TreeCache exposes the following basic API for controlling the behavior of TreeCacheMarshaller:

/**
 * Sets whether marshalling uses scoped class loaders on a per region basis.
 *
 * This property must be set to true before any call to
 * {@link #registerClassLoader(String, ClassLoader)} or
 * {@link #activateRegion(String)}
 *
 * @param isTrue
 */
void setUseRegionBasedMarshalling(boolean isTrue);

/**
 * Gets whether marshalling uses scoped class loaders on a per region basis.
 */
boolean getUseRegionBasedMarshalling();

/**
 * Registers the given classloader with TreeCacheMarshaller for
 * use in unmarshalling replicated objects for the specified region.
 *
 * @param fqn The fqn region. This fqn and its children will use this classloader for 
 * (un)marshalling.
 * @param cl The class loader to use
 *
 * @throws RegionNameConflictException if fqn is a descendant of
 * an FQN that already has a classloader registered.
 * @throws IllegalStateException if useMarshalling is false
 */
void registerClassLoader(String fqn, ClassLoader cl) throws RegionNameConflictException;

/**
 * Instructs the TreeCacheMarshaller to no longer use a special
 * classloader to unmarshal replicated objects for the specified region.
 *
 * @param fqn The fqn of the root node of region.
 *
 * @throws RegionNotFoundException if no classloader has been registered for
 * fqn.
 * @throws IllegalStateException if useMarshalling is false
 */
void unregisterClassLoader(String fqn) throws RegionNotFoundException;
 

Property UseRegionBasedMarshalling controls whether classloader-based marshalling should be used. This property should be set as part of normal cache configuration, typically in the cache's XML configuration file:

<attribute name="UseRegionBasedMarshalling">true</attribute>

Anytime after UseRegionBasedMarshalling is set to true, the application code can call registerClassLoader to associate a classloader with the portion of the cache rooted in a particular FQN. Once registered, the classloader will be used to unmarshal any replication traffic related to the node identified by the FQN or to any of its descendants.

At this time, registerClassLoader only supports String-based FQNs.

Note that it is illegal to register a classloader for an FQN that is a descendant of an FQN for which a classloader has already been registered. For example, if classloader X is registered for FQN /a, a RegionNameConflictException will be thrown if an attempt is made to register classloader Y for FQN /a/b.

Method unregisterClassLoader is used to remove the association between a classloader and a particular cache region. Be sure to call this method when you are done using the cache with a particular classloader, or a reference to the classloader will be held, causing a memory leak!