/*
* This file is part of the Jikes RVM project (http://jikesrvm.org).
*
* This file is licensed to You under the Eclipse Public License (EPL);
* You may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You
* may obtain a copy of the License at
*
* http://www.opensource.org/licenses/eclipse-1.0.php
*
* See the COPYRIGHT.txt file distributed with this work for information
* regarding copyright ownership.
*/
package org.vmmagic;
import java.lang.annotation.Retention;
import java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy;
import java.lang.annotation.Target;
import java.lang.annotation.ElementType;
import java.lang.annotation.Inherited;
/**
* An intrinsic method is a method that is built in (that is, intrinsic) to the compiler
* rather than part of a class library. Intrinsic methods are an escape hatch to provide
* "magic" that is inexpressible int the Java programming language. A compiler intrinsic
* will usually generate a specific code sequence that is inlined and optimized as part
* by the compiler. Unless an intrinsic method is expected to be executed in a non-intrinsic
* aware compiler, the body of the method should be empty.
*
* <p>If the Intrinsic annotation is applied to a method then then the method is a compiler
* intrinsic. If the Intrinsic annotation is applied to a class then all the methods of
* the class AND all subclasses are intrinsic.</p>
*
* <p>NOTE: At the current time the Intrinsic annotation is only used for documentation
* purposes but in the near future it is expected that the semantics of the annotation will
* be enforced by the compiler.</p>
*/
@Retention(RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME)
@Target({ElementType.TYPE,ElementType.METHOD})
@Inherited
public @interface Intrinsic { }