On Reflection in OO Programming Languages v1.6

Yann-Gaël Guéhéneuc
This work is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-
ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
Département de génie informatique et de génie logiciel
Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science
Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering
On Reflection in OO
Programming Languages
yann-gael.gueheneuc@concordia.ca
Version 1.6
2024/01/15

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Any questions/comments are welcome at
yann-gael.gueheneuc@concordia.ca
The source code is available at
http://www.ptidej.net/tutorial/javareflection

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Outline
 Rationale
 Definition
 Context
– Interconnections
 Scenarios
 Theory
 Conclusion
 Appendix
– Java: Class Loading
– Python: Inheritance

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Outline
 Rationale
 Definition
 Context
 Scenarios
 Theory
 Conclusion
 Appendix

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Use of instanceof
public abstract class Animal {
}
public class Cat extends Animal {
}
public class Dog extends Animal {
}
public class Expression {
public static String speak(final Animal anAnimal) {
final String sound;
if (anAnimal instanceof Dog) {
sound = "woof";
}
else if (anAnimal instanceof Cat) {
sound = "miaow";
}
else {
sound = "";
}
return sound;
}
public static void main(final String[] args) {
final Dog fido = new Dog();
System.out.println(Expression.speak(fido));
}
}

6/287
Use of instanceof
}
}
}
final String sound;
sound = "woof";
}
sound = "miaow";
}
else {
sound = "";
}
return sound;
}
}
}
Must test the type of
the object at run-time

7/287
Use of instanceof
}
}
}
final String sound;
sound = "woof";
}
sound = "miaow";
}
else {
sound = "";
}
return sound;
}
}
}
Breaks information
hiding of Cat and Dog

8/287
Use of instanceof
}
}
}
final String sound;
sound = "woof";
}
sound = "miaow";
}
else {
sound = "";
}
return sound;
}
}
}
Breaks information
hiding of Cat and Dog
Requires
special case

9/287
Use of instanceof
 Reason
– Must bypass the compiler and virtual machine’s
choice of the method to call
– Remember that overloading is resolved by the
static type of the argument, not its run-time
type (cf. Week 2)

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Use of instanceof
 Problem
“Don't repeat yourself” (DRY): “Every piece of
knowledge must have a single, unambiguous,
authoritative representation within a system.”
—Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas
(in The Pragmatic Programmer)

11/287
Use of instanceof
public abstract String speak();
}
@Override
public String speak() {
return "miaow";
}
}
@Override
return "woof";
}
}
System.out.println(fido.speak());
}
}

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Use of instanceof
}
@Override
return "miaow";
}
}
@Override
return "woof";
}
}
}
}

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Use of instanceof
public class Cat {
return "miaow";
}
}
public class Dog {
return "woof";
}
}
public static void main(final String[] args) throws
IllegalAccessException,
IllegalArgumentException,
InvocationTargetException {
final Method[] method = Dog.class.getDeclaredMethods();
System.out.println(method[0].invoke(fido, new Object[0]));
}
}

14/287
Use of instanceof
public class Cat {
return "miaow";
}
}
public class Dog {
return "woof";
}
}
public static void main(final String[] args) throws
IllegalAccessException,
IllegalArgumentException,
InvocationTargetException {
}
}
Discover method of
object of unrelated
classes

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Plugins
 Plugins are external, user-defined pieces of
code loaded, used, and unloaded to benefit
from their features only when needed
 Problem
– Closed-world assumption (at compile-time and
runtime) leads to the need for a mechanism to
perform dynamic loading

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Serialisation
 Serialisation is the process of translating
data structures or object state into a format
that can be stored (file, network…)
 Problem
– Information hiding prevents access to the
internals of the data structures and to the
complete object states

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Debugging/Profiling
 Debugging/profiling are the processes of
monitoring the execution of a program
– To understand its behaviour
– To measure its space and time complexity
 Problem
– Accessing the internals of objects and
controlling the program to collect relevant data

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Patching
 Patching is the process of changing the
behaviour of a class or an object
– To modify its behaviour
– To add new behaviour
 Problem
– Modifying the behaviour at run-time without the
need to recompile and restart the program

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Outline
 Rationale
 Definition
 Context
 Scenarios
 Theory
 Conclusion
 Appendix

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Definition
 Reflection is the ability of a computer
program to examine and modify the
structure and behaviour of an object at
runtime

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Use of instanceof
}
@Override
return "miaow";
}
}
@Override
return "woof";
}
}
}
}

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Use of instanceof
}
@Override
public String miaow() {
return "miaow";
}
}
@Override
public String bark() {
return "woof";
}
}
}
}

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Use of instanceof
}
@Override
return "miaow";
}
}
@Override
return "woof";
}
}
}
}
Unrelated classes

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Use of instanceof
}
@Override
return "miaow";
}
}
@Override
return "woof";
}
}
}
}
Unrelated classes
Choice at run-time

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Use of instanceof
}
@Override
return "miaow";
}
}
@Override
return "woof";
}
}
}
}
Unrelated classes
Choice at run-time

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Outline
 Rationale
 Definition
 Context
 Scenarios
 Theory
 Conclusion
 Appendix

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Context
 Reflection
– Ability of a computer program to examine and
modify the structure and behaviour of an object
at runtime

