Records

Changes to the Java® Virtual Machine Specification • Version 14.0.1+7

This document describes changes to the Java Virtual Machine Specification to support records in the Java language, a preview feature of Java SE 14. See JEP 359 for an overview of the feature.

A companion document describes the changes needed to the Java Language Specification to support records.

Changes are described with respect to existing sections of the JVM Specification. New text is indicated like this and deleted text is indicated like this. Explanation and discussion, as needed, is set aside in grey boxes.

Chapter 4: The class File Format

4.7 Attributes

Attributes are used in the ClassFile, field_info, method_info, and Code_attribute, and record_component_info structures of the class file format (4.1, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7.3, 4.7.30).

All attributes have the following general format:

attribute_info {
    u2 attribute_name_index;
    u4 attribute_length;
    u1 info[attribute_length];
}

For all attributes, the attribute_name_index item must be a valid unsigned 16-bit index into the constant pool of the class. The constant_pool entry at attribute_name_index must be a CONSTANT_Utf8_info structure (4.4.7) representing the name of the attribute. The value of the attribute_length item indicates the length of the subsequent information in bytes. The length does not include the initial six bytes that contain the attribute_name_index and attribute_length items.

28 29 attributes are predefined by this specification. They are listed three times, for ease of navigation:

Within the context of their use in this specification, that is, in the attributes tables of the class file structures in which they appear, the names of these predefined attributes are reserved.

Any conditions on the presence of a predefined attribute in an attributes table are specified explicitly in the section which describes the attribute. If no conditions are specified, then the attribute may appear any number of times in an attributes table.

The predefined attributes are categorized into three groups according to their purpose:

  1. Six attributes are critical to correct interpretation of the class file by the Java Virtual Machine:

    • ConstantValue
    • Code
    • StackMapTable
    • BootstrapMethods
    • NestHost
    • NestMembers

    In a class file whose version number is v, each of these attributes must be recognized and correctly read by an implementation of the Java Virtual Machine if the implementation supports version v of the class file format, and the attribute was first defined in version v or earlier of the class file format, and the attribute appears in a location where it is defined to appear.

  2. Nine Ten attributes are not critical to correct interpretation of the class file by the Java Virtual Machine, but are either critical to correct interpretation of the class file by the class libraries of the Java SE Platform, or are useful for tools (in which case the section that specifies an attribute describes it as "optional"):

    • Exceptions
    • InnerClasses
    • EnclosingMethod
    • Synthetic
    • Signature
    • SourceFile
    • LineNumberTable
    • LocalVariableTable
    • LocalVariableTypeTable
    • Record

    In a class file whose version number is v, each of these attributes must be recognized and correctly read by an implementation of the Java Virtual Machine if the implementation supports version v of the class file format, and the attribute was first defined in version v or earlier of the class file format, and the attribute appears in a location where it is defined to appear.

  3. Thirteen attributes are not critical to correct interpretation of the class file by the Java Virtual Machine, but contain metadata about the class file that is either exposed by the class libraries of the Java SE Platform, or made available by tools (in which case the section that specifies an attribute describes it as "optional"):

    • SourceDebugExtension
    • Deprecated
    • RuntimeVisibleAnnotations
    • RuntimeInvisibleAnnotations
    • RuntimeVisibleParameterAnnotations
    • RuntimeInvisibleParameterAnnotations
    • RuntimeVisibleTypeAnnotations
    • RuntimeInvisibleTypeAnnotations
    • AnnotationDefault
    • MethodParameters
    • Module
    • ModulePackages
    • ModuleMainClass

    An implementation of the Java Virtual Machine may use the information that these attributes contain, or otherwise must silently ignore these attributes.

