public interface

ReferenceType

implements Accessible Type Comparable<T>
com.sun.jdi.ReferenceType
Known Indirect Subclasses

Class Overview

The type of an object in a target VM. ReferenceType encompasses classes, interfaces, and array types as defined in the JavaTM Language Specification. All ReferenceType objects belong to one of the following subinterfaces: ClassType for classes, InterfaceType for interfaces, and ArrayType for arrays. Note that primitive classes (for example, the reflected type of Integer.TYPE) are represented as ClassType. The VM creates Class objects for all three, so from the VM perspective, each ReferenceType maps to a distinct Class object.

ReferenceTypes can be obtained by querying a particular ObjectReference for its type or by getting a list of all reference types from the VirtualMachine.

ReferenceType provides access to static type information such as methods and fields and provides access to dynamic type information such as the corresponding Class object and the classloader.

Any method on ReferenceType which directly or indirectly takes ReferenceType as an parameter may throw VMDisconnectedException if the target VM is disconnected and the VMDisconnectEvent has been or is available to be read from the EventQueue.

Any method on ReferenceType which directly or indirectly takes ReferenceType as an parameter may throw VMOutOfMemoryException if the target VM has run out of memory.

Any method on ReferenceType or which directly or indirectly takes ReferenceType as parameter may throw ObjectCollectedException if the mirrored type has been unloaded.

See Also

Summary

Public Methods
abstract List<Field> allFields()
Returns a list containing each Field declared in this type, and its superclasses, implemented interfaces, and/or superinterfaces.
abstract List<Location> allLineLocations()
Returns a list containing a Location object for each executable source line in this reference type.
abstract List<Location> allLineLocations(String stratum, String sourceName)
Returns a list containing a Location object for each executable source line in this reference type.
abstract List<Method> allMethods()
Returns a list containing each Method declared in this type, and its superclasses, implemented interfaces, and/or superinterfaces.
abstract List<String> availableStrata()
Return the available strata for this reference type.
abstract ClassLoaderReference classLoader()
Gets the classloader object which loaded the class corresponding to this type.
abstract ClassObjectReference classObject()
Returns the class object that corresponds to this type in the target VM.
abstract byte[] constantPool()
Returns the raw bytes of the constant pool in the format of the constant_pool item of the Class File Format in the Java Virtual Machine Specification.
abstract int constantPoolCount()
Returns the number of entries in the constant pool plus one.
abstract String defaultStratum()
Returns the default stratum for this reference type.
abstract boolean equals(Object obj)
Compares the specified Object with this ReferenceType for equality.
abstract boolean failedToInitialize()
Determines if initialization failed for this class.
abstract Field fieldByName(String fieldName)
Finds the visible Field with the given non-ambiguous name.
abstract List<Field> fields()
Returns a list containing each Field declared in this type.
abstract String genericSignature()
Gets the generic signature for this type if there is one.
abstract Value getValue(Field field)
Gets the Value of a given static Field in this type.
abstract Map<Field, Value> getValues(List<? extends Field> fields)
Returns a map containing the Value of each static Field in the given list.
abstract int hashCode()
Returns the hash code value for this ObjectReference.
abstract List<ObjectReference> instances(long maxInstances)
Returns instances of this ReferenceType.
abstract boolean isAbstract()
Determines if this type was declared abstract.
abstract boolean isFinal()
Determines if this type was declared final.
abstract boolean isInitialized()
Determines if this type has been initialized.
abstract boolean isPrepared()
Determines if this type has been prepared.
abstract boolean isStatic()
Determines if this type was declared static.
abstract boolean isVerified()
Determines if this type has been verified.
abstract List<Location> locationsOfLine(int lineNumber)
Returns a List containing all Location objects that map to the given line number.
abstract List<Location> locationsOfLine(String stratum, String sourceName, int lineNumber)
Returns a List containing all Location objects that map to the given line number.
abstract int majorVersion()
Returns the class major version number, as defined in the class file format of the Java Virtual Machine Specification.
abstract List<Method> methods()
Returns a list containing each Method declared directly in this type.
abstract List<Method> methodsByName(String name, String signature)
Returns a List containing each visible Method that has the given name and signature.
abstract List<Method> methodsByName(String name)
Returns a List containing each visible Method that has the given name.
abstract int minorVersion()
Returns the class minor version number, as defined in the class file format of the Java Virtual Machine Specification.
abstract String name()
Gets the fully qualified name of this type.
abstract List<ReferenceType> nestedTypes()
Returns a List containing ReferenceType objects that are declared within this type and are currently loaded into the Virtual Machine.
abstract String sourceDebugExtension()
Get the source debug extension of this type.
abstract String sourceName()
Gets an identifying name for the source corresponding to the declaration of this type.
abstract List<String> sourceNames(String stratum)
Gets the identifying names for all the source corresponding to the declaration of this type.
abstract List<String> sourcePaths(String stratum)
Gets the paths to the source corresponding to the declaration of this type.
abstract List<Field> visibleFields()
Returns a list containing each unhidden and unambiguous Field in this type.
abstract List<Method> visibleMethods()
Returns a list containing each Method declared or inherited by this type.
[Expand]
Inherited Methods
From interface com.sun.jdi.Accessible
From interface com.sun.jdi.Mirror
From interface com.sun.jdi.Type
From interface java.lang.Comparable