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Context
 Reflection
– Theoretical interest
• What is an interpreter?
Brian Cantwell Smith “Procedural Reflection in
Programming Languages” (Ph.D. thesis, 1982)
– Practical interest
• Libraries
• Frameworks

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Context
 Reflection
• Libraries
• Frameworks

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Context
 Reflection
• Libraries
• Frameworks

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Context
 Libraries
– Collections of data structures and algorithms
(possibly encapsulated in classes) used to
develop and run programs
 Frameworks
– Reusable sets of libraries, tools, and
conventions used to develop and run programs

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Interconnections
 Clients–Libraries/Frameworks
– Linking
– Forking
– Inter-process communication
– Subclassing
– Dynamic loading/invoking

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Interconnections
 Linking
(Contrast with virtual machines)
– Typically C/C++
– Several object files (.o)
– One executable (.exe)

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Interconnections
 Forking
– Typical in most
languages
– Process duplication
• Is a real duplication
• Creates a new OS
process
final StringBuffer commandLine = new StringBuffer();
commandLine.append("..DOTbindotty ");
commandLine.append(aFilePath);
final Process process =
Runtime.getRuntime().exec(commandLine.toString());
final OutputMonitor errorStreamMonitor =
new OutputMonitor(...,process.getErrorStream(),...);
errorStreamMonitor.start();
final OutputMonitor inputStreamMonitor =
new OutputMonitor(...,process.getInputStream(),...);
inputStreamMonitor.start();
try {
process.waitFor();
}
catch (final InterruptedException ie) {
ie.printStackTrace(
Output.getInstance().errorOutput());
}
if (process.exitValue() != 0) {
...
}

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Interconnections
 IPC
– Typical in most languages
– Use remote procedure calls
– Use well-defined protocols
• COM
• CORBA
• XML-RPC
– Web services

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Interconnections
package net.ptidej.rpc;
import java.net.URL;
import org.apache.xmlrpc.client.XmlRpcClient;
import org.apache.xmlrpc.client.XmlRpcClientConfigImpl;
public class Client {
public static void main(final String[] args)
throws Exception {
final XmlRpcClientConfigImpl config =
new XmlRpcClientConfigImpl();
config.setServerURL(
new URL("http://127.0.0.1:8080/xmlrpc"));
final XmlRpcClient client = new XmlRpcClient();
client.setConfig(config);
final Object[] params = new Object[] {
new Integer(33), new Integer(9) };
final Integer result = (Integer)
client.execute("Calculator.add", params);
System.out.println(result);
}
}
import org.apache.xmlrpc.server.PropertyHandlerMapping;
import org.apache.xmlrpc.server.XmlRpcServer;
import org.apache.xmlrpc.webserver.WebServer;
public class Server {
public static void main(final String[] args)
throws Exception {
final WebServer webServer = new WebServer(8080);
final XmlRpcServer xmlRpcServer =
webServer.getXmlRpcServer();
final PropertyHandlerMapping phm =
new PropertyHandlerMapping();
phm.addHandler("Calculator", Calculator.class);
xmlRpcServer.setHandlerMapping(phm);
webServer.start();
}
}
public class Calculator {
public int add(final int i1, final int i2) {
return i1 + i2;
}
public int sub(final int i1, final int i2) {
return i1 - i2;
}
}

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Interconnections
 Subclassing
– Typical in most object-
oriented languages
– Structural, static relation
public class OutputMonitor extends Thread {
...
public OutputMonitor(...) {
this.setName(threadName);
this.setPriority(Thread.MAX_PRIORITY);
...
}
public void run() {
try {
int value = 0;
byte[] bytes;
char lastWrittenChar;
while ((value = this.inputStream.read()) > 0) {
synchronized (System.err) {
synchronized (System.out) {
if (value != 13 && value != 10) {
lastWrittenChar = (char) value;
...
}}
}
}
catch (final IOException ioe) {
...

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Interconnections
 Subclassing
– Hooks and templates
• Hot spots = hooks
• Frozen spots = templates
– Hooks are typically abstract methods
– Templates typically use hooks

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Interconnections
 Subclassing
– Hooks and templates
• JUnit

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Interconnections
 Template
 Hooks
public abstract class TestCase
extends Assert implements Test {
public void runBare() throws Throwable {
setUp();
try {
runTest();
}
finally {
tearDown();
}
}
protected void setUp() throws Exception {
}
protected void tearDown() throws Exception {
}
...
}

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Interconnections
 Subclassing
– Heavily used in object-oriented programs
– Heavily used in design patterns
(Only Singleton does not explicitly use subclassing)
• Abstract Factory
• Composite
• Decorator
• Observer
• Visitor

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Interconnections
 Dynamic loading
– In different programming languages (but not all),
it is the possibility to load, use, and unload a
piece of code at runtime
– In Java, it is the possibility to load and unload
a class and to choose and invoke its methods
(and to access its fields…) at runtime

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Interconnections
 Poor man’s profiler
– Calls the main() method of a class whose name is
given at runtime, by the user
– Displays the time spent in the called method
public final class PoorManProfiler {
try {
final Class toBeRun = Class.forName(args[0]);
final Method mainMethod =
toBeRun.getMethod("main", new Class[] { String[].class });
final long startTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
mainMethod.invoke(null, new Object[] { new String[0] });
final long endTime = System.currentTimeMillis();
System.out.println();
System.out.println(endTime - startTime);
}
catch (final Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}

