java.lang.ref.PhantomReference.java Source code

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Here is the source code for java.lang.ref.PhantomReference.java

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/*
 * Copyright (c) 1997, 2015, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
 * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER.
 *
 * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
 * under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 only, as
 * published by the Free Software Foundation.  Oracle designates this
 * particular file as subject to the "Classpath" exception as provided
 * by Oracle in the LICENSE file that accompanied this code.
 *
 * This code is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
 * ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
 * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License
 * version 2 for more details (a copy is included in the LICENSE file that
 * accompanied this code).
 *
 * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License version
 * 2 along with this work; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
 * Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
 *
 * Please contact Oracle, 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood Shores, CA 94065 USA
 * or visit www.oracle.com if you need additional information or have any
 * questions.
 */

package java.lang.ref;

/**
 * Phantom reference objects, which are enqueued after the collector
 * determines that their referents may otherwise be reclaimed.  Phantom
 * references are most often used to schedule post-mortem cleanup actions.
 *
 * <p> Suppose the garbage collector determines at a certain point in time
 * that an object is <a href="package-summary.html#reachability">
 * phantom reachable</a>.  At that time it will atomically clear
 * all phantom references to that object and all phantom references to
 * any other phantom-reachable objects from which that object is reachable.
 * At the same time or at some later time it will enqueue those newly-cleared
 * phantom references that are registered with reference queues.
 *
 * <p> In order to ensure that a reclaimable object remains so, the referent of
 * a phantom reference may not be retrieved: The {@code get} method of a
 * phantom reference always returns {@code null}.
 *
 * @author   Mark Reinhold
 * @since    1.2
 */

public class PhantomReference<T> extends Reference<T> {

    /**
     * Returns this reference object's referent.  Because the referent of a
     * phantom reference is always inaccessible, this method always returns
     * {@code null}.
     *
     * @return {@code null}
     */
    public T get() {
        return null;
    }

    /**
     * Creates a new phantom reference that refers to the given object and
     * is registered with the given queue.
     *
     * <p> It is possible to create a phantom reference with a {@code null}
     * queue, but such a reference is completely useless: Its {@code get}
     * method will always return {@code null} and, since it does not have a queue,
     * it will never be enqueued.
     *
     * @param referent the object the new phantom reference will refer to
     * @param q the queue with which the reference is to be registered,
     *          or {@code null} if registration is not required
     */
    public PhantomReference(T referent, ReferenceQueue<? super T> q) {
        super(referent, q);
    }

}