed to the terminal
# you may now login with any username and the password that was just printed
ssh "ssh://localhost:8512"

By default, cau-repl will store its state in the cau-repl directory, which it will create in the current working directory.

If you don't have a Java target application available and just want to see the REPL in action, you can also start the agent directly without a target: java -jar target/cau-repl-X.Y.Z-fatjar-mit.jar

Things to try

Your commands run in the target application's JVM. Try listing all threads:

groovy:000> Thread.allStackTraces.entrySet().collect{ "${it.key} -> ${it.value ? it.value[0] : ''}" }
===> [Thread[HikariPool-1 housekeeper,5,main] -> [email protected]/jdk.internal.misc.Unsafe.park(Native Method),
...

Now import a class of your target and start interacting

groovy:000> import foo.bar.SomeClass
groovy:000> SomeClass.someStaticMethod()
groovy:000> x = new SomeClass()
...

Can't find the classes you are looking for? Then you should configure cau-repl to use the same ClassLoader as your target.
Want to define your own classes in your target's classloader? Then you have to configure cau-repl's ClassLoader use as well.
Consult the installation manual for details, including ways to start the REPL if you can't use a Java agent.

For use in MyCoRe, built with GPL code

mvn -P gpl clean package
cp target/cau-repl-X.Y.Z-fatjar-gpl.jar /path/to/mycore/lib
echo "CAU.REPL.Enabled=true" >> /path/to/mycore/mycore.properties
# now (re-)start your servlet container
# a message like "REPLLog: REPL listening on 127.0.0.1:8512" should be logged
# you may now login with the MyCoRe administrator password
ssh "ssh://administrator@localhost:8512"

By default, cau-repl will store its state in the cau-repl subdirectory, which it will create in your MyCoRe installation's root.

Things to try

Your commands run directly in MyCoRe's JVM. Try pinging a Solr core:

groovy:000> MCRSolrClientFactory.mainSolrClient.ping()
===> {responseHeader={zkConnected=null,status=0,QTime=13,params={q={!lucene}*:*,distrib=false,df=allMeta,facet.field=mods.genre,echoParams=all,fl=*,score,sort=score desc, mods.dateIssued desc,facet.mincount=1,rows=20,wt=javabin,version=2,facet=true,rid=-26}},status=OK}

Numerous helper functions are avaliable. Go retrieve a document and inspect it:

groovy:000> doc = mcrxml("mods", filter=".[//mods:title='SOMETITLEHERE']")[0]
===> [Document:  No DOCTYPE declaration, Root is [Element: <mycoreobject/>]]
groovy:000> doc()
===>
<mycoreobject xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:noNamespaceSchema
Location="datamodel-mods.xsd" ID="fdr_mods_00000299" version="2022.06.3-SNAPSHOT" label="fdr_mods_00000299">
...

Documentation

There is complete documentation available covering all of cau-repl's features.