Table 4.7-A. Predefined class file attributes (by section)

Attribute Section class file Java SE
ConstantValue 4.7.2 45.3 1.0.2
Code 4.7.3 45.3 1.0.2
StackMapTable 4.7.4 50.0 6
Exceptions 4.7.5 45.3 1.0.2
InnerClasses 4.7.6 45.3 1.1
EnclosingMethod 4.7.7 49.0 5.0
Synthetic 4.7.8 45.3 1.1
Signature 4.7.9 49.0 5.0
SourceFile 4.7.10 45.3 1.0.2
SourceDebugExtension 4.7.11 49.0 5.0
LineNumberTable 4.7.12 45.3 1.0.2
LocalVariableTable 4.7.13 45.3 1.0.2
LocalVariableTypeTable 4.7.14 49.0 5.0
Deprecated 4.7.15 45.3 1.1
RuntimeVisibleAnnotations 4.7.16 49.0 5.0
RuntimeInvisibleAnnotations 4.7.17 49.0 5.0
RuntimeVisibleParameterAnnotations 4.7.18 49.0 5.0
RuntimeInvisibleParameterAnnotations 4.7.19 49.0 5.0
RuntimeVisibleTypeAnnotations 4.7.20 52.0 8
RuntimeInvisibleTypeAnnotations 4.7.21 52.0 8
AnnotationDefault 4.7.22 49.0 5.0
BootstrapMethods 4.7.23 51.0 7
MethodParameters 4.7.24 52.0 8
Module 4.7.25 53.0 9
ModulePackages 4.7.26 53.0 9
ModuleMainClass 4.7.27 53.0 9
NestHost 4.7.28 55.0 11
NestMembers 4.7.29 55.0 11
Record 4.7.30 58.65535 14

Table 4.7-B. Predefined class file attributes (by class file format)

Attribute class file Java SE Section
ConstantValue 45.3 1.0.2 4.7.2
Code 45.3 1.0.2 4.7.3
Exceptions 45.3 1.0.2 4.7.5
SourceFile 45.3 1.0.2 4.7.10
LineNumberTable 45.3 1.0.2 4.7.12
LocalVariableTable 45.3 1.0.2 4.7.13
InnerClasses 45.3 1.1 4.7.6
Synthetic 45.3 1.1 4.7.8
Deprecated 45.3 1.1 4.7.15
EnclosingMethod 49.0 5.0 4.7.7
Signature 49.0 5.0 4.7.9
SourceDebugExtension 49.0 5.0 4.7.11
LocalVariableTypeTable 49.0 5.0 4.7.14
RuntimeVisibleAnnotations 49.0 5.0 4.7.16
RuntimeInvisibleAnnotations 49.0 5.0 4.7.17
RuntimeVisibleParameterAnnotations 49.0 5.0 4.7.18
RuntimeInvisibleParameterAnnotations 49.0 5.0 4.7.19
AnnotationDefault 49.0 5.0 4.7.22
StackMapTable 50.0 6 4.7.4
BootstrapMethods 51.0 7 4.7.23
RuntimeVisibleTypeAnnotations 52.0 8 4.7.20
RuntimeInvisibleTypeAnnotations 52.0 8 4.7.21
MethodParameters 52.0 8 4.7.24
Module 53.0 9 4.7.25
ModulePackages 53.0 9 4.7.26
ModuleMainClass 53.0 9 4.7.27
NestHost 55.0 11 4.7.28
NestMembers 55.0 11 4.7.29
Record 58.65535 14 4.7.30

Table 4.7-C. Predefined class file attributes (by location)

Attribute Location class file
SourceFile ClassFile 45.3
InnerClasses ClassFile 45.3
EnclosingMethod ClassFile 49.0
SourceDebugExtension ClassFile 49.0
BootstrapMethods ClassFile 51.0
Module, ModulePackages, ModuleMainClass ClassFile 53.0
NestHost, NestMembers ClassFile 55.0
Record ClassFile 58.65535
ConstantValue field_info 45.3
Code method_info 45.3
Exceptions method_info 45.3
RuntimeVisibleParameterAnnotations, RuntimeInvisibleParameterAnnotations method_info 49.0
AnnotationDefault method_info 49.0
MethodParameters method_info 52.0
Synthetic ClassFile, field_info, method_info 45.3
Deprecated ClassFile, field_info, method_info 45.3
Signature ClassFile, field_info, method_info, record_component_info 49.0
RuntimeVisibleAnnotations, RuntimeInvisibleAnnotations ClassFile, field_info, method_info, record_component_info 49.0
LineNumberTable Code 45.3
LocalVariableTable Code 45.3
LocalVariableTypeTable Code 49.0
StackMapTable Code 50.0
RuntimeVisibleTypeAnnotations, RuntimeInvisibleTypeAnnotations ClassFile, field_info, method_info, record_component_info, Code 52.0

The Synthetic and Deprecated attributes could, in principle, be allowed in record_component_info structures. But we haven't yet identified compelling use cases.

