Component Development for the Java™ Platform

3.4. Dynamic Proxies

Dynamic proxies, available since SDK 1.3, are the exact opposite of reflective invocation. With reflective invocation, a client uses a generic API to call methods (on a server class) that are not known at compile time. With dynamic proxies, a server uses a generic API to implement methods on a server class that is manufactured at runtime to meet a client's specification. Dynamic proxies are chameleons that take the shape of any set of interfaces desired by the client. When combined with reflective invocation, dynamic proxies can implement generic interceptors. An interceptor is a piece of code that sits between a client and a server and adds an additional service, such as transaction enlistment, auditing, security checking, ...