type closest to a type annotation

[Alex Buckley]

On 2/7/2014 3:19 AM, Markus Keller wrote:
> Then we better keep "closest". Counterexample:
>
>      @A int[] f;
>
> "The type of the declared entity" here means "the type of variable 'f'",
> which is "int[]", but the type annotation @A applies to "int".
>
> But maybe you could add this sentence at the first occurrence of "closest"
> in 9.7.4?
>
> "The closest type is the lexically first type reference in the declared
> entity's type."

Now I remember why I wrote "closest" :-)

I'll add the text below. I had hoped to appeal to pick out the "first 
lexical occurrence of a type" by building on the tokens classified as 
TypeNames in 6.5.1, but that doesn't include primitive types. I'd rather 
avoid the phrase "type reference" too.

--
In the second and third cases above, the type which is closest to the 
annotation is determined by first taking the type of the declared 
entity, then identifying the first token which itself denotes a type.

NOTE: For example, in the field declaration @Foo public static 
java.lang.String f;, the type which is closest to @Foo is String. In the 
generic method declaration @Foo <T> int[] m() {...}, the type of the 
declared entity is int[], whose first token denoting a type is int, so 
@Foo applies to the type int.
--

Alex