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Return to Reflection
 Reflection enables dynamic loading
– Reflection  dynamic loading
– Dynamic loading  Reflection
• Think of dynamically-loaded shared libraries in
C-based operating systems, such as AmigaOS,
Linux, UN*X, Windows…
⁄

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Outline
 Rationale
 Definition
 Context
 Scenarios
 Theory
 Conclusion
 Appendix

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Scenarios
 Original problem
– Different interpretations
– Different contexts
 Four scenarios
 Three programming languages

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1: invoke an arbitrary method on
an object (see the problems with
instanceof and plugins)
– Given a class C
– Given an object o, instance of C
– Identify all the methods available on o
– Invoke a method using its name foo

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Scenarios
 Scenario 2: access the complete (including
private) state of an object (see the problem
with serialisation)
– Save on disk the complete state of o
– Restore from disk the object o at a later time

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3: count the number of instances of
a class created at runtime (see the problem
with debugging/profiling)
– Given a class C
– Record the number of its instances ever created
– Report this number when the program ends

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4: patch the method of a class to
change its behaviour (see the problem with
patching)
– Without changing o or C
– Change the behaviour of o.foo()

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Scenarios Java
Smalltalk
C++
Python

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Given a class C
public class C {
private int i;
public C(final int anInt) {
this.i = anInt;
}
public void foo(final String s) {
System.out.print(s);
System.out.println(this.i);
}
}

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Given a class C
Identify all the methods available on o
foo
getClass
hashCode
equals
toString
notify
notifyAll
wait
wait
wait
Invoke a method using its name foo
This is foo: 42

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Given a class C
final C o = new C(42);
System.out.println("Identify all the methods available on o");
final Class<?> classOfO = o.getClass();
final Method[] methodsOfC = classOfO.getMethods();
for (int i = 0; i < methodsOfC.length; i++) {
final Method method = methodsOfC[i];
System.out.print('t');
System.out.println(method.getName());
}
System.out.println("Invoke a method using its name foo");
final Method fooMethod = classOfO.getMethod("foo", new Class[] { String.class });
fooMethod.invoke(o, new Object[] { "tThis is foo: " });

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Given a class C
foo
getClass
hashCode
equals
toString
notify
notifyAll
wait
wait
wait
This is foo: 42

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Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
public class C {
private int i;
public C() {
this(-1);
}
this.i = anInt;
}
}
}

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Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
Save on disk the complete state of o
i = 42
Restore from disk the object o at a later time
This is foo on o2: 43

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Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
final C o1 = new C(42);
System.out.println("Save on disk the complete state of o");
final Class<?> classOfO = o1.getClass();
final Field[] fieldsOfC = classOfO.getDeclaredFields();
for (int i = 0; i < fieldsOfC.length; i++) {
final Field field = fieldsOfC[i];
field.setAccessible(true);
System.out.print('t' + field.getName());
System.out.println(" = " + field.getInt(o1));
}
System.out.println("Restore from disk the object o at a later time");
final C o2 = (C) classOfO.newInstance();
final Field fieldiOfC = classOfO.getDeclaredField("i");
fieldiOfC.setAccessible(true);
fieldiOfC.setInt(o2, 43);
o2.foo("tThis is foo on o2: ");

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Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
i = 42

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
– Given a class C
– Record the numbers of its instance ever created
public class C {
private static int numberOfInstances;
public static int getNumberOfInstances() {
return C.numberOfInstances;
}
private int i;
public C() {
this(-1);
}
C.numberOfInstances++;
this.i = anInt;
}
}
}

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
net.ptidej.reflection.scenario3.C@150bd4d
net.ptidej. reflection.scenario3.C@1bc4459
net.ptidej.reflection.scenario3.C@12b6651
3
– Given a class C

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
public class Main {
System.out.println(o1 + "n" + o2 + 'n' + o3);
System.out.println(C.getNumberOfInstances());
}
}
– Given a class C

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
net.ptidej.reflection.scenario3.C@1bc4459
3
– Given a class C

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
net.ptidej.reflection.scenario3.C@1bc4459
3
To fulfill this scenario,
we must modify C
– Given a class C

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Scenarios
 Class Class is a metaclass
– It describes other classes
 Class Method is a class
– It describes methods
 Class Field is a class
– It describes fields

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Scenarios
– It allows to reify classes
– It allows to reify methods, these language
constructs become first-class entities
– It allows to reify fields , these language

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Scenarios
– It allows to reify fields, these language

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Scenarios
– It allows to reify fields, these language
Reification is the process of
making available an implicit
construct of a language

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Scenarios
 We never modified class Class
– We only used it to obtain the methods and fields
declared by particular classes, e.g., C
 We used static fields and methods to count
number of instances

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
public interface I {
public void foo(final String s);
}
public class C implements I {
private int i;
this.i = anInt;
}
}
}

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
This is o: 42
Forwarding method: "foo"
Original arguments: "This is o: "
New arguments: "THIS IS O: "
THIS IS O: 42

