001 /* java.lang.ref.Reference
002 Copyright (C) 1999, 2002, 2003, 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
003
004 This file is part of GNU Classpath.
005
006 GNU Classpath is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
007 it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
008 the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option)
009 any later version.
010
011 GNU Classpath is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
012 WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
013 MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
014 General Public License for more details.
015
016 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
017 along with GNU Classpath; see the file COPYING. If not, write to the
018 Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA
019 02110-1301 USA.
020
021 Linking this library statically or dynamically with other modules is
022 making a combined work based on this library. Thus, the terms and
023 conditions of the GNU General Public License cover the whole
024 combination.
025
026 As a special exception, the copyright holders of this library give you
027 permission to link this library with independent modules to produce an
028 executable, regardless of the license terms of these independent
029 modules, and to copy and distribute the resulting executable under
030 terms of your choice, provided that you also meet, for each linked
031 independent module, the terms and conditions of the license of that
032 module. An independent module is a module which is not derived from
033 or based on this library. If you modify this library, you may extend
034 this exception to your version of the library, but you are not
035 obligated to do so. If you do not wish to do so, delete this
036 exception statement from your version. */
037
038
039 package java.lang.ref;
040
041 /**
042 * This is the base class of all references. A reference allows
043 * refering to an object without preventing the garbage collector to
044 * collect it. The only way to get the referred object is via the
045 * <code>get()</code>-method. This method will return
046 * <code>null</code> if the object was collected. <br>
047 *
048 * A reference may be registered with a queue. When a referred
049 * element gets collected the reference will be put on the queue, so
050 * that you will be notified. <br>
051 *
052 * There are currently three types of references: soft reference,
053 * weak reference and phantom reference. <br>
054 *
055 * Soft references will be cleared if the garbage collector is told
056 * to free some memory and there are no unreferenced or weakly referenced
057 * objects. It is useful for caches. <br>
058 *
059 * Weak references will be cleared as soon as the garbage collector
060 * determines that the refered object is only weakly reachable. They
061 * are useful as keys in hashtables (see <code>WeakHashtable</code>) as
062 * you get notified when nobody has the key anymore.
063 *
064 * Phantom references don't prevent finalization. If an object is only
065 * phantom reachable, it will be finalized, and the reference will be
066 * enqueued, but not cleared. Since you mustn't access an finalized
067 * object, the <code>get</code> method of a phantom reference will never
068 * work. It is useful to keep track, when an object is finalized.
069 *
070 * @author Jochen Hoenicke
071 * @see java.util.WeakHashtable
072 */
073 public abstract class Reference<T>
074 {
075 /**
076 * The underlying object. This field is handled in a special way by
077 * the garbage collector.
078 * GCJ LOCAL:
079 * This is a RawData because it must be disguised from the GC.
080 * END GCJ LOCAL
081 */
082 gnu.gcj.RawData referent;
083
084 /**
085 * This is like REFERENT but is not scanned by the GC. We keep a
086 * copy around so that we can clean up our internal data structure
087 * even after clear() is called.
088 * GCJ LOCAL:
089 * This field doesn't exist in Classpath.
090 * END GCJ LOCAL
091 */
092 gnu.gcj.RawData copy;
093
094 /**
095 * Set to true if {@link #clear()} is called.
096 * GCJ LOCAL:
097 * This field doesn't exist in Classpath. It is used internally in
098 * natReference.cc, which enqueues the reference unless it is true
099 * (has been cleared).
100 * END GCJ LOCAL
101 */
102 boolean cleared = false;
103
104 /**
105 * The queue this reference is registered on. This is null, if this
106 * wasn't registered to any queue or reference was already enqueued.
107 */
108 ReferenceQueue<? super T> queue;
109
110 /**
111 * Link to the next entry on the queue. If this is null, this
112 * reference is not enqueued. Otherwise it points to the next
113 * reference. The last reference on a queue will point to itself
114 * (not to null, that value is used to mark a not enqueued
115 * reference).
116 */
117 Reference nextOnQueue;
118
119 /**
120 * This lock should be taken by the garbage collector, before
121 * determining reachability. It will prevent the get()-method to
122 * return the reference so that reachability doesn't change.
123 */
124 static Object lock = new Object();
125
126 /**
127 * Creates a new reference that is not registered to any queue.
128 * Since it is package private, it is not possible to overload this
129 * class in a different package.
130 * @param referent the object we refer to.
131 */
132 Reference(T ref)
133 {
134 create (ref);
135 }
136
137 /**
138 * Creates a reference that is registered to a queue. Since this is
139 * package private, it is not possible to overload this class in a
140 * different package.
141 * @param referent the object we refer to.
142 * @param q the reference queue to register on.
143 * @exception NullPointerException if q is null.
144 */
145 Reference(T ref, ReferenceQueue<? super T> q)
146 {
147 if (q == null)
148 throw new NullPointerException();
149 queue = q;
150 create (ref);
151 }
152
153 /**
154 * Notifies the VM that a new Reference has been created.
155 */
156 private native void create (T o);
157
158 /**
159 * Returns the object, this reference refers to.
160 * @return the object, this reference refers to, or null if the
161 * reference was cleared.
162 */
163 public native T get();
164
165 /**
166 * Clears the reference, so that it doesn't refer to its object
167 * anymore. For soft and weak references this is called by the
168 * garbage collector. For phantom references you should call
169 * this when enqueuing the reference.
170 */
171 public void clear()
172 {
173 // Must synchronize so changes are visible in finalizer thread.
174 synchronized (lock)
175 {
176 referent = null;
177 cleared = true;
178 }
179 }
180
181 /**
182 * Tells if the object is enqueued on a reference queue.
183 * @return true if it is enqueued, false otherwise.
184 */
185 public boolean isEnqueued()
186 {
187 return nextOnQueue != null;
188 }
189
190 /**
191 * Enqueue an object on a reference queue. This is normally executed
192 * by the garbage collector.
193 */
194 public boolean enqueue()
195 {
196 if (queue != null && nextOnQueue == null)
197 {
198 queue.enqueue(this);
199 queue = null;
200 return true;
201 }
202 return false;
203 }
204 }