[Native Image] HijrahChronology is broken in native mode

[Eng-Fouad]

Describe the Issue

Issue 1:

Tried to use HijrahChronology in JDK 22, 23, and 24, and I got this exception:

java.time.DateTimeException: Unable to initialize HijrahCalendar: Hijrah-umalqura
	at java.base@24.0.1/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.loadCalendarData(HijrahChronology.java:915)
	at java.base@24.0.1/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.checkCalendarInit(HijrahChronology.java:328)
	at java.base@24.0.1/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.getHijrahDateInfo(HijrahChronology.java:581)
	at java.base@24.0.1/java.time.chrono.HijrahDate.<init>(HijrahDate.java:286)
	at java.base@24.0.1/java.time.chrono.HijrahDate.ofEpochDay(HijrahDate.java:168)
	at java.base@24.0.1/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.date(HijrahChronology.java:464)
        ...
Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: Hijrah calendar resource not found: hijrah-config-Hijrah-umalqura_islamic-umalqura.properties
	at java.base@24.0.1/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.readConfigProperties(HijrahChronology.java:825)
	at java.base@24.0.1/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.loadCalendarData(HijrahChronology.java:846)
	... 67 more

Isn't hijrah-config-Hijrah-umalqura_islamic-umalqura.properties supposed to be included by default by GraalVM?

"resources": [
    {
      "module": "java.base",
      "glob": "java/time/chrono/hijrah-config-Hijrah-umalqura_islamic-umalqura.properties"
    }
  ]

---

Issue 2:

Since JDK24+, I cannot use HijrahChronology on static block unless I initialize the containing class at runtime:

public class DateTimeUtils {
    // ...
    private static final DateTimeFormatter ARABIC_HIJRI_DATE_FORMATTER = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("dd\\MM\\yyyy G").localizedBy(LOCALE_AR).withChronology(HijrahChronology.INSTANCE);
    private static final DateTimeFormatter ENGLISH_HIJRI_DATE_FORMATTER = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("dd/MM/yyyy G").localizedBy(LOCALE_EN).withChronology(HijrahChronology.INSTANCE);
}

even if I include --initialize-at-run-time=io.fouad.backend.core.utils.DateTimeUtils, I got NPE:

HijrahChronology:

/**
     * Static initialization of the built-in calendars.
     * The data is not loaded until it is used.
     */
    static {
        INSTANCE = new HijrahChronology("Hijrah-umalqura", "islamic-umalqura");
        // Register it by its aliases
        AbstractChronology.registerChrono(INSTANCE, "Hijrah");
        AbstractChronology.registerChrono(INSTANCE, "islamic");

        // custom config chronologies
        CONF_PATH = Path.of(StaticProperty.javaHome(), "conf", "chronology");
        registerCustomChrono();
    }

StaticProperty.javaHome() causes the NPE, and the workaround is to add -Djava.home= when executing the native image.

Using the latest version of GraalVM can resolve many issues.

• I tried with the latest version of GraalVM.

GraalVM Version

24

Operating System and Version

Ubuntu 24.04

Troubleshooting Confirmation

• I tried the suggestions in the troubleshooting guide.

Run Command

.

Expected Behavior

.

Actual Behavior

.

Steps to Reproduce

.

Additional Context

No response

Run-Time Log Output and Error Messages

No response

[oubidar-Abderrahim]

Hi

isn't hijrah-config-Hijrah-umalqura_islamic-umalqura.properties supposed to be included by default by GraalVM?
not really, most resources and especially those that aren't used much require to be added to Metadata configuration to be able to use in the native image

For the 2nd issue can you share a full reproducer with steps? thank you

[Eng-Fouad]

not really, most resources and especially those that aren't used much require to be added to Metadata configuration to be able to use in the native image

Then HijrahChronology is broken in native, besides it is part of the core library of Java.