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
final I o = new C(42);
o.foo("This is o: ");
final InvocationHandler handler = new InvokationHandler(o);
final I proxy =
(I) Proxy.newProxyInstance(
I.class.getClassLoader(),
new Class[] { I.class },
handler);
Assert.assertTrue(proxy instanceof I);
Assert.assertFalse(proxy instanceof C);
Assert.assertTrue(proxy.equals(o));
proxy.foo("This is o: ");

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Scenarios

Scenario
4:
public class InvokationHandler implements InvocationHandler {
private final I i;
public InvokationHandler(final I aConcreteImplementationOfI) {
this.i = aConcreteImplementationOfI;
}
public Object invoke(
final Object aProxy,
final Method aMethod,
final Object[] someArgs) throws Throwable {
if (aMethod.getName().equals("foo")) {
final String arg = (String) someArgs[0];
final String newArg = arg.toUpperCase();
System.out.print("Forwarding method: "");
System.out.print(aMethod.getName());
System.out.print(""ntOriginal arguments: "");
System.out.print(arg);
System.out.print(""ntNew arguments: "");
System.out.print(newArg);
System.out.println('"');
this.i.foo(newArg);
return null;
}
else {
return aMethod.invoke(this.i, someArgs);
}
}
}
–
Given
an
object
o,
instance
of
C
–
Without
changing
o
or
C
–
Change
the
behaviour
of
o.foo()

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
final I proxy =
handler);

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
final I proxy =
handler);
Properties of the
proxy ensured by
the Java VM

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Scenarios
 Smalltalk
– Everything is an object

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Scenarios
 Smalltalk
– Everything is an object
– Everything is an object, really
static

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Scenarios
 Smalltalk
– SmalltalkImage is the class that “represent[s]
the current image and runtime environment,
including system organization, the virtual
machine, object memory, plugins, and source
files. [Its] instance variable #globals is a
reference to the system dictionary of global
variables and class names. [Its] singleton
instance is called Smalltalk.”

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Scenarios
 Smalltalk
– Object is “the root class for almost all of the
other classes in the class hierarchy. […] Class
Object provides default behavior common to
all normal objects, such as access, copying,
comparison, error handling, message sending,
and reflection. Also utility messages that all
objects should respond to are defined here.”

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Scenarios
 Smalltalk
– Class “[adds] instance-specific behavior to
various class-describing objects in the system.
This typically includes messages for initializing
class variables and instance creation messages
particular to a class. There is only one instance
of a particular Metaclass, namely the class
which is being described.”

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Given a class C
Object subclass: #C
instanceVariableNames: 'i'
classVariableNames: ''
poolDictionaries: ''
category: 'CSE3009'.
C class compile: 'newWithi: anInt
^(self new) i: anInt ; yourself.'.
C compile: 'foo: aText
Transcript show: aText.
Transcript show: i.
Transcript cr.'.
C compile: 'i: anInt
i := anInt.'.

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Given a class C
an IdentitySet(#handles: #longPrintString #actionMap
#hasContentsInExplorer [...] #foo: [...] #i: [...]
#creationStamp)
This is foo: 42

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Given a class C
|o|
o := C newWithi: 42.
Transcript show: 'Identify all the methods available on o' ; cr.
Transcript show: C allSelectors ; cr.
Transcript show: 'Invoke a method using its name foo' ; cr.
(C compiledMethodAt: #foo:) valueWithReceiver: o arguments: #('This is foo: ').

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Given a class C
|o|
Transcript show: 'Identify all the methods available on o' ; cr.
Transcript show: C allSelectors ; cr.
Transcript show: 'Invoke a method using its name foo' ; cr.
(C compiledMethodAt: #foo:) valueWithReceiver: o arguments: #('This is foo: ').
Simple and straightforward

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Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
Object subclass: #C
Transcript show: i.
Transcript cr.'.
i := anInt.'.

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Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
42

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Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
|o1 o2|
o1 := C newWithi: 42.
Transcript show: 'Save on disk the complete state of o' ; cr.
Transcript show: (o1 instVarAt: 1) ; cr.
Transcript show: 'Restore from disk the object o at a later time' ; cr.
o2 := C new.
o2 instVarNamed: 'i' put: 43.
o2 foo: 'This is foo on o2: '.

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Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
|o1 o2|
Transcript show: 'Save on disk the complete state of o' ; cr.
Transcript show: (o1 instVarAt: 1) ; cr.
Transcript show: 'Restore from disk the object o at a later time' ; cr.
o2 := C new.
o2 instVarNamed: 'i' put: 43.
o2 foo: 'This is foo on o2: '.
Again, simple and straightforward

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Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
– Pharo (a recent implementation of Smalltalk)
provides is a general object serialiser that can
serialise any object
– Uses reflection to implement these methods!
1@2 serializeToFileNamed: 'hello.fuel'.
FLMaterializer materializeFromFileNamed: 'hello.fuel'
Thanks to Marcus Denker for pointing out these helper methods

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
Object subclass: #C
classVariableNames: 'NumberOfInstances'
Transcript show: i.
Transcript cr.'.
i := anInt.'.
– Given a class C

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
Object subclass: #C
classVariableNames: 'NumberOfInstances'
Transcript show: i.
Transcript cr.'.
i := anInt.'.
– Given a class C
Only difference with
Scenarios 1 and 2