4.7.8 The Synthetic Attribute

The Synthetic attribute is a fixed-length attribute in the attributes table of a ClassFile, field_info, or method_info structure (4.1, 4.5, 4.6). A class member that does not appear in the source code must be marked using a Synthetic attribute, or else it must have its ACC_SYNTHETIC flag set. The only exceptions to this requirement are compiler-generated methods members which are not considered implementation artifacts, namely the instance initialization method representing a default constructor of the Java programming language (2.9.1), the class or interface initialization method (2.9.2), and the Enum.values() and Enum.valueOf() methods the implicitly-declared members of enums and records (JLS 8.9.3, 8.10.3).

The Synthetic attribute was introduced in JDK 1.1 to support nested classes and interfaces.

It is a limitation of the class file that, while a method parameter or a module may be marked ACC_MANDATED (4.7.24, 4.7.25), there is no equivalent way to flag compiler-generated methods and fields which are not considered implementation artifacts (JLS 13.1). This limitation means that reflective APIs may not accurately indicate the mandated status of such members.

The Synthetic attribute has the following format:

Synthetic_attribute {
    u2 attribute_name_index;
    u4 attribute_length;
}

The items of the Synthetic_attribute structure are as follows:

attribute_name_index

The value of the attribute_name_index item must be a valid index into the constant_pool table. The constant_pool entry at that index must be a CONSTANT_Utf8_info structure (4.4.7) representing the string "Synthetic".

attribute_length

The value of the attribute_length item must be zero.

4.7.9 The Signature Attribute

The Signature attribute is a fixed-length attribute in the attributes table of a ClassFile, field_info, or method_info, or record_component_info structure (4.1, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7.30). A Signature attribute records a signature (4.7.9.1) for a class, interface, constructor, method, or field, or record component whose declaration in the Java programming language uses type variables or parameterized types. See The Java Language Specification, Java SE 13 Edition for details about these constructs.

There may be at most one Signature attribute in the attributes table of a ClassFile, field_info, or method_info, or record_component_info structure.

The Signature attribute has the following format:

Signature_attribute {
    u2 attribute_name_index;
    u4 attribute_length;
    u2 signature_index;
}

The items of the Signature_attribute structure are as follows:

attribute_name_index

The value of the attribute_name_index item must be a valid index into the constant_pool table. The constant_pool entry at that index must be a CONSTANT_Utf8_info structure (4.4.7) representing the string "Signature".

attribute_length

The value of the attribute_length item must be two.

signature_index

The value of the signature_index item must be a valid index into the constant_pool table. The constant_pool entry at that index must be a CONSTANT_Utf8_info structure (4.4.7) representing a class signature if this Signature attribute is an attribute of a ClassFile structure; a method signature if this Signature attribute is an attribute of a method_info structure; or a field signature otherwise.

Oracle's Java Virtual Machine implementation does not check the well-formedness of Signature attributes during class loading or linking. Instead, Signature attributes are checked by methods of the Java SE Platform class libraries which expose generic signatures of classes, interfaces, constructors, methods, and fields. Examples include getGenericSuperclass in Class and toGenericString in java.lang.reflect.Executable.

4.7.9.1 Signatures

Signatures encode declarations written in the Java programming language that use types outside the type system of the Java Virtual Machine. They support reflection and debugging, as well as compilation when only class files are available.

A Java compiler must emit a signature for any class, interface, constructor, method, or field, or record component whose declaration uses type variables or parameterized types. Specifically, a Java compiler must emit:

Signatures are specified using a grammar which follows the notation of 4.3.1. In addition to that notation:

The grammar includes the terminal symbol Identifier to denote the name of a type, field, method, formal parameter, local variable, or type variable, as generated by a Java compiler. Such a name must not contain any of the ASCII characters . ; [ / < > : (that is, the characters forbidden in method names (4.2.2) and also colon) but may contain characters that must not appear in an identifier in the Java programming language (JLS §3.8).

Signatures rely on a hierarchy of nonterminals known as type signatures:

A class signature encodes type information about a (possibly generic) class declaration. It describes any type parameters of the class, and lists its (possibly parameterized) direct superclass and direct superinterfaces, if any. A type parameter is described by its name, followed by any class bound and interface bounds.

