Re: [Java Spec Report] Re: JSR 201 autobox comments

Eric Blake wrote:
> As I explained in my first email of this thread, I think it is silly for the 
> semantics of these two statements to differ:
> 
> while (false); // the ; is unreachable, compile error
> while (Boolean.FALSE); // the ; is reachable, compile proceeds
> 
> Likewise, the semantics of these statements:
> 
> int i, j;
> if (true) i = 1; // i definitely assigned
> if (Boolean.TRUE) j = 1; // j not definitely assigned
> i = i; // legal
> j = j; // illegal, by current rules
> 
> There are many other examples where the current proposal for autounboxing a 
> Boolean has different semantics than using a compile-time constant boolean. 
> In my eyes, part of making Boolean an acceptable replacement for boolean in 
> control statements (and elsewhere) is making Boolean capable of being a 
> compile-time constant, so that there are no semantic distinctions.  And by 
> extension, if Boolean can be constant, then so should all the wrapper types. 
> I am arguing for a forward-compatible change - a wrapper class is only 
> constant if it is initialized by a constant expression.  No existing 1.4 code 
> will be broken by this change.

I don't understand either why the existing semantics are silly, or what kind of 
programming model is supported by your suggestion that is not supported without it.

-Neal
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds..." —Ralph Waldo Emerson



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