Public Methods

public abstract List<Field> allFields ()

Returns a list containing each Field declared in this type, and its superclasses, implemented interfaces, and/or superinterfaces. All declared and inherited fields are included, regardless of whether they are hidden or multiply inherited.

For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, the returned list is always empty.

Returns
  • a List of Field objects; the list has length 0 if no fields exist.
Throws
ClassNotPreparedException if this class not yet been prepared.

public abstract List<Location> allLineLocations ()

Returns a list containing a Location object for each executable source line in this reference type.

This method is equivalent to allLineLocations(vm.getDefaultStratum(),null) - see allLineLocations(String, String) for more information.

Throws
AbsentInformationException if there is no line number information for this class and there are non-native, non-abstract executable members of this class.
ClassNotPreparedException if this class not yet been prepared.

public abstract List<Location> allLineLocations (String stratum, String sourceName)

Returns a list containing a Location object for each executable source line in this reference type. Each location maps a source line to a range of code indices. The beginning of the range can be determined through codeIndex(). The returned list may contain multiple locations for a particular line number, if the compiler and/or VM has mapped that line to two or more disjoint code index ranges. Note that it is possible for the same source line to represent different code index ranges in different methods.

For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, the returned list is always empty. For interfaces (InterfaceType), the returned list will be non-empty only if the interface has executable code in its class initialization.

Returned list is for the specified stratum (see Location for a description of strata).

Parameters
stratum The stratum to retrieve information from or null for the defaultStratum().
sourceName Return locations only within this source file or null to return locations.
Returns
  • a List of all source line Location objects.
Throws
AbsentInformationException if there is no line number information for this class and there are non-native, non-abstract executable members of this class. Or if sourceName is non-null and source name information is not present.
ClassNotPreparedException if this class not yet been prepared.

public abstract List<Method> allMethods ()

Returns a list containing each Method declared in this type, and its superclasses, implemented interfaces, and/or superinterfaces. All declared and inherited methods are included, regardless of whether they are hidden or overridden.

For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, the returned list is always empty.

Returns
  • a List of Method objects; the list has length 0 if no methods exist.
Throws
ClassNotPreparedException if this class not yet been prepared.

public abstract List<String> availableStrata ()

Return the available strata for this reference type.

See the Location for a description of strata.

Returns
  • List of java.lang.String, each representing a stratum

public abstract ClassLoaderReference classLoader ()

Gets the classloader object which loaded the class corresponding to this type.

Returns
  • a ClassLoaderReference which mirrors the classloader, or null if the class was loaded through the bootstrap class loader.

public abstract ClassObjectReference classObject ()

Returns the class object that corresponds to this type in the target VM. The VM creates class objects for every kind of ReferenceType: classes, interfaces, and array types.

Returns

public abstract byte[] constantPool ()

Returns the raw bytes of the constant pool in the format of the constant_pool item of the Class File Format in the Java Virtual Machine Specification. The format of the constant pool may differ between versions of the Class File Format, so, the minor and major class version numbers should be checked for compatibility. For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, a zero length byte array is returned. Not all target virtual machines support this operation. Use canGetConstantPool() to determine if the operation is supported.