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
Transcript show: i.
Transcript cr.'.
i := anInt.'.
– Given a class C

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
Transcript show: i.
Transcript cr.'.
i := anInt.'.
Same as Scenarios 1 and 2
– Given a class C

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
C class compile: 'initialize
NumberOfInstances := 0.'.
C class compile: 'new
NumberOfInstances := NumberOfInstances + 1.
^ self basicNew initialize.'.
C class compile: 'numberOfInstances
^ NumberOfInstances.'.
– Given a class C

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
C class compile: 'initialize
NumberOfInstances := 0.'.
C class compile: 'new
C class compile: 'numberOfInstances
– Given a class C
“Write access” to the metaclass

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
|o1 o2 o3|
C initialize.
Transcript show: o1 ; show: ' ' ; show: o2 ; show: ' ' ; show: o3 ; cr.
Transcript show: C numberOfInstances.
– Given a class C

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
a C a C a C
3
– Given a class C

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
a C a C a C
3
To fulfill this
scenario, we modified
C class not C
– Given a class C

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
In Smalltalk, each class has one anonymous
meta-class, which can be modified
• Adding new variables and methods which are thus
class variables and class methods
• These methods apply on the class, these fields
belong to the class (thus unique)
– Given a class C

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
– What about a subclass D of C?
– How would its instances be counted?
a C a C a C
3
– Given a class C
Thanks to Christophe Dony for suggesting this use of class vs. class instance variables

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
– In C++ and Java: static = global
• The class variables is shared by all the instances of
its declaring class… and its subclasses!
final D o4 = new D();
// Eclipse advises to use C to call getNumberOfInstances().
System.out.println(o4);
System.out.println(D.getNumberOfInstances());
– Given a class C

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
– In Smalltalk: class vs. class instance
• Class variable vs. class instance variable
– A class variable is shared by all the instance of the
class and all the instances of its subclasses
– A class instance variable is unique to each class,
inherited from the super-class, like instance variables
C class instanceVariableNames:
'IndividualClassNumberOfInstances'
– Given a class C

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
C subclass: #D
instanceVariableNames: ''
category: 'Ptidej'.
D class compile: 'initialize
IndividualClassNumberOfInstances := 0.'.
D class compile: 'new
IndividualClassNumberOfInstances := IndividualClassNumberOfInstances + 1.
D class compile: 'numberOfInstances
D class compile: 'individualClassNumberOfInstances
^ IndividualClassNumberOfInstances.'.
– Given a class C

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
| o4 |
D initialize.
o4 := D new.
Transcript show: o4 ; cr.
Transcript show: C numberOfInstances ; cr.
Transcript show: D numberOfInstances ; cr.
Transcript show: D individualClassNumberOfInstances ; cr.
– Given a class C
a D
4
4
1

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
– In Java: the JVM contains the world
• Possible to connect to a JVM using the Java Debug
Interface of the Java Platform Debug Architecture
• Possible to reify the classes existing in the remote
JVM and to obtain their instances
com.sun.jdi.ReferenceType.instances(long)
• Special feature of the JVM, “outside” of the normal
constructs of the language
– Given a class C
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1947122/
is-there-a-simple-way-of-obtaining-all-object-instances-of-a-specific-class-in-j/1947200#1947200

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
– In Smalltalk: the image contains the world
• Possible to ask it all the instances of a particular class
or all the instances currently in memory
Transcript show: (C allInstances size).
– Given a class C
Thanks to Marcus Denker for pointing out this solution

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
Object subclass: #C
Transcript show: i.
Transcript cr.'.
i := anInt.'.

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
This is o: 42
Intercepting message send: foo:
Original arguments: This is o:
New arguments: THIS IS O:
THIS IS O: 42

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
Several choices
• ObjectWrappers: http://magaloma.seasidehosting.st/
Kernel#ObjectTracer
• MethodWrappers: http://pharo.gforge.inria.fr/
PBE1/PBE1ch15.html
• Reflectivity: http://scg.unibe.ch/Research/Reflectivity
• …

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
Several choices
Kernel#ObjectTracer
PBE1/PBE1ch15.html
• …

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
| o aWrapper |
o foo: 'This is o: '.
aWrapper := WrapperForC on: o.
"o become: aWrapper."
aWrapper foo: 'This is o: '.
aWrapper xxxUnTrace.

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 Scenario 4:
ObjectTracer subclass: #WrapperForC
instanceVariableNames: ''
WrapperForC compile: 'doesNotUnderstand: aMessage
"Intercept the selector foo:"
| sel arg newArg |
sel := aMessage selector.
sel = ''foo:'' ifTrue: [
arg := (aMessage arguments) at: 1.
newArg := arg asUppercase.
Transcript show: ''Intercepting message send: '' ; show: sel ; cr.
Transcript tab ; show: ''Original arguments: '' ; show: arg ; cr.
Transcript tab ; show: ''New arguments: '' ; show: newArg ; cr.
aMessage argument: newArg.
aMessage sendTo: (self xxxViewedObject)
]
ifFalse: [
"Transcript show: aMessage."
]'.