ClassSignature:
[TypeParameters] SuperclassSignature {SuperinterfaceSignature}
TypeParameters:
< TypeParameter {TypeParameter} >
TypeParameter:
Identifier ClassBound {InterfaceBound}
ClassBound:
: [ReferenceTypeSignature]
InterfaceBound:
: ReferenceTypeSignature
SuperclassSignature:
ClassTypeSignature
SuperinterfaceSignature:
ClassTypeSignature

A method signature encodes type information about a (possibly generic) method declaration. It describes any type parameters of the method; the (possibly parameterized) types of any formal parameters; the (possibly parameterized) return type, if any; and the types of any exceptions declared in the method's throws clause.

MethodSignature:
[TypeParameters] ( {JavaTypeSignature} ) Result {ThrowsSignature}
Result:
JavaTypeSignature
VoidDescriptor
ThrowsSignature:
^ ClassTypeSignature
^ TypeVariableSignature

The following production from 4.3.3 is repeated here for convenience:

VoidDescriptor:
V

A method signature encoded by the Signature attribute may not correspond exactly to the method descriptor in the method_info structure (4.3.3). In particular, there is no assurance that the number of formal parameter types in the method signature is the same as the number of parameter descriptors in the method descriptor. The numbers are the same for most methods, but certain constructors in the Java programming language have an implicitly declared parameter which a compiler represents with a parameter descriptor but may omit from the method signature. See the note in 4.7.18 for a similar situation involving parameter annotations.

A field signature encodes the (possibly parameterized) type of a field, formal parameter, or local variable, or record component declaration.

FieldSignature:
ReferenceTypeSignature

4.7.16 The RuntimeVisibleAnnotations Attribute

The RuntimeVisibleAnnotations attribute is a variable-length attribute in the attributes table of a ClassFile, field_info, or method_info, or record_component_info structure (4.1, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7.30). The RuntimeVisibleAnnotations attribute records run-time visible annotations on the declaration of the corresponding class, field, or method, or record component.

There may be at most one RuntimeVisibleAnnotations attribute in the attributes table of a ClassFile, field_info, or method_info, or record_component_info structure.

The RuntimeVisibleAnnotations attribute has the following format:

RuntimeVisibleAnnotations_attribute {
    u2         attribute_name_index;
    u4         attribute_length;
    u2         num_annotations;
    annotation annotations[num_annotations];
}

The items of the RuntimeVisibleAnnotations_attribute structure are as follows:

attribute_name_index

The value of the attribute_name_index item must be a valid index into the constant_pool table. The constant_pool entry at that index must be a CONSTANT_Utf8_info structure (4.4.7) representing the string "RuntimeVisibleAnnotations".

attribute_length

The value of the attribute_length item indicates the length of the attribute, excluding the initial six bytes.

num_annotations

The value of the num_annotations item gives the number of run-time visible annotations represented by the structure.

annotations[]

Each entry in the annotations table represents a single run-time visible annotation on a declaration. The annotation structure has the following format:

annotation {
    u2 type_index;
    u2 num_element_value_pairs;
    {   u2            element_name_index;
        element_value value;
    } element_value_pairs[num_element_value_pairs];
}

The items of the annotation structure are as follows:

type_index

The value of the type_index item must be a valid index into the constant_pool table. The constant_pool entry at that index must be a CONSTANT_Utf8_info structure (4.4.7) representing a field descriptor (4.3.2). The field descriptor denotes the type of the annotation represented by this annotation structure.

num_element_value_pairs

The value of the num_element_value_pairs item gives the number of element-value pairs of the annotation represented by this annotation structure.

element_value_pairs[]

Each value of the element_value_pairs table represents a single element-value pair in the annotation represented by this annotation structure. Each element_value_pairs entry contains the following two items:

element_name_index

The value of the element_name_index item must be a valid index into the constant_pool table. The constant_pool entry at that index must be a CONSTANT_Utf8_info structure (4.4.7). The constant_pool entry denotes the name of the element of the element-value pair represented by this element_value_pairs entry.

In other words, the entry denotes an element of the annotation type specified by type_index.

value

The value of the value item represents the value of the element-value pair represented by this element_value_pairs entry.

