[patch] Java definite assignment

Tue Feb 6 16:49:00 GMT 2001

On 06-Feb-2001, Per Bothner <per@bothner.com> wrote:
> Fergus Henderson <fjh@cs.mu.oz.au> writes:
>> > > String x; try { x = new String (); } finally {} x.toString ();
> > 
> > Surely it *should* issue an error message in that case.
> > If `new String ()' throws an exception (e.g. because we're
> > out of memory), then `x' will never get explicitly initialized.
>> But the x.toString() will never get executed either, so it doesn't
> matter. I.e. we will never execute code that accesses x without
> x having been assigned first.

I think one of us is missing something. I didn't get much sleep last
night, and I've only had one cup of coffee this morning, so maybe I'm
still asleep, in which case it is probably me ;-)
But I don't see why `x.toString()' will never get executed. If the
exception is thrown, the `try {...}' will catch it, and then execution
will continue at `x.toString()', won't it?
Perhaps it helps if I add some more whitespace to the example:
 String x;
 try {
 x = new String ();
 } finally {
 /* do nothing */
 } 
 x.toString ();
-- 
Fergus Henderson <fjh@cs.mu.oz.au> | "I have always known that the pursuit
 | of excellence is a lethal habit"
WWW: < http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/~fjh > | -- the last words of T. S. Garp.