IllegalArgumentException Invalid flag using the java compiler pragmatically

Question

I'm trying to compile java files within my java application however they need to be compiled with additional classes which aren't in the class path. So in my code I put in the options like so:

Iterable options = Arrays.asList("-classpath \"/path/to/some/classes\"");

And then I compile like this:

JavaCompiler.CompilationTask task = compiler.getTask(null, fileManager, null, options, null, compilationUnits1);

The exact Error I am getting is this:

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: invalid flag: -classpath "/path/to/some/classes"

Do I have to do it another way to add additional libraries to the classspath?

did you tried removing the double quote? – Gianmarco Sep 17 '13 at 10:53 — Gianmarco, Sep 17 '13 at 10:53

score 8 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 17 '13 at 10:53

8

I'm pretty sure it has to be in two separate strings:

Iterable<String> options = Arrays.asList("-classpath", "/path/to/some/classes");

answered Sep 17 '13 at 10:53

Sean Patrick Floyd

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I have just split it in to 2 strings and I am still getting the same problem. – Dean Sep 17 '13 at 10:56
@Dean ok, then leave out the double quotes – Sean Patrick Floyd Sep 17 '13 at 10:57
There was also a space after the classpath so that is why it was failing. – Dean Sep 17 '13 at 11:00
Thanks Sean. I think sometimes the people who write the documentation stop short of explaining what needs to be done. – Roger F. Gay Aug 17 '14 at 13:26
@RogerF.Gay let's just say calling javac from java in a separate process is not a supported standard use case – Sean Patrick Floyd Aug 18 '14 at 07:31
Not sure what you mean by that. http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/javax/tools/JavaCompiler.html – Roger F. Gay Aug 19 '14 at 15:02
@RogerF.Gay that's why I wrote "in a separate process" – Sean Patrick Floyd Aug 19 '14 at 16:17

score 0 · Answer 2 · edited Jan 03 '22 at 21:04

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If you want to include more than one class paths like src, test or third-party-jars, etc. then separate them using a semicolon

List<String> opt = Arrays.asList("-cp",
                "/path/to/src;/path/to/test;path-to-ext-jarfile.jar");

Note: Don't add them as a separate element in a List, otherwise it again throws IllegalArgumentException Invalid flag.

edited Jan 03 '22 at 21:04

Krishna Majgaonkar

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answered Jan 03 '22 at 14:49

Akhilesh Singh

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IllegalArgumentException Invalid flag using the java compiler pragmatically

2 Answers2