4.7.17 The RuntimeInvisibleAnnotations Attribute

The RuntimeInvisibleAnnotations attribute is a variable-length attribute in the attributes table of a ClassFile, field_info, or method_info, or record_component_info structure (4.1, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7.30). The RuntimeInvisibleAnnotations attribute records run-time invisible annotations on the declaration of the corresponding class, method, or field, or record component.

There may be at most one RuntimeInvisibleAnnotations attribute in the attributes table of a ClassFile, field_info, or method_info, or record_component_info structure.

The RuntimeInvisibleAnnotations attribute is similar to the RuntimeVisibleAnnotations attribute (4.7.16), except that the annotations represented by a RuntimeInvisibleAnnotations attribute must not be made available for return by reflective APIs, unless the Java Virtual Machine has been instructed to retain these annotations via some implementation-specific mechanism such as a command line flag. In the absence of such instructions, the Java Virtual Machine ignores this attribute.

The RuntimeInvisibleAnnotations attribute has the following format:

RuntimeInvisibleAnnotations_attribute {
    u2         attribute_name_index;
    u4         attribute_length;
    u2         num_annotations;
    annotation annotations[num_annotations];
}

The items of the RuntimeInvisibleAnnotations_attribute structure are as follows:

attribute_name_index

The value of the attribute_name_index item must be a valid index into the constant_pool table. The constant_pool entry at that index must be a CONSTANT_Utf8_info structure (4.4.7) representing the string "RuntimeInvisibleAnnotations".

attribute_length

The value of the attribute_length item indicates the length of the attribute, excluding the initial six bytes.

num_annotations

The value of the num_annotations item gives the number of run-time invisible annotations represented by the structure.

annotations[]

Each entry in the annotations table represents a single run-time invisible annotation on a declaration. The annotation structure is specified in 4.7.16.

4.7.20 The RuntimeVisibleTypeAnnotations Attribute

The RuntimeVisibleTypeAnnotations attribute is an variable-length attribute in the attributes table of a ClassFile, field_info, or method_info, or record_component_info structure, or Code attribute (4.1, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7.30, 4.7.3). The RuntimeVisibleTypeAnnotations attribute records run-time visible annotations on types used in the declaration of the corresponding class, field, or method, or record component, or in an expression in the corresponding method body. The RuntimeVisibleTypeAnnotations attribute also records run-time visible annotations on type parameter declarations of generic classes, interfaces, methods, and constructors.

There may be at most one RuntimeVisibleTypeAnnotations attribute in the attributes table of a ClassFile, field_info, or method_info, or record_component_info structure, or Code attribute.

An attributes table contains a RuntimeVisibleTypeAnnotations attribute only if types are annotated in kinds of declaration or expression that correspond to the parent structure or attribute of the attributes table.

For example, all annotations on types in the implements clause of a class declaration are recorded in the RuntimeVisibleTypeAnnotations attribute of the class's ClassFile structure. Meanwhile, all annotations on the type in a field declaration are recorded in the RuntimeVisibleTypeAnnotations attribute of the field's field_info structure.

The RuntimeVisibleTypeAnnotations attribute has the following format:

RuntimeVisibleTypeAnnotations_attribute {
    u2              attribute_name_index;
    u4              attribute_length;
    u2              num_annotations;
    type_annotation annotations[num_annotations];
}

The items of the RuntimeVisibleTypeAnnotations_attribute structure are as follows:

attribute_name_index

The value of the attribute_name_index item must be a valid index into the constant_pool table. The constant_pool entry at that index must be a CONSTANT_Utf8_info structure representing the string "RuntimeVisibleTypeAnnotations".

attribute_length

The value of the attribute_length item indicates the length of the attribute, excluding the initial six bytes.

num_annotations

The value of the num_annotations item gives the number of run-time visible type annotations represented by the structure.

annotations[]

Each entry in the annotations table represents a single run-time visible annotation on a type used in a declaration or expression. The type_annotation structure has the following format:

type_annotation {
    u1 target_type;
    union {
        type_parameter_target;
        supertype_target;
        type_parameter_bound_target;
        empty_target;
        formal_parameter_target;
        throws_target;
        localvar_target;
        catch_target;
        offset_target;
        type_argument_target;
    } target_info;
    type_path target_path;
    u2        type_index;
    u2        num_element_value_pairs;
    {   u2            element_name_index;
        element_value value;
    } element_value_pairs[num_element_value_pairs];
}

The first three items - target_type, target_info, and target_path - specify the precise location of the annotated type. The last three items - type_index, num_element_value_pairs, and element_value_pairs[] - specify the annotation's own type and element-value pairs.