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
This is o: 42
THIS IS O: 42
| o aWrapper |
aWrapper := WrapperForC on: o.
"o become: aWrapper."
aWrapper foo: 'This is o: '.
aWrapper xxxUnTrace.

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
– We created the class WrappedForC that does
not understand many messages (as subclass
of ProtoObject)
– We wrapped an instance of WrappedForC
around o and use doesNotUnderstand: to
proxy messages

117/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
– We created the class WrappedForC that does
not understand many messages (as subclass
of ProtoObject)
– We wrapped an instance of WrappedForC
around o and use doesNotUnderstand: to
proxy messages

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
Several choices
Kernel#ObjectTracer
PBE1/PBE1ch15.html
• …

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Scenarios
 Reflectivity
– Marcus Denker, RMOD Team, INRIA
Lille, and others
– Extensions to the standard reflection features of
Smalltalk (both structural and behavioural)
• Structural reflection is extended by sub-method
reflection: method bodies are first-class
• Behavioural reflection is provided by Geppetto, an
implementation of Partial Behavioural Reflection

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
Object subclass: #C
Transcript show: i.
Transcript cr.'.
i := anInt.'.

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
– Sub-method reflection
nodes := (C>>#foo:) sends select: [:each |
((each selector ~= #show:)
or: (each arguments) size ~= 1)
ifTrue: [ false ]
ifFalse: [ (each arguments at: 1) name = 'aText'. ].
].

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
– Meta-object
gpLink := GPLink metaObject: [:arg1 :node |
| newArg |
newArg := arg1 asUppercase.
Transcript show: 'Intercepting message send: '.
Transcript show: node ; cr.
Transcript tab ; show: 'Original arguments: '.
Transcript show: arg1 ; cr.
Transcript tab ; show: 'New arguments: '.
Transcript show: newArg ; cr.
Transcript show: newArg.
].
gpLink control: #instead.

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
– Linking
nodes do: [:node |
node link: gpLink].
gpLink uninstall.
This is o: 42
THIS IS O: 42

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Scenarios Java
Smalltalk
C++
Python

126/287
Scenarios
 Scenarios 1, 2, 3, and 4
More difficult to implement “as is”
• http://stackoverflow.com/questions/359237/why-does-
c-not-have-reflection
• http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg21/docs/papers/
2005/n1751.html

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Scenarios
Third-party solutions
• Mirror: http://kifri.fri.uniza.sk/~chochlik/mirror-
lib/html/index.html#introduction
• VisualStudio.NET: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/y0114hz2%28v=vs.110%29.aspx
• …

128/287
Scenarios
Third-party solutions
• Mirror: http://kifri.fri.uniza.sk/~chochlik/mirror-
lib/html/index.html#introduction
• VisualStudio.NET: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/y0114hz2%28v=vs.110%29.aspx
• …

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Scenarios
 Mirror
– Matúš Chochlík, University of Žilina,
Žilina, Slovakia
“[C]ompile-time and run-time meta-data
describing C++ constructs like namespaces,
types typedef-ined types, enums, classes
with their base classes, member variables,
constructors, member functions, etc.”

130/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Given a class C
namespace cse3009 {
class C {
private:
int i;
public:
C(const int _i) : i(_i) {
}
int get_i(void) const {
return this->i;
}
void set_i(const int _i) {
this->i = _i;
}
void foo(const std::string _s) const {
std::cout << _s << this->i << std::endl;
}
};
}

131/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Given a class C
(The type of o is cse3009::C)
cse3009::C::i
cse3009::C::foo
This is foo: 42

132/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Given a class C
int main(void) {
cse3009::C * o = new cse3009::C(42);
std::cout << "Identify all the methods available on o" << std::endl;
identify_members(o);
std::cout << "Invoke a method using its name foo" << std::endl;
invoke_member_function(o);
return 0;
}

133/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Given a class C
template<typename O>
void identify_members(O * _o) {
using namespace mirror;
typedef MIRRORED_CLASS(O) meta_Class;
std::cout << "t(The type of o is " << meta_Class::full_name()
<< ")" << std::endl;
std::cout << "t";
mp::for_each_ii< all_member_variables<meta_Class> >(info_printer());
std::cout << std::endl << "t";
mp::for_each_ii< member_functions<meta_Class> >(info_printer());
std::cout << std::endl;
}

134/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Given a class C
void invoke_member_function(O * _o) {
typedef MIRRORED_CLASS(cse3009::C) meta_Class;
typedef mp::at_c<overloads<
mp::at_c<member_functions<meta_Class>, 0>::type>, 0>::type
meta_foo;
my_invoker_maker::invoker<meta_foo>::type invoker(
std::string("tThis is foo: "));
invoker.call_on(*_o);
}

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Scenarios
 Mirror
– Provides essentially the same concepts and
features as java.lang.reflect of Java
– Uses templates and (manual) registration to
collect metadata that does not exist unless
manually created through macro preprocessing

