typetools / typetools/checker-framework
Permit constructor invocation to return @Initialized, even if an argument is non-@Initialized
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enhancement
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- Java
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Description
Currently the Nullness Checker follows the Freedom-Before-Commitment rules
for constructor invocations: If all the arguments to the constructor are
@Initialized, then the constructor result is @Initialized. Otherwise the
new object, which is presumed to have stored arguments in its internal
state, might not have finished initialization, and is thus
@UnknownInitialization.
This behavior is unnecessarily restrictive. If an @UnknownInitialization
formal parameter is stored only in an @UnknownInitialization field, then
the constructor result can safely be considered @Initialized. (The
Freedom-Before-Commitment rules don't allow an @UnknownInitialization
field, but our implementation is more flexible and permits this use case).
The Nullness Checker should permit a formal parameter to be marked
indicating that it is only stored in an @UnknownInitialization field.
Possible names for the formal parameter annotation are:
@NotEventuallyInitialized
@NotPartOfInitializationState
@OutsideInitializedState
@Uninitialized
@UninitializedState
@UninitializedField
The rules could be:
* a parameter marked as @UninitializedField must obey all subtyping rules
even within the constructor.
(Currently, the Nullness Checker permits a constructor to perform
type-unsafe assignments into fields: an @UnknownInitialization or
@UnderInitialization value may be stored into an @Initialized field even
though this violates the type system. That is safe under the more
restrictive FBC rules that forbid @UnknownInitialization fields, but it
is our goal to permit such fields.)
* a parameter marked as @UninitializedField may only be stored in a field
or passed to another @UninitializedField formal parameter.
This comes up in plume-lib's Options class, when making an OptionsInfo
object that has an @UnknownInitialization field.
Original issue reported on code.google.com by michael.ernst@gmail.com on 21 May 2013 at 4:27
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start with the Nullness Checker’s Freedom-Before-Commitment handling for constructor invocations and review how @UnknownInitialization fields and formal parameters are represented. Compare the proposed annotation names and storage rules with the Options class use case in plume-lib. Done means a chosen annotation and specified checking rules permit the safe constructor result while preserving subtyping constraints.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- java
- Domain
- compilers
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 5/5
- Estimated time
- Over a week
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 25/100