The items of the type_annotation structure are as follows:

target_type

The value of the target_type item denotes the kind of target on which the annotation appears. The various kinds of target correspond to the type contexts of the Java programming language where types are used in declarations and expressions (JLS §4.11).

The legal values of target_type are specified in Table 4.7.20-A and Table 4.7.20-B. Each value is a one-byte tag indicating which item of the target_info union follows the target_type item to give more information about the target.

The kinds of target in Table 4.7.20-A and Table 4.7.20-B correspond to the type contexts in JLS §4.11. Namely, target_type values 0x10-0x17 and 0x40-0x42 correspond to type contexts 1-10, while target_type values 0x43-0x4B correspond to type contexts 11-16.

The value of the target_type item determines whether the type_annotation structure appears in a RuntimeVisibleTypeAnnotations attribute in a ClassFile structure, a field_info structure, a method_info structure, or a Code attribute. Table 4.7.20-C gives the location of the RuntimeVisibleTypeAnnotations attribute for a type_annotation structure with each legal target_type value.

target_info

The value of the target_info item denotes precisely which type in a declaration or expression is annotated.

The items of the target_info union are specified in 4.7.20.1.

target_path

The value of the target_path item denotes precisely which part of the type indicated by target_info is annotated.

The format of the type_path structure is specified in 4.7.20.2.

type_index, num_element_value_pairs, element_value_pairs[]

The meaning of these items in the type_annotation structure is the same as their meaning in the annotation structure (4.7.16).

Table 4.7.20-A. Interpretation of target_type values (Part 1)

Value Kind of target target_info item
0x00 type parameter declaration of generic class or interface type_parameter_target
0x01 type parameter declaration of generic method or constructor type_parameter_target
0x10 type in extends or implements clause of class declaration (including the direct superclass or direct superinterface of an anonymous class declaration), or in extends clause of interface declaration supertype_target
0x11 type in bound of type parameter declaration of generic class or interface type_parameter_bound_target
0x12 type in bound of type parameter declaration of generic method or constructor type_parameter_bound_target
0x13 type in field or record component declaration empty_target
0x14 return type of method, or type of newly constructed object empty_target
0x15 receiver type of method or constructor empty_target
0x16 type in formal parameter declaration of method, constructor, or lambda expression formal_parameter_target
0x17 type in throws clause of method or constructor throws_target

Table 4.7.20-B. Interpretation of target_type values (Part 2)

Value Kind of target target_info item
0x40 type in local variable declaration localvar_target
0x41 type in resource variable declaration localvar_target
0x42 type in exception parameter declaration catch_target
0x43 type in instanceof expression offset_target
0x44 type in new expression offset_target
0x45 type in method reference expression using ::new offset_target
0x46 type in method reference expression using ::Identifier offset_target
0x47 type in cast expression type_argument_target
0x48 type argument for generic constructor in new expression or explicit constructor invocation statement type_argument_target
0x49 type argument for generic method in method invocation expression type_argument_target
0x4A type argument for generic constructor in method reference expression using ::new type_argument_target
0x4B type argument for generic method in method reference expression using ::Identifier type_argument_target

Table 4.7.20-C. Location of enclosing attribute for target_type values

Value Kind of target Location
0x00 type parameter declaration of generic class or interface ClassFile
0x01 type parameter declaration of generic method or constructor method_info
0x10 type in extends clause of class or interface declaration, or in implements clause of interface declaration ClassFile
0x11 type in bound of type parameter declaration of generic class or interface ClassFile
0x12 type in bound of type parameter declaration of generic method or constructor method_info
0x13 type in field or record component declaration field_info, record_component_info
0x14 return type of method or constructor method_info
0x15 receiver type of method or constructor method_info
0x16 type in formal parameter declaration of method, constructor, or lambda expression method_info
0x17 type in throws clause of method or constructor method_info
0x40-0x4B types in local variable declarations, resource variable declarations, exception parameter declarations, expressions Code

In a future iteration, it may be appropriate to introduce a new target_type value for record components rather than re-using 0x13.

