Start method error without "module-info-java", then boot-layer error with the module file

[Luka Sarich]

I just started Java and am running on Java 12. When I try running my code I get this extremely long error block.

Exception in Application start method
java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException
	at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
	at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:62)
	at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
	at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:566)
	at javafx.graphics/com.sun.javafx.application.LauncherImpl.launchApplicationWithArgs(LauncherImpl.java:473)
	at javafx.graphics/com.sun.javafx.application.LauncherImpl.launchApplication(LauncherImpl.java:372)
	at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
	at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:62)
	at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
	at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:566)
	at java.base/sun.launcher.LauncherHelper$FXHelper.main(LauncherHelper.java:1051)
Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: Exception in Application start method
	at javafx.graphics/com.sun.javafx.application.LauncherImpl.launchApplication1(LauncherImpl.java:973)
	at javafx.graphics/com.sun.javafx.application.LauncherImpl.lambda$launchApplication$2(LauncherImpl.java:198)
	at java.base/java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:834)
Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException
	at com.teamtreehouse.pomodoro.Main.start(Main.java:15)
	at javafx.graphics/com.sun.javafx.application.LauncherImpl.lambda$launchApplication1$9(LauncherImpl.java:919)
	at javafx.graphics/com.sun.javafx.application.PlatformImpl.lambda$runAndWait$11(PlatformImpl.java:449)
	at javafx.graphics/com.sun.javafx.application.PlatformImpl.lambda$runLater$9(PlatformImpl.java:418)
	at java.base/java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
	at javafx.graphics/com.sun.javafx.application.PlatformImpl.lambda$runLater$10(PlatformImpl.java:417)
	at javafx.graphics/com.sun.glass.ui.InvokeLaterDispatcher$Future.run(InvokeLaterDispatcher.java:96)
Exception running application com.teamtreehouse.pomodoro.Main

That error pops up when I delete the "module-info-java" file I created. However, when I add the file I get a shorter error message.
This is what is inside the module-info-java file.

module s3v1 {
    requires javafx.fxml;
    requires javafx.controls;

    opens sample;
}

And when I run the program with the module-file, then I only get this error message.

Error occurred during initialization of boot layer
java.lang.module.FindException: Error reading module: /Users/lukasarich/Desktop/project/s3v1/out/production/s3v1
Caused by: java.lang.module.InvalidModuleDescriptorException: Package sample not found in module

I've been learning Java for a little bit and always hve issues arise deriving from modules / packages / Java version etc. Can someone explain or help breakdown modules / packages? Or just help me figure out why this program won't run. Thank you for taking time out of your day / night to read this and help me. Cheers!

[Stephan van Hulst]

When you add the module-info.java file to your project, the error message tells you exactly what's wrong: Your module descriptor declares that the 'sample' package is open for reflective access, but your module doesn't contain any package named 'sample'.

Without the module descriptor, the Java runtime manages to get past the module checking step, but fails in Main.java with a NullPointerException. This could have any reason, and we can't help you without seeing the source file.

Please also tell us how you are building and running your project.

[Luka Sarich]

Stephan van Hulst wrote:When you add the module-info.java file to your project, the error message tells you exactly what's wrong: Your module descriptor declares that the 'sample' package is open for reflective access, but your module doesn't contain any package named 'sample'.

Without the module descriptor, the Java runtime manages to get past the module checking step, but fails in Main.java with a NullPointerException. This could have any reason, and we can't help you without seeing the source file.

Please also tell us how you are building and running your project.

Thanks for the response Stephan. I downloaded the ZIP file because I wanted to follow along for my course. When I unzipped it, it looked like this.

So I just imported the "s3v1" file using IntelliJ because a classmate said, "It had all the necessary files". Prior to this I imported the whole "project" file and had even more problems.

I know i'm asking really fundamental questions and the answer is probably super simple. Thanks for helping me out!

Edit : It's also probably worth noting that when I go in to Project Structure in IntelliJ, it says that the out folder is excluded, you can see that here.

[Stephan van Hulst]

Why does it list all the sub-folders of 'out' as source folders? That doesn't look right to me.

Anyway, I can see that the application doesn't contain a 'sample' package, so your module descriptor is wrong. Just remove the 'opens' declaration and keep the two 'requires' declarations.

