> On Apr 19, 2017, at 1:21 PM, Dan Smith <daniel.sm...@oracle.com> wrote: > >> >> 5.4.4 Access Control >> >> I don't think you need to restate: >> >> "A class with a MemberOfNest attribute belongs to the nest hosted by the >> referenced host class. >> >> A class without a MemberOfNest attribute implicitly belongs to a nest hosted >> by the class itself. (If the class also lacks a NestMembers attribute, then >> the nest has only one member.)" >> >> The rule is simply stated as is: "belonging to the same nest as D" - >> belonging to the same nest is, or should be, already defined elsewhere. > > My intent is that this *is* the definition. But sounds like you're expecting > that definition to be in 4.7.25/4.7.26, which is probably more intuitive. > I'll change that.
Okay, here's another attempt at defining the attributes and the "nest" concept. I've been uneasy about `NestMembers` being presented as the "declaration" of the nest, since it's not validated. Instead, I see `MemberOfNest` as really where nests are defined (as a cumulative result of many class declarations—like packages), and `NestMembers` as just a help for validation. With that in mind, `MemberOfNest` ought to come first: ~~~~ **4.7.25 The `MemberOfNest` Attribute** --------------------------------------- **The `MemberOfNest` attribute is a fixed-length attribute in the `attributes` table of a `ClassFile` structure ([4.1]).** **A _nest_ is a set of classes and interfaces that share access to their `private` members ([5.4.4]).** **A class or interface with a `MemberOfNest` attribute belongs to the nest hosted by a designated _host class_. The host class authorizes membership in the nest with a corresponding entry in its `NestMembers` attribute ([4.7.26], [4.10]).** **A class or interface without a `MemberOfNest` attribute belongs to the nest hosted by itself. (Often, this nest is a singleton consisting only of the class itself.)** **There may be at most one `MemberOfNest` attribute in the `attributes` table of a `ClassFile` structure.** **The `MemberOfNest` attribute has the following format:** ... **4.7.26 The `NestMembers` Attribute** -------------------------------------- **The `NestMembers` attribute is a variable-length attribute in the `attributes` table of a `ClassFile` structure ([4.1]). It authorizes an enumerated set classes and interfaces to claim membership in a nest hosted by the current class or interface.** **There may be at most one `NestMembers` attribute in the `attributes` table of a `ClassFile` structure.** **The `attributes` table of a `ClassFile` structure must not contain both a `MemberOfNest` attribute and a `NestMembers` attribute.** > **This rule prevents a host class from claiming membership in a different > nest. It is implicitly a member of the nest that it hosts.** **The `NestMembers` attribute has the following format:** ... 5.4.4 Access Control -------------------- A class or interface _C_ is _accessible_ to a class or interface _D_ if and only if either of the following is true: ... - _R_ is `private` and is declared ~~in _D_~~ **by a class belonging to the same nest as _D_ ([4.7.25])**. ~~~~ And now to the bikeshedding game: `MemberOfNest`, as the key thing, could just be called `Nest` (imagine a `Package` attribute—we wouldn't call it `MemberOfPackage`). Or, since it's a reference to a class, `NestHost ` / `NestTop` / `NestMother` / `NestWhatever`. `NestMembers` isn't horrible, but we could highlight its validation role with something like `AuthorizedNestMembers`. —Dan