4.7.20.1 The target_info union

...

...

4.7.21 The RuntimeInvisibleTypeAnnotations Attribute

The RuntimeInvisibleTypeAnnotations attribute is an variable-length attribute in the attributes table of a ClassFile, field_info, or method_info, or record_component_info structure, or Code attribute (4.1, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7.30, 4.7.3). The RuntimeInvisibleTypeAnnotations attribute records run-time invisible annotations on types used in the corresponding declaration of a class, field, or method, or record component, or in an expression in the corresponding method body. The RuntimeInvisibleTypeAnnotations attribute also records annotations on type parameter declarations of generic classes, interfaces, methods, and constructors.

There may be at most one RuntimeInvisibleTypeAnnotations attribute in the attributes table of a ClassFile, field_info, or method_info, or record_component_info structure, or Code attribute.

An attributes table contains a RuntimeInvisibleTypeAnnotations attribute only if types are annotated in kinds of declaration or expression that correspond to the parent structure or attribute of the attributes table.

The RuntimeInvisibleTypeAnnotations attribute has the following format:

RuntimeInvisibleTypeAnnotations_attribute {
    u2              attribute_name_index;
    u4              attribute_length;
    u2              num_annotations;
    type_annotation annotations[num_annotations];
}

The items of the RuntimeInvisibleTypeAnnotations_attribute structure are as follows:

attribute_name_index

The value of the attribute_name_index item must be a valid index into the constant_pool table. The constant_pool entry at that index must be a CONSTANT_Utf8_info structure representing the string "RuntimeInvisibleTypeAnnotations".

attribute_length

The value of the attribute_length item indicates the length of the attribute, excluding the initial six bytes.

num_annotations

The value of the num_annotations item gives the number of run-time invisible type annotations represented by the structure.

annotations[]

Each entry in the annotations table represents a single run-time invisible annotation on a type used in a declaration or expression. The type_annotation structure is specified in 4.7.20.

4.7.30 The Record Attribute

The Record attribute is a variable-length attribute in the attributes table of a ClassFile structure. The Record attribute denotes information about the components of a record type (JLS 8.10).

There may be at most one Record attribute in the attributes table of a ClassFile structure.

The Record attribute has the following format:

Record_attribute {
    u2 attribute_name_index;
    u4 attribute_length;
    u2 components_count;
    record_component_info components[components_count];
}

The items of the Record_attribute structure are as follows:

attribute_name_index

The value of the attribute_name_index item must be a valid index into the constant_pool table. The constant_pool entry at that index must be a CONSTANT_Utf8_info structure (4.4.7) representing the string "Record".

attribute_length

The value of the attribute_length item indicates the length of the attribute, excluding the initial six bytes.

components_count

The value of the components_count item indicates the number of entries in the components table.

components[]

Each component of the record must have exactly one corresponding entry in the components array, in the order in which the components are declared.

The record_component_info structure has the following form:

record_component_info {
    u2 name_index;
    u2 descriptor_index;
    u2 attributes_count;
    attribute_info attributes[attributes_count];
}

The items of the record_component_info structure are as follows:

name_index

The value of the name_index item must be a valid index into the constant_pool table. The constant_pool entry at that index must be a CONSTANT_Utf8_info structure that represents the unqualified name (4.2.2) of the record component.

descriptor_index

The value of the descriptor_index item must be a valid index into the constant_pool table. The constant_pool entry at that index must be a CONSTANT_Utf8_info structure representing a field descriptor which encodes the JVM type of the record component (4.3.2).

attributes_count

The value of the attributes_count item indicates the number of additional attributes of this record component.

attributes[]

Each value of the attributes table must be an attribute_info structure (4.7).

A record component can have any number of optional attributes associated with it.

The attributes defined by this specification as appearing in the attributes table of a record_component_info structure are listed in Table 4.7-C.

The rules concering attributes defined to appear in the attributes table of a record_component_info structure are given in 4.7.

The rules concerning non-predefined attributes in the attributes table of a record_component_info structure are given in 4.7.1.