JavaTM 2 Platform Std. Ed. v1.6.0
java.lang.ref
Class PhantomReference<T>
java.lang.Object
java.lang.ref.Reference<T>
java.lang.ref.PhantomReference<T>
public class PhantomReference<T> - extends Reference<T>
Phantom reference objects, which are enqueued after the collector
determines that their referents may otherwise be reclaimed. Phantom
references are most often used for scheduling pre-mortem cleanup actions in
a more flexible way than is possible with the Java finalization mechanism.
If the garbage collector determines at a certain point in time that the
referent of a phantom reference is phantom reachable, then at that
time or at some later time it will enqueue the reference.
In order to ensure that a reclaimable object remains so, the referent of
a phantom reference may not be retrieved: The get method of a
phantom reference always returns null .
Unlike soft and weak references, phantom references are not
automatically cleared by the garbage collector as they are enqueued. An
object that is reachable via phantom references will remain so until all
such references are cleared or themselves become unreachable.
- Since:
- 1.2
Constructor Summary |
PhantomReference(T referent,
ReferenceQueue<? super T> q)
Creates a new phantom reference that refers to the given object and
is registered with the given queue. |
Method Summary |
T |
get()
Returns this reference object's referent. |
Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object |
clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait |
PhantomReference
public PhantomReference(T referent,
ReferenceQueue<? super T> q)
- Creates a new phantom reference that refers to the given object and
is registered with the given queue.
It is possible to create a phantom reference with a null
queue, but such a reference is completely useless: Its get
method will always return null and, since it does not have a queue, it
will never be enqueued.
- Parameters:
referent - the object the new phantom reference will refer toq - the queue with which the reference is to be registered,
or null if registration is not required
get
public T get()
- Returns this reference object's referent. Because the referent of a
phantom reference is always inaccessible, this method always returns
null .
- Overrides:
get in class Reference<T>
- Returns:
null
Copyright 2003 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved
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