Bug 200588

Description Henning Makholm 2007-08-20 14:03:17 EDT

Build ID: I20070625-1500

Consider the following two Java source files:
  package a;
  public class S {
    protected int name = 42 ;
  }
and
  package b;
  import a.S;
  public class C extends S {
    static public void main(String[] args) {
      new C().foo();
    }
    public void foo() {
      System.out.println(name);           // 1
      System.out.println(super.name);     // 2
      System.out.println(((S)this).name); // 3
    }
  }

The Eclipse compiler will accept the lines marked 1 and 2, but will report an access violation in the line marked 3.

According to section 15.11.2 of the JLS (third edition), the expression super.name must be "treated exactly as if it had been the expression ((S)this).name", so either both of them should be errors or none of them should. My understanding of the JLS is that both should be errors, because the second condition of 6.6.2.1 is not satisfied by ((S)this).name.

There seems to be nothing in JLS section 6.6.2 on protected access that special-cases super.name such that it should be treated differently from its unfolding with regard to access.