136/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Given a class C
MIRROR_REG_BEGIN
MIRROR_QREG_GLOBAL_SCOPE_NAMESPACE(std)
MIRROR_REG_CLASS_BEGIN(struct, std, string)
MIRROR_REG_CLASS_END
MIRROR_QREG_GLOBAL_SCOPE_NAMESPACE(cse3009)
MIRROR_REG_CLASS_BEGIN(class, cse3009, C)
MIRROR_REG_CLASS_MEM_VARS_BEGIN
MIRROR_REG_CLASS_MEM_VAR_GET_SET(
private, _, int, i, _.get_i(), _.set_i(_i))
MIRROR_REG_CLASS_MEM_VARS_END
MIRROR_REG_MEM_FUNCTIONS_BEGIN
MIRROR_REG_MEM_OVLD_FUNC_BEGIN(foo)
MIRROR_REG_MEM_FUNCTION_BEGIN(public, _, void, foo, 1)
MIRROR_REG_MEM_FUNCTION_PARAM(std::string, _s)
MIRROR_REG_MEM_FUNCTION_END(1, _)
MIRROR_REG_MEM_OVLD_FUNC_END(foo)
MIRROR_REG_MEM_FUNCTIONS_END
MIRROR_REG_CLASS_END
MIRROR_REG_END

137/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Given a class C
template<class Unused>
struct my_manufacturer<std::string, Unused> {
const std::string s;
template<class ConstructionInfo>
inline my_manufacturer(const std::string _s,
const ConstructionInfo construction_info) : s(_s) {
}
void finish(std::string) const {
}
inline std::string operator()(void) const {
return s;
}
};
typedef mirror::invoker_maker<my_manufacturer, mirror::default_fact_suppliers,
my_enumerator, void> my_invoker_maker;

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Scenarios
 Mirror
– Uses complex code that can be easily and
advantageously hidden in libraries
– Will possibly become part of Boost and the
standard reflection library for C++
• http://kifri.fri.uniza.sk/~chochlik/jtc1_sc22_wg21/
std_cpp_refl-latest.pdf

139/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
namespace cse3009 {
class C {
private:
int i;
public:
}
int get_i(void) const {
return this->i;
}
void set_i(const int _i) {
this->i = _i;
}
}
};
}

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Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
(The type of o is cse3009::C)
cse3009::C::i = 42
43

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Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
int main(void) {
cse3009::C * o = new cse3009::C(42);
std::cout << "Save on disk the complete state of o" << std::endl;
save_on_disk(o);
std::cout << "Restore from disk the object o at a later time" << std::endl;
restore_from_disk<cse3009::C>();
return 0;
}

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Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
void save_on_disk(O * _o) {
typedef MIRRORED_CLASS(O)meta_Class;
std::cout << "t(The type of o is " <<
meta_Class::full_name() << ")" << std::endl << "t";
mp::for_each_ii<all_member_variables<meta_Class>>(
info_printer_variables<O>(*_o));
}

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Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
template<class O>
struct info_printer_variables {
O o;
inline info_printer_variables(O _o) : o(_o) {
}
template<class IterInfo>
void operator()(IterInfo) {
std::cout << IterInfo::type::full_name()
<< " = " << IterInfo::type::get(o);
if (!IterInfo::is_last::value)
std::cout << ", ";
}
};

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Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
template<class O>
struct info_printer_variables {
O o;
inline info_printer_variables(O _o) : o(_o) {
}
void operator()(IterInfo) {
std::cout << IterInfo::type::full_name()
<< " = " << IterInfo::type::get(o);
if (!IterInfo::is_last::value)
std::cout << ", ";
}
};
Get the value of reflected variable

145/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
void restore_from_disk(void) {
typedef typename my_factory_maker::factory<O>::type my_factory_type;
my_factory_type my_factory(43);
O o(my_factory());
std::cout << "t" << o.get_i() << std::endl;
}

146/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
typedef mirror::factory_maker<
my_manufacturer,
mirror::default_fact_suppliers,
my_enumerator,
void> my_factory_maker;

147/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
typedef mirror::factory_maker<
my_manufacturer,
my_enumerator,
void> my_factory_maker;
Factory generating instances
of (possibly) different types

148/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
struct my_manufacturer<void, Unused> {
template<typename Context>
my_manufacturer(int _value, Context) { }
void finish(int) { }
inline int add_constructor(
int _value, ConstructionInfo) const {
return _value;
}
inline int index(void) {
return 0;
}
};

149/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
struct my_manufacturer<void, Unused> {
template<typename Context>
my_manufacturer(int _value, Context) { }
inline int add_constructor(
int _value, ConstructionInfo) const {
return _value;
}
inline int index(void) {
return 0;
}
};
To pass on to
the constructor

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template<class Product, typename IsEnum>
struct my_base_manufacturer {
Product x;
struct constr_param_name_printer {
inline void operator()(IterInfo) const {
if (!IterInfo::is_first::value)
std::cout << ", ";
std::cout << IterInfo::type::base_name();
}
};
struct constr_context_printer {
std::cout << "::";
}
};
my_base_manufacturer(int tabs,
ConstructionInfo construction_info,
const Product& _x) : x(tabs) { }
void finish(int) {
}
inline Product operator()(void) {
return x;
}
};
template<class Product, class Unused>
struct my_enumerator :
my_base_manufacturer<Product, std::true_type> {
inline my_enumerator(int tabs,
ConstructionInfo construction_info) :
my_base_manufacturer<Product, std::true_type>(
tabs, construction_info, Product()) { }
return NULL;
}
};
struct my_manufacturer {
typedef typename mirror::factory_maker<
my_manufacturer,
my_enumerator,
Unused> maker;
typename maker::template factory<Product>::type f;
inline my_manufacturer(
int _value, ConstructionInfo construction_info) :
f(construction_info) { }
return f();
}
};

151/287
Product x;
std::cout << ", ";
}
};
std::cout << "::";
}
};
void finish(int) {
}
return x;
}
};
return NULL;
}
};
my_manufacturer,
my_enumerator,
Unused> maker;
return f();
}
};
Less complex than it looks!

