ArrayMirror (original) (raw)

Paul Benedict pbenedict at apache.org
Wed Jun 15 17:55:39 UTC 2016

I have a question pertaining to ArrayMirror and why it was modeled as it is.

In the current JLS [1], an array is a subclass of Object. Given that int is a value, and int[] is an Object, is Box a value and Box[] an Object too?

Presuming that analogy holds true with Valhalla, why not model an array as a ClassMirror with an isArray() member? Better yet, with Arrayish coming down the pike with T acting as the component type, ClassMirror could be sufficient in itself -- without isArray() -- and ArrayMirror could be dispensed with.

[1] http://docs.oracle.com/javase/specs/jls/se8/html/jls-10.html#jls-10.8

Cheers, Paul

On Wed, Jun 15, 2016 at 12:19 PM, Maurizio Cimadamore < maurizio.cimadamore at oracle.com> wrote:

Hi, I've just pushed a new Valhalla-centric reflection API; the main goal of this API is to allow programmers to reflect over the contents of the new generic classfile, as well as to programmatically create class/method parameterizations and perform dynamic operations (method calls, field access). More information about this API can be found at in the javadoc of the root of the hierarchy - available here:

http://cr.openjdk.java.net/~mcimadamore/x-reflection/valhalla/reflect/runtime/RuntimeMirror.html There's also a pretty comprehensive end to end test showcasing many of the API features: http://hg.openjdk.java.net/valhalla/valhalla/jdk/file/0f7a9b8602e5/test/valhalla/test/valhalla/reflect/runtime/SimpleReflectionTest.java Note: this is just an initial API round/prototype. As such we didn't put too much effort on things like naming conventions etc. and we focussed instead on the set of features we would like this new API to have. We are obviously interested of any usability issue/bugs you encounter when using/learning this API! Cheers Maurizio

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