Returns
  • the raw bytes of constant pool.
Throws
UnsupportedOperationException if the target virtual machine does not support this operation - see canGetConstantPool()
See Also

public abstract int constantPoolCount ()

Returns the number of entries in the constant pool plus one. This corresponds to the constant_pool_count item of the Class File Format in the Java Virtual Machine Specification. For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, the returned constant pool count value is zero. Not all target virtual machines support this operation. Use canGetConstantPool() to determine if the operation is supported.

Returns
  • total number of constant pool entries for a class plus one.
Throws
UnsupportedOperationException if the target virtual machine does not support this operation - see canGetConstantPool()
See Also

public abstract String defaultStratum ()

Returns the default stratum for this reference type. This value is specified in the class file and cannot be set by the user. If the class file does not specify a default stratum the base stratum ("Java") will be returned.

See the Location for a description of strata.

public abstract boolean equals (Object obj)

Compares the specified Object with this ReferenceType for equality.

Parameters
obj the reference object with which to compare.
Returns
  • true if the Object is a ReferenceType, if the ReferenceTypes belong to the same VM, and if they mirror classes which correspond to the same instance of java.lang.Class in that VM.

public abstract boolean failedToInitialize ()

Determines if initialization failed for this class. See the JVM specification for details on class initialization.

For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, the return value is undefined.

Returns
  • true if initialization was attempted and failed; false otherwise.

public abstract Field fieldByName (String fieldName)

Finds the visible Field with the given non-ambiguous name. This method follows the inheritance rules specified in the JLS (8.3.3) to determine visibility.

For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, the returned value is always null.

Parameters
fieldName a String containing the name of desired field.
Returns
  • a Field object which mirrors the found field, or null if there is no field with the given name or if the given name is ambiguous.
Throws
ClassNotPreparedException if this class not yet been prepared.

public abstract List<Field> fields ()

Returns a list containing each Field declared in this type. Inherited fields are not included. Any synthetic fields created by the compiler are included in the list.

For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, the returned list is always empty.

Returns
  • a list Field objects; the list has length 0 if no fields exist.
Throws
ClassNotPreparedException if this class not yet been prepared.

public abstract String genericSignature ()

Gets the generic signature for this type if there is one. Generic signatures are described in the "JavaTM Virtual Machine Specification, 3rd Edition.

Returns
  • a string containing the generic signature, or null if there is no generic signature.

public abstract Value getValue (Field field)

Gets the Value of a given static Field in this type. The Field must be valid for this type; that is, it must be declared in this type, a superclass, a superinterface, or an implemented interface.

Parameters
field the field containing the requested value
Returns
  • the Value of the instance field.
Throws
IllegalArgumentException if the field is not valid for this object's class.

public abstract Map<Field, Value> getValues (List<? extends Field> fields)

Returns a map containing the Value of each static Field in the given list. The Fields must be valid for this type; that is, they must be declared in this type, a superclass, a superinterface, or an implemented interface.

Parameters
fields a list of Field objects containing the requested values.
Returns
  • a Map of the requested Field objects with their Value.
Throws
IllegalArgumentException if any field is not valid for this object's class.
VMMismatchException if a Mirror argument and this mirror do not belong to the same VirtualMachine.

public abstract int hashCode ()

Returns the hash code value for this ObjectReference.

Returns
  • the integer hash code

public abstract List<ObjectReference> instances (long maxInstances)

Returns instances of this ReferenceType. Only instances that are reachable for the purposes of garbage collection are returned.

Not all target virtual machines support this operation. Use canGetInstanceInfo() to determine if the operation is supported.

Parameters
maxInstances the maximum number of instances to return. Must be non-negative. If zero, all instances are returned.
Returns
  • a List of ObjectReference objects. If there are no instances of this ReferenceType, a zero-length list is returned.
Throws
UnsupportedOperationException if the target virtual machine does not support this operation - see canGetInstanceInfo()
IllegalArgumentException if maxInstances is less than zero.
See Also

public abstract boolean isAbstract ()

Determines if this type was declared abstract.

For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, the return value is undefined.

Returns
  • true if this type is abstract; false otherwise.

public abstract boolean isFinal ()

Determines if this type was declared final.

For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, the return value is always true.

Returns
  • true if this type is final; false otherwise.

public abstract boolean isInitialized ()

Determines if this type has been initialized. See the JVM specification for a definition of class verification. For InterfaceType, this method always returns the same value as isPrepared().