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Product x;
std::cout << ", ";
}
};
std::cout << "::";
}
};
void finish(int) {
}
return x;
}
};
return NULL;
}
};
my_manufacturer,
my_enumerator,
Unused> maker;
return f();
}
};
Less complex than it looks!
Can be replaced by existing factories

153/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
– Mirror provides many ready-to-use factories
• From strings (mirror/example/factories/tetrahedron_script.cpp)
• From a SOCI database (mirror/example/factories/tetrahedron_soci.cpp)
// make the input object for the factory
script_factory_input in;
// create a factory plugged with the script parser
script_factory_maker::factory<tetrahedron>::type f = in.data();
// make a tetrahedron object factory
soci_quick_factory_maker::factory<test::tetrahedron>::type
tetrahedron_factory = soci_fact_data(r);
while(r != e) {
test::tetrahedron t = tetrahedron_factory();
// and write it to std output
std::cout << stream::to_json::from(t, [&i](std::ostream& out) {
out << "tetrahedron_" << i; } ) << std::endl;

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
namespace cse3009 {
class C {
private:
int i;
static int numberOfInstances;
public:
numberOfInstances++;
}
...
}
static int getNumberOfInstances() {
return numberOfInstances;
}
};
}
– Given a class C

155/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
int cse3009::C::numberOfInstances = 0;
int main(void) {
cse3009::C * o1 = new cse3009::C(42);
cse3009::C * o2 = new cse3009::C(1);
cse3009::C * o3 = new cse3009::C(100);
std::cout << o1 << std::endl << o2 << std::endl << o3 << std::endl;
std::cout << cse3009::C::getNumberOfInstances() << std::endl;
return 0;
}
– Given a class C

156/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
0x800418f8
0x80041908
0x80041918
3
– Given a class C

157/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
0x800418f8
0x80041908
0x80041918
3
– Given a class C
To fulfill this scenario, we
must modify C as in Java

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
– Several choices
• Bjarne Stroustrup's Template:
http://www.stroustrup.com/wrapper.pdf
• Herb Sutter's Functor-based Approach:
http://channel9.msdn.com/Shows/Going+Deep/
C-and-Beyond-2012-Herb-Sutter-Concurrency-and-
Parallelism
• Ion Armagedescu’s CPatcher:
http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/34237/A-C-Style-
of-Intercepting-Functions

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
– Several choices
Parallelism

160/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
Bjarne Stroustrup's Template:
(Prefix::operator->())
This is o: 42

161/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
int main(void) {
std::cout << "Bjarne Stroustrup's Template:" << std::endl;
cse3009::C o2(42);
Prefix<cse3009::C> prefixed_o2(&o2);
prefixed_o2->foo("This is o: ");
return 0;
}

162/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
template<class T>
class Prefix {
T* p;
public:
Prefix(T * _p) : p(_p) { }
T* operator->() {
std::cout << "(Prefix::operator->())" << std::endl;
return p;
}
};

163/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
– Is similar to a proxy in Java
– Cannot easily access and modify the
arguments of the proxy’ed method call
– Makes it difficult to do something after the
original method call

164/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
– Several choices
Parallelism

165/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
Dependent on the compiler!
GCC v4.8.2
vs.
Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2013
Visual C++ 2013 06157-004-0441005-02428

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
– GCC v4.8.2
In file included from ..Sourcescenario4.cpp:32:0:
..Source../CPatcher/patcher.h: In instantiation of 'void
CPatch::HookClassFunctions(T1&, T2, bool, bool) [with T1 =
void (cse3009::C::*)(std::basic_string<char>); T2 = void
(class_for_patches::*)(std::basic_string<char>)]':
..Source../CPatcher/patcher_defines.h:131:2: required
from 'CPatch::CPatch(TReturnVal (TClassSource::*&)(TArg1),
TReturnVal (TClassTarget::*)(TArg1), bool, bool) [with
TClassSource = cse3009::C; TClassTarget =
class_for_patches; TReturnVal = void; TArg1 =
std::basic_string<char>]' ..Sourcescenario4.cpp:52:61:
required from here

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
– GCC v4.8.2
may not be legal
• http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/34237/A-C-Style-
of-Intercepting-Functions?msg=4796042
• http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1307278/casting-
between-void-and-a-pointer-to-member-function
*reinterpret_cast<long*>(&fn_funcToHook)
*reinterpret_cast<long*>(&fn_Hook)

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
– Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2013
void(ptidej::C::*pfn_foo)(const std::string) = &ptidej::C::foo;
class proxy {
public:
void my_foo(const std::string s) {
std::cout << "Function foo() is patched!" << std::endl << std::flush;
(reinterpret_cast<ptidej::C*>(this)->*pfