RFR JDK-8209553: ExceptionInInitializerError can have a default detail message if the cause is given

[mandy chung]

On 8/15/18 11:00 PM, David Holmes wrote:
> Hi Mandy,
> 
> Not a review - sorry :)
> 
> On 16/08/2018 7:46 AM, mandy chung wrote:
>> ExceptionInInitializerError(Throwable cause) sets the detail message 
>> to null.  It'd be helpful to include a detail message rather than null
>> as in Throwable(Throwable cause) that constructs a new throwable
>> with a default message cause==null ? null : cause.toString().
>>
>> This would help troubleshooting of writing new bootstrap methods
>> where VM currently asserts non-null linkage error message [1] where
>> there are other solutions such as constructing the message in
>> the VM or removing the assert.
> 
> I think that's just a bug in the VM code making inappropriate 
> assumptions! There shouldn't have to be a detail message, especially in 
> a wrapping exception like ExceptionInInitializerError! It only gets 
> thrown because some other exception was thrown, there's really no more 
> detail for the EIIE itself. Promoting the cause's detail message to be 
> the detail message of the EIIE just seems wrong to me.

I think even VM removes the assert, I don't see how EIIE includes
the detail message is wrong?  It's consistent with the
Throwable(Throwable cause) constructor.

> Did this come about through the new code that saves the original cause 
> of the EIIE so that it can be reported when the subsequent 
> NoClassDefFoundError is thrown due to the class being in the erroneous 
> state? (I don't recall if that actually got pushed.)

I am not sure but I don't think so.  I ran into this when I develop
the bootstrap methods.  I think this is a good EIIE clean up.

Mandy