We still need to see the Main.java file before we can help you with the NullPointerException. But please don't post an image of it. Post it here as text and surround it in code tags [code]like this[/code].

[Luka Sarich]

Stephan van Hulst wrote:Why does it list all the sub-folders of 'out' as source folders? That doesn't look right to me.

Anyway, I can see that the application doesn't contain a 'sample' package, so your module descriptor is wrong. Just remove the 'opens' declaration and keep the two 'requires' declarations.

We still need to see the Main.java file before we can help you with the NullPointerException. But please don't post an image of it. Post it here as text and surround it in code tags [code]like this[/code].

When I remove the 'opens' declaration and try running then I get this error :

Exception in Application constructor
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException
	at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
	at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:62)
	at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
	at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:566)
	at java.base/sun.launcher.LauncherHelper$FXHelper.main(LauncherHelper.java:1051)
Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: Unable to construct Application instance: class com.teamtreehouse.pomodoro.Main
	at javafx.graphics/com.sun.javafx.application.LauncherImpl.launchApplication1(LauncherImpl.java:963)
	at javafx.graphics/com.sun.javafx.application.LauncherImpl.lambda$launchApplication$2(LauncherImpl.java:198)
	at java.base/java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:834)
Caused by: java.lang.IllegalAccessException: class com.sun.javafx.application.LauncherImpl (in module javafx.graphics) cannot access class com.teamtreehouse.pomodoro.Main (in module s3v1) because module s3v1 does not export com.teamtreehouse.pomodoro to module javafx.graphics
	at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.Reflection.newIllegalAccessException(Reflection.java:361)
	at java.base/java.lang.reflect.AccessibleObject.checkAccess(AccessibleObject.java:591)
	at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Constructor.newInstance(Constructor.java:481)
	at javafx.graphics/com.sun.javafx.application.LauncherImpl.lambda$launchApplication1$8(LauncherImpl.java:875)
	at javafx.graphics/com.sun.javafx.application.PlatformImpl.lambda$runAndWait$11(PlatformImpl.java:449)
	at javafx.graphics/com.sun.javafx.application.PlatformImpl.lambda$runLater$9(PlatformImpl.java:418)
	at java.base/java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
	at javafx.graphics/com.sun.javafx.application.PlatformImpl.lambda$runLater$10(PlatformImpl.java:417)
	at javafx.graphics/com.sun.glass.ui.InvokeLaterDispatcher$Future.run(InvokeLaterDispatcher.java:96)

Here is the Main.java file :

package com.teamtreehouse.pomodoro;

import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.fxml.FXMLLoader;
import javafx.scene.Parent;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.text.Font;
import javafx.stage.Stage;

public class Main extends Application {

    @Override
    public void start(Stage primaryStage) throws Exception {
        // Load the font
        Font.loadFont(getClass().getResource("/fonts/VarelaRound-Regular.ttf").toExternalForm(), 10);
        Parent root = FXMLLoader.load(getClass().getResource("/fxml/home.fxml"));
        primaryStage.setScene(new Scene(root, 500, 500));
        primaryStage.setResizable(false);
        primaryStage.show();
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        launch(args);
    }
}

[Stephan van Hulst]

It's important to learn how to read stack traces. You see that it contains several lines that start with "Caused by:". The last one is the root cause. Then the first line of that exception stack trace tells you exactly what's wrong:
class com.sun.javafx.application.LauncherImpl (in module javafx.graphics) cannot access class com.teamtreehouse.pomodoro.Main (in module s3v1) because module s3v1 does not export com.teamtreehouse.pomodoro to module javafx.graphics
JavaFX can not launch your application because your module does not expose the package containing your main class to the outside world. You fix this by using the following module-info:

module s3v1 {
  requires javafx.controls;
  requires javafx.fxml;
  
  exports com.teamtreehouse.pomodoro to javafx.graphics;
}

[Luis Paredes]

Hello, I had the same issue and this worked great for me! Thanks for the post

[fantoma kitscool]

I have the same eror but it don't work for me

[Stephan van Hulst]

Welcome to CodeRanch!

What error message are you getting? What does your module-info.java look like?