RFR: 8081833: Clean up JVMFlag getter/setter code

[Coleen Phillimore]

On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 20:47:02 GMT, Gerard Ziemski <gziemski at openjdk.org> wrote:

>> This is a follow to [JDK-8243208 Clean up JVMFlag implementation](https://bugs.openjdk.java.net/browse/JDK-8243208).
>> 
>> I try to use templates and inheritance (and a bit of macros) to get rid of the large amount of duplicated code in the
>> JVMFlag getters/setters.
>> Stefan Karlsson and I have tried this several times already, but I think the current attempt probably has the least
>> amount of hacks and most functionality:
>> - Type safety is enforced up to the point of loading/storing `JVMFlag::_addr`, without any unchecked typecasts.
>> - Runtime type checking is implemented by the `JVM_FLAG_TYPE(t)` macro (see jvmFlagAccess.hpp), by passing along an
>>   integer (`JVMFlag::TYPE_int`, etc). This is more efficient than previous attempts that passed along a function pointer
>>   (see http://cr.openjdk.java.net/~stefank/8081833/webrev.04/)
>> - The old `JVMFlag::xxxAtPut` functions were undocumented. There are actually two groups that have different usage. I
>>   added documentation in jvmFlagAccess.hpp to explain this.
>> - I got rid of the `JVMFlagEx` class and moved the code into `JVMFlag`. This is possible with C++11 which allows forward
>>   declaration of `enum JVMFlagsEnum : int;`
>> - I changed `JVMFlag::_type` from a string into an enum. I am surprised this had lasted for over 20 years.
>> - I also changed `JVMFlag` from a struct into a class and made some fields private. I probably will do more cleanup in a
>>   separate RFE.
>> 
>> Please start with jvmFlagAccess.hpp, jvmFlagAccess.hpp and then globals_extension.hpp.
>> 
>> Probably not everyone is in love with the `JVM_FLAG_TYPE(t)` macro. I'll be happy to try out alternatives.
>
> src/hotspot/share/runtime/flags/jvmFlag.hpp line 259:
> 
>> 257:   bool is_writeable() const       { return is_manageable();                      }
>> 258:   // All flags except "manageable" are assumed to be internal flags.
>> 259:   bool is_external() const        { return is_manageable();                      }
> 
> Do we need is_writeable() and/or is_external() if all they do is return is_manageable() ?

is_external() is odd and only has one caller.  You could just fix the caller and remove is_external.

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PR: https://git.openjdk.java.net/jdk/pull/163