@CallerSensitive as public API ?

[Nick Williams]

"This bug is not available."

On Jul 19, 2013, at 8:41 PM, Mandy Chung wrote:

> Peter,
> 
> FYI.  I have filed this RFE:
>   8020968: Load resource files using the caller's class and class loader
>   http://bugs.sun.com/bugdatabase/view_bug.do?bug_id=8020968
> 
> Mandy
> 
> On 6/25/2013 6:50 PM, Peter Levart wrote:
>> Hi,
>> 
>> I know that @CallerSensitive annotation was introduced to bring some order to JDK internal plumbings. It's scope was to support JDK internal usage, so it's use is limited to classes loaded by bootstrap or extension class-loaders. In JDK-internal code it is used mainly for implementing security-sensitive decisions. But since the sun.reflect.Reflection.getCallerClass(int) was public and unrestricted, it found it's way out into user code, where at least I know that it is used in two areas:
>> 
>> 1 - to locate callers in the whole call-stack so that their location in class-path can be reported (Log4J is an example)
>> 2 - to locate immediate caller so that some resources associated with it can be located and used (for example localization data in GUI applications)
>> 
>> I don't know how wide-spread 1st usecase is, but the 2nd is common, since it's use enables APIs that need not explicitly pass-in the calling class in order to locate resources associated with it (and/or the class-loader of it). So it would be nice to have such supported API in JDK8 at least.
>> 
>> I'm asking here, to hear any arguments against making such API supported and public. Are there any security or other issues? If there aren't, what steps should be taken to introduce such API in the JDK8 timeframe? I'm thinking of a no-arg method, say j.l.Class.getCaller() and moving @CallerSensitive to a supported package + enabling it to mark methods in any class (not just system and ext classes)...
>> 
>> Regards, Peter
>> 
>