I searched for other java.base resources that are included by default to the native image and I found java/lang/uniName.dat:

graal/substratevm/src/com.oracle.svm.hosted/src/com/oracle/svm/hosted/jdk/localization/CharsetSubstitutionsFeature.java

Lines 33 to 39 in e4bd1ea

	class CharsetSubstitutionsFeature implements InternalFeature {
	@Override
	public void beforeAnalysis(BeforeAnalysisAccess access) {
	access.registerReachabilityHandler((e) -> RuntimeResourceAccess.addResource(Class.class.getModule(),
	"java/lang/uniName.dat"), access.findClassByName("java.lang.CharacterName"));
	}
	}

---

For the 2nd issue can you share a full reproducer with steps? thank you

In my Quarkus project, I am using DateTimeUtils as a CDI bean and it seems it is initialized at build time:

@ApplicationScoped
public class DateTimeUtils {
    // ...
    private static final DateTimeFormatter ARABIC_HIJRI_DATE_FORMATTER = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("dd\\MM\\yyyy G").localizedBy(LOCALE_AR).withChronology(HijrahChronology.INSTANCE);
    private static final DateTimeFormatter ENGLISH_HIJRI_DATE_FORMATTER = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("dd/MM/yyyy G").localizedBy(LOCALE_EN).withChronology(HijrahChronology.INSTANCE);
}

On GraalVM 24+, I get this error during the native build:

Fatal error: com.oracle.graal.pointsto.constraints.UnsupportedFeatureException: An object of type 'java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology' was found in the image heap. This type, however, is marked for initialization at image run time for the following reason: classes are initialized at run time by default.
This is not allowed for correctness reasons: All objects that are stored in the image heap must be initialized at build time.

On GraalVM 23 and older, the native build completes successfully.

I believe this is caused by this commit which was added since 24.2.1 (cc @cstancu):

graal/substratevm/src/com.oracle.svm.hosted/src/com/oracle/svm/hosted/jdk/JDKInitializationFeature.java

Line 75 in 5d94c2e

rci.initializeAtRunTime("java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology", "Reads java.home in class initializer.");

Anyway, I fixed that by adding --initialize-at-run-time=io.fouad.backend.core.utils.DateTimeUtils.

Now for the NPE issue, it happens on JDK24+ only. it seems that it occurs because HijrahChronology is initialized at runtime now (I am not sure). Here is a producer:

HelloWorld.java:

import java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology;
import java.time.format.DateTimeFormatter;

public class HelloWorld {

    private static final DateTimeFormatter HIJRI_DATE_FORMATTER = DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("dd/MM/yyyy G").withChronology(HijrahChronology.INSTANCE);

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        var hijriToday = HijrahChronology.INSTANCE.dateNow();
        var formattedHijriDate = HIJRI_DATE_FORMATTER.format(hijriToday);
        System.out.println("Current Hijri date: " + formattedHijriDate);
    }
}

Terminal:

sdk use java 24-graal
javac HelloWorld.java
native-image HelloWorld
./helloworld

Output:

Exception in thread "main" java.lang.ExceptionInInitializerError
        at HelloWorld.<clinit>(HelloWorld.java:10)
        at java.base@24/java.lang.invoke.DirectMethodHandle.ensureInitialized(DirectMethodHandle.java:328)
        at java.base@24/java.lang.invoke.DirectMethodHandle.internalMemberNameEnsureInit(DirectMethodHandle.java:341)
Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException
        at java.base@24/java.util.Objects.requireNonNull(Objects.java:220)
        at java.base@24/sun.nio.fs.UnixFileSystem.getPath(UnixFileSystem.java:257)
        at java.base@24/java.nio.file.Path.of(Path.java:148)
        at java.base@24/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.<clinit>(HijrahChronology.java:291)
        ... 3 more

The workaround is to use ./helloworld -Djava.home=.

After that, there is the missing resource problem:

Terminal:

sdk use java 24-graal
javac HelloWorld.java
native-image HelloWorld
./helloworld -Djava.home=

sdk use java 23-graal
javac HelloWorld.java
native-image HelloWorld
./helloworld

Output:

Jun 17, 2025 1:59:20 AM java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology loadCalendarData
SEVERE: Unable to initialize Hijrah calendar proxy: Hijrah-umalqura
java.lang.RuntimeException: Hijrah calendar resource not found: hijrah-config-Hijrah-umalqura_islamic-umalqura.properties
        at java.base@24/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.readConfigProperties(HijrahChronology.java:825)
        at java.base@24/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.loadCalendarData(HijrahChronology.java:846)
        at java.base@24/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.checkCalendarInit(HijrahChronology.java:328)
        at java.base@24/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.getHijrahDateInfo(HijrahChronology.java:581)
        at java.base@24/java.time.chrono.HijrahDate.<init>(HijrahDate.java:286)
        at java.base@24/java.time.chrono.HijrahDate.ofEpochDay(HijrahDate.java:168)
        at java.base@24/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.date(HijrahChronology.java:464)
        at java.base@24/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.dateNow(HijrahChronology.java:456)
        at java.base@24/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.dateNow(HijrahChronology.java:446)
        at HelloWorld.main(HelloWorld.java:13)
        at java.base@24/java.lang.invoke.LambdaForm$DMH/sa346b79c.invokeStaticInit(LambdaForm$DMH)

