oracle/graal · error · IOException

Invalid replay symbolic method definition index

Error message

Invalid replay symbolic method definition index

What it means

IOException thrown by BinaryReplayCodec.ReadState.defineMethod when a symbolic-method definition's index != methodTable.size(). Method definitions must append one-by-one in order; any deviation signals the decoded stream no longer matches the encoder's format, i.e. corruption or a codec-version mismatch.

Source

Thrown at compiler/src/jdk.graal.compiler/src/jdk/graal/compiler/hotspot/replaycomp/BinaryReplayCodec.java:273

        }

        private void defineString(int index, String value) throws IOException {
            if (index != stringTable.size()) {
                throw new IOException("Invalid replay string definition index " + index);
            }
            stringTable.add(value);
        }

        private CompilationProxy.SymbolicMethod methodAt(int index) throws IOException {
            if (index < 0 || index >= methodTable.size()) {
                throw new IOException("Invalid replay symbolic method index " + index);
            }
            return methodTable.get(index);
        }

        private void defineMethod(int index, CompilationProxy.SymbolicMethod method) throws IOException {
            if (index != methodTable.size()) {
                throw new IOException("Invalid replay symbolic method definition index " + index);
            }
            methodTable.add(method);
        }

        private CompilerInterfaceDeclarations.Registration registrationAt(int index) throws IOException {
            if (index < 0 || index >= registrations.length) {
                throw new IOException("Invalid replay registration index " + index);
            }
            return registrations[index];
        }

        private Object singletonProxy(int registrationIndex) throws IOException {
            CompilerInterfaceDeclarations.Registration registration = registrationAt(registrationIndex);
            if (!registration.singleton()) {
                throw new IOException("Registration " + registration.clazz().getName() + " is not a singleton");
            }
            Object proxy = singletonProxies[registrationIndex];
            if (proxy == null) {

View on GitHub (pinned to a66e9ccd1d)

Solutions

Re-record the replay file with the same compiler version used for replay.
Re-obtain an intact copy of the artifact.
Version-stamp replay artifacts and discard ones from other builds.

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Try / catch

try {
    replayCodec.decode(input);
} catch (IOException e) {
    if (e.getMessage().startsWith("Invalid replay symbolic method definition index")) {
        // record order mismatch: re-record on current build
    }
    throw e;
}

Prevention

Treat any index-ordering IOException as 'artifact incompatible', not transient.
Version replay files with the compiler build id and check it before decode.

When it happens

Trigger: Decoding a stream where a DEFINE_METHOD record arrives with a gap/repeat index — after dropped bytes or when reading a file written by a codec that emitted records in a different order.

Common situations: Replaying stale profiles after a compiler upgrade changed the replay encoding; files corrupted in transfer or storage.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of oracle/graal@a66e9ccd1d (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/150279b6de735cfd. Report an issue: GitHub.