Why does parseInt warn of using valueOf

Question

When looking at the source code for Integer.parseInt(String s, int radix) (java 8, 1.8.0_131), I found the following comment block:

/*
* WARNING: This method may be invoked early during VM initialization
* before IntegerCache is initialized. Care must be taken to not use
* the valueOf method.
*/

While I understand the first part about the IntegerCache, I don't understand why there's a warning about valueOf, and why in this context.

I see that valueOf() relies on parseInt(), but I still don't get why there's this warning.

Can someone explain what exactly the comment warns me about (and the context where valueOf shouldn't be used), and what could possibly go wrong.

Edit:

The code in Integer.valueOf(int i) seems to have changed since the other question from the comment below was asked, it is now

public static Integer valueOf(int i) {
    if (i >= IntegerCache.low && i <= IntegerCache.high)
        return IntegerCache.cache[i + (-IntegerCache.low)];
    return new Integer(i);
}

and should be save from the assertion error before.

Possible duplicate of [Why is assert used in the Integer.valueOf method of the Integer class?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/33891156/why-is-assert-used-in-the-integer-valueof-method-of-the-integer-class) — Blasanka, Jun 19 '17 at 17:47
assert doesn't seem to be used in java8 Integer.valueOf() @Blasanka , can you explain the duplicate vote please, or point me to the code that is still equal to the code linked in the dupe target? — baao, Jun 19 '17 at 17:49

John Bollinger · Accepted Answer · 2017-06-19T17:58:46.580

Can someone explain what exactly the comment warns me about (and the context where valueOf shouldn't be used), and what could possibly go wrong.

The Integer class creates and maintains a cache of Integer objects representing small integer values; by default, values in the range -128 to 127 are covered (more discussion here, here, and many other places). Integer.valueOf() will return an object from this cache when its argument represents a number in the range. The comment is warning that parseInt() must not rely on valueOf() because the former may be invoked before that cache is populated.

The misbehavior that could be expected in that case is not specified, and conceivably might vary between Java versions, but plausible possibilities are that null would be returned or an exception (NullPointerException, IndexOutOfBoundsException, ...) would be thrown.

In any case, this is an internal comment in the implementation, not a comment to users of class Integer. By the time any user code runs, the necessary cache initialization is complete, and Integer.valueOf() can be relied upon to behave fully as its API documentation describes.

score 36 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 23 '17 at 22:45

36

The source code is (almost) just for reference, the javadoc does not contain that warning because it is only intended for the developers of Java itself.

It is probably a warning since there was some problem or bug caused by someone using the valueOf method to code the parseInt method which can be called before the internal cache is initialized.

In other words, that warning is not intended for you, assuming you are not changing the Integer class!

edited Jun 23 '17 at 22:45

Zimano

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answered Jun 19 '17 at 17:52

user85421

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thanks, BTW nice question - was not aware of that warning – user85421 Jun 19 '17 at 18:00
If you're subclassing Integer, this is definitely something you need to know. – Isaac Rabinovitch Jun 22 '17 at 19:33
1

@IsaacRabinovitch subclassing `Integer` should not be possible (without *cheating*) since the `Integer` class is declared `final` – user85421 Jun 22 '17 at 20:01

Why does parseInt warn of using valueOf

2 Answers2