PROPOSAL: language support for JSR 292

[John Rose]

Hello, colleagues.  Here is a proposal which is linked to JSR 292  
(invokedynamic).

http://wikis.sun.com/display/mlvm/ProjectCoinProposal
http://blogs.sun.com/jrose/entry/jsr_292_support_in_javac

Here's the teaser (from my blog):

In order to work with dynamic types, method handles, and invokedynamic  
I have made some provisional changes to javac as part of the Da Vinci  
Machine Project. The mlvm wiki has a full description for Project  
COIN. It is most desirable, of course, to program invokedynamic call  
sites as Java expressions, not just ASM code, and that's what those  
langtools patches are for.
The essential features are four:

	• The type java.dyn.Dynamic will accept any method call and turn it  
into an invokedynamic instruction, and the full range of such  
instructions can be spelled from Java code.
	• The type java.dyn.MethodHandle will accept any argument and return  
types for a call to the method named invoke, which means that Java  
code can spell the full range of method handle invocations.
	• The full range of bytecode names acceptable to the JVM can be  
spelled from Java code, using an exotic identifier quoting syntax.
	• The type java.dyn.Dynamic serves as a bare reference type: Anything  
implicitly converts to it, and it can be cast to anything, but it is  
not a subtype of java.lang.Object. Its methods, of course, are those  
from point #1, so it is handy for forming invokedynamic calls.
The rationale is pretty simple: If we put some minimal support into  
Java for defining and using names in other languages, then Java can be  
used as a system programming language for implementing them.  
Otherwise, the system programming language will be assembled bytecode.  
(I like to visit ASM, but don't want to live there.)

Do check out the wiki page; it has the full Project COIN proposal  
format.

Best wishes,

-- John Rose (Da Vinci Machine Project)