oracle/graal · error · IllegalArgumentException

{file}:{line}: {cause}

Error message

{file}:{line}: {cause}

What it means

While parsing each line of the directed inlining rules file, parseCommandFileLine (DirectedInliningRules.java:257) delegates to parseRule and rethrows any IllegalArgumentException prefixed with '<file>:<line>:' so the user knows exactly which rule line is malformed. The message itself comes from the inner parse error (e.g., empty rule, bad receiver type filter).

Source

Thrown at compiler/src/jdk.graal.compiler/src/jdk/graal/compiler/phases/common/inlining/DirectedInliningRules.java:257

            return;
        }
        int commandSeparator = findCommandSeparator(commandLine);
        if (commandSeparator < 0) {
            throw invalidCommand(commandFile, lineNumber, commandLine);
        }
        String command = commandLine.substring(0, commandSeparator).trim().toLowerCase(Locale.ROOT);
        String ruleSpec = commandLine.substring(commandSeparator + 1).trim();
        if (ruleSpec.startsWith(String.valueOf(DIRECTIVE_SEPARATOR))) {
            ruleSpec = ruleSpec.substring(1).trim();
        }
        if (ruleSpec.isEmpty()) {
            throw invalidCommand(commandFile, lineNumber, commandLine);
        }
        Rule rule;
        try {
            rule = parseRule(ruleSpec);
        } catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
            throw new IllegalArgumentException(commandFile + ":" + lineNumber + ": " + e.getMessage(), e);
        }
        switch (command) {
            case "inline" -> inlineRules.add(rule);
            case "dontinline" -> dontInlineRules.add(rule);
            default -> throw invalidCommand(commandFile, lineNumber, commandLine);
        }
    }

    private static String stripComment(String line) {
        int commentStart = line.indexOf('#');
        return commentStart < 0 ? line : line.substring(0, commentStart);
    }

    private static int findCommandSeparator(String commandLine) {
        for (int i = 0; i < commandLine.length(); i++) {
            char c = commandLine.charAt(i);
            if (c == DIRECTIVE_SEPARATOR || Character.isWhitespace(c)) {
                return i;

View on GitHub (pinned to a66e9ccd1d)

Solutions

1. Open the named file at the reported line number and fix the rule according to the EXPECTED_RULE_FORMAT shown in the 'Directed inlining rule must have the form ...' companion message
2. Strip anything after '#' only as comments; ensure the line has the form 'inline|dontinline : callerSpec -> ... -> calleeSpec'
3. Re-run and fix lines one at a time; each remaining error reports the next bad line

Example fix

# before (rules.txt:3)
inline : com.foo.A.* ->

# after (rules.txt:3)
inline : com.foo.A.* -> com.bar.B.quad(int)

try {
    rules = DirectedInliningRules.fromFile(path);
} catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
    // message is '<file>:<line>: <cause>' — log it and surface to the user editing the file
    log.error("bad directed-inlining rule: {}", e.getMessage());
}

When it happens

Trigger: Any syntax error in a rule line (after '#' comment stripping) in the file named by -Dgraal.DirectedInliningCommandFile: missing caller/callee, stray '@', bad receiver-type braces, etc.

Common situations: Hand-edited rules files; comments using the wrong comment character; copy-pasting rules from docs that mangle unicode dashes or quotes.

Related errors

• Invalid directed inlining rules file path: {path}
• Directed inlining rule must have non-empty caller and callee
• Directed inlining rule has an empty {componentName} filter o
• Directed inlining rule receiver type filter must name exactl
• Directed inlining rule receiver type filter must contain sim

AI-assisted analysis of oracle/graal@a66e9ccd1d (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/cedbfda4ccc9acbe. Report an issue: GitHub.