Exception in thread "main" java.time.DateTimeException: Unable to initialize HijrahCalendar: Hijrah-umalqura
        at java.base@24/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.loadCalendarData(HijrahChronology.java:915)
        at java.base@24/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.checkCalendarInit(HijrahChronology.java:328)
        at java.base@24/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.getHijrahDateInfo(HijrahChronology.java:581)
        at java.base@24/java.time.chrono.HijrahDate.<init>(HijrahDate.java:286)
        at java.base@24/java.time.chrono.HijrahDate.ofEpochDay(HijrahDate.java:168)
        at java.base@24/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.date(HijrahChronology.java:464)
        at java.base@24/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.dateNow(HijrahChronology.java:456)
        at java.base@24/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.dateNow(HijrahChronology.java:446)
        at HelloWorld.main(HelloWorld.java:13)
        at java.base@24/java.lang.invoke.LambdaForm$DMH/sa346b79c.invokeStaticInit(LambdaForm$DMH)
Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: Hijrah calendar resource not found: hijrah-config-Hijrah-umalqura_islamic-umalqura.properties
        at java.base@24/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.readConfigProperties(HijrahChronology.java:825)
        at java.base@24/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.loadCalendarData(HijrahChronology.java:846)
        ... 9 more

Jun 17, 2025 2:15:24 AM java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology loadCalendarData
SEVERE: Unable to initialize Hijrah calendar proxy: Hijrah-umalqura
java.lang.RuntimeException: Hijrah calendar resource not found: hijrah-config-Hijrah-umalqura_islamic-umalqura.properties
        at java.base@23/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.readConfigProperties(HijrahChronology.java:841)
        at java.base@23/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.loadCalendarData(HijrahChronology.java:862)
        at java.base@23/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.checkCalendarInit(HijrahChronology.java:334)
        at java.base@23/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.getHijrahDateInfo(HijrahChronology.java:587)
        at java.base@23/java.time.chrono.HijrahDate.<init>(HijrahDate.java:286)
        at java.base@23/java.time.chrono.HijrahDate.ofEpochDay(HijrahDate.java:168)
        at java.base@23/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.date(HijrahChronology.java:470)
        at java.base@23/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.dateNow(HijrahChronology.java:462)
        at java.base@23/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.dateNow(HijrahChronology.java:452)
        at HelloWorld.main(HelloWorld.java:9)
        at java.base@23/java.lang.invoke.LambdaForm$DMH/sa346b79c.invokeStaticInit(LambdaForm$DMH)

Exception in thread "main" java.time.DateTimeException: Unable to initialize HijrahCalendar: Hijrah-umalqura
        at java.base@23/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.loadCalendarData(HijrahChronology.java:931)
        at java.base@23/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.checkCalendarInit(HijrahChronology.java:334)
        at java.base@23/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.getHijrahDateInfo(HijrahChronology.java:587)
        at java.base@23/java.time.chrono.HijrahDate.<init>(HijrahDate.java:286)
        at java.base@23/java.time.chrono.HijrahDate.ofEpochDay(HijrahDate.java:168)
        at java.base@23/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.date(HijrahChronology.java:470)
        at java.base@23/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.dateNow(HijrahChronology.java:462)
        at java.base@23/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.dateNow(HijrahChronology.java:452)
        at HelloWorld.main(HelloWorld.java:9)
        at java.base@23/java.lang.invoke.LambdaForm$DMH/sa346b79c.invokeStaticInit(LambdaForm$DMH)
Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: Hijrah calendar resource not found: hijrah-config-Hijrah-umalqura_islamic-umalqura.properties
        at java.base@23/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.readConfigProperties(HijrahChronology.java:841)
        at java.base@23/java.time.chrono.HijrahChronology.loadCalendarData(HijrahChronology.java:862)
        ... 9 more

The workaround:

Terminal:

native-image -H:IncludeResources="java/time/chrono/hijrah-config-Hijrah-umalqura_islamic-umalqura.properties" HelloWorld
./helloworld

Output:

Current Hijri date: 21/12/1446 AH