For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, the return value is undefined.

Returns
  • true if this type is initialized; false otherwise.

public abstract boolean isPrepared ()

Determines if this type has been prepared. See the JVM specification for a definition of class preparation.

For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, the return value is undefined.

Returns
  • true if this type is prepared; false otherwise.

public abstract boolean isStatic ()

Determines if this type was declared static. Only nested types, can be declared static, so false is returned for any package-level type, array type, or primitive class.

Returns
  • true if this type is static; false otherwise.

public abstract boolean isVerified ()

Determines if this type has been verified. See the JVM specification for a definition of class verification.

For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, the return value is undefined.

Returns
  • true if this type is verified; false otherwise.

public abstract List<Location> locationsOfLine (int lineNumber)

Returns a List containing all Location objects that map to the given line number.

This method is equivalent to locationsOfLine(vm.getDefaultStratum(), null, lineNumber) - see locationsOfLine(java.lang.String, java.lang.String, int) for more information.

Parameters
lineNumber the line number
Returns
  • a List of all Location objects that map to the given line.
Throws
AbsentInformationException if there is no line number information for this class.
ClassNotPreparedException if this class not yet been prepared.
See Also

public abstract List<Location> locationsOfLine (String stratum, String sourceName, int lineNumber)

Returns a List containing all Location objects that map to the given line number.

For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, the returned list is always empty. For interfaces (InterfaceType), the returned list will be non-empty only if the interface has executable code in its class initialization at the specified line number. An empty list will be returned if there is no executable code at the specified line number.

Returned list is for the specified stratum (see Location for a description of strata).

Parameters
stratum the stratum to use for comparing line number and source name, or null to use the defaultStratum().
sourceName the source name containing the line number, or null to match all source names
lineNumber the line number
Returns
  • a List of all Location objects that map to the given line.
Throws
AbsentInformationException if there is no line number information for this class. Or if sourceName is non-null and source name information is not present.
ClassNotPreparedException if this class not yet been prepared.

public abstract int majorVersion ()

Returns the class major version number, as defined in the class file format of the Java Virtual Machine Specification. For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, the returned major version number value is zero. Not all target virtual machines support this operation. Use canGetClassFileVersion() to determine if the operation is supported.

Returns
  • the major version number of the class.
Throws
UnsupportedOperationException if the target virtual machine does not support this operation - see canGetClassFileVersion()

public abstract List<Method> methods ()

Returns a list containing each Method declared directly in this type. Inherited methods are not included. Constructors, the initialization method if any, and any synthetic methods created by the compiler are included in the list.

For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, the returned list is always empty.

Returns
  • a list Method objects; the list has length 0 if no methods exist.
Throws
ClassNotPreparedException if this class not yet been prepared.

public abstract List<Method> methodsByName (String name, String signature)

Returns a List containing each visible Method that has the given name and signature. The signature string is the JNI signature for the target method:

  • ()V
  • ([Ljava/lang/String;)V
  • (IIII)Z
This method follows the inheritance rules specified in the JLS (8.4.6) to determine visibility.

At most one method in the list is a concrete method and a component of ClassType; any other methods in the list are abstract. Use concreteMethodByName(String, String) to retrieve only the matching concrete method.

For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, the returned list is always empty.

Parameters
name the name of the method to find.
signature the signature of the method to find
Returns
  • a List of Method objects that match the given name and signature; the list has length 0 if no matching methods are found.
Throws
ClassNotPreparedException if this class not yet been prepared.

public abstract List<Method> methodsByName (String name)

Returns a List containing each visible Method that has the given name. This is most commonly used to find overloaded methods.

Overridden and hidden methods are not included. See JLS (8.4.6) for details.

For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, the returned list is always empty.

Parameters
name the name of the method to find.
Returns
  • a List of Method objects that match the given name; the list has length 0 if no matching methods are found.
Throws
ClassNotPreparedException if this class not yet been prepared.

public abstract int minorVersion ()

Returns the class minor version number, as defined in the class file format of the Java Virtual Machine Specification. For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, the returned minor version number value is zero. Not all target virtual machines support this operation. Use canGetClassFileVersion() to determine if the operation is supported.

Returns
  • the minor version number of the class.
Throws
UnsupportedOperationException if the target virtual machine does not support this operation - see canGetClassFileVersion()

public abstract String name ()

Gets the fully qualified name of this type. The returned name is formatted as it might appear in a Java programming langauge declaration for objects of this type.

For primitive classes the returned name is the name of the corresponding primitive type; for example, "int" is returned as the name of the class represented by Integer.TYPE.

Returns
  • a string containing the type name.

public abstract List<ReferenceType> nestedTypes ()

Returns a List containing ReferenceType objects that are declared within this type and are currently loaded into the Virtual Machine. Both static nested types and non-static nested types (that is, inner types) are included. Local inner types (declared within a code block somewhere in this reference type) are also included in the returned list.

For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, the returned list is always empty.

Returns
  • a List of nested ReferenceType objects; the list has 0 length if there are no nested types.

public abstract String sourceDebugExtension ()

Get the source debug extension of this type.

Not all target virtual machines support this operation. Use canGetSourceDebugExtension() to determine if the operation is supported.

Returns
  • as a string the source debug extension attribute
Throws
AbsentInformationException if the extension is not specified
UnsupportedOperationException if the target virtual machine does not support this operation - see canGetSourceDebugExtension(),

public abstract String sourceName ()

Gets an identifying name for the source corresponding to the declaration of this type. Interpretation of this string is the responsibility of the source repository mechanism.

The returned name is dependent on VM's default stratum (getDefaultStratum()). In the reference implementation, when using the base stratum, the returned string is the unqualified name of the source file containing the declaration of this type. In other strata the returned source name is the first source name for that stratum. Since other languages may have more than one source name for a reference type, the use of sourceName() or sourceNames(String) is preferred.

For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, AbsentInformationException is always thrown.

Returns
  • the string source file name
Throws
AbsentInformationException if the source name is not known

public abstract List<String> sourceNames (String stratum)

Gets the identifying names for all the source corresponding to the declaration of this type. Interpretation of these names is the responsibility of the source repository mechanism.

The returned names are for the specified stratum (see Location for a description of strata). In the reference implementation, when using the Java programming language stratum, the returned List contains one element: a String which is the unqualified name of the source file containing the declaration of this type. In other strata the returned source names are all the source names defined for that stratum.

Parameters
stratum The stratum to retrieve information from or null for the declaring type's default stratum.
Returns
  • a List of String objects each representing a source name
Throws
AbsentInformationException if the source names are not known.

For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, AbsentInformationException is always thrown.

public abstract List<String> sourcePaths (String stratum)

Gets the paths to the source corresponding to the declaration of this type. Interpretation of these paths is the responsibility of the source repository mechanism.

The returned paths are for the specified stratum (see Location for a description of strata). In the reference implementation, for strata which do not explicitly specify source path (the Java programming language stratum never does), the returned strings are the sourceNames(String) prefixed by the package name of this ReferenceType converted to a platform dependent path. For example, on a Windows platform, java.lang.Thread would return a List containing one element: "java\lang\Thread.java".

Parameters
stratum The stratum to retrieve information from or null for the declaring type's default stratum.
Returns
  • a List of String objects each representing a source path
Throws
AbsentInformationException if the source names are not known.

For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, AbsentInformationException is always thrown.

public abstract List<Field> visibleFields ()

Returns a list containing each unhidden and unambiguous Field in this type. Each field that can be accessed from the class or its instances with its simple name is included. Fields that are ambiguously multiply inherited or fields that are hidden by fields with the same name in a more recently inherited class cannot be accessed by their simple names and are not included in the returned list. All other inherited fields are included. See JLS section 8.3 for details.

For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, the returned list is always empty.

Returns
  • a List of Field objects; the list has length 0 if no visible fields exist.
Throws
ClassNotPreparedException if this class not yet been prepared.

public abstract List<Method> visibleMethods ()

Returns a list containing each Method declared or inherited by this type. Methods from superclasses or superinterfaces that that have been hidden or overridden are not included.

Note that despite this exclusion, multiple inherited methods with the same signature can be present in the returned list, but at most one can be a member of a ClassType. See JLS section 8.4.6 for details.

For arrays (ArrayType) and primitive classes, the returned list is always empty.

Returns
  • a List of Method objects; the list has length 0 if no visible methods exist.
Throws
ClassNotPreparedException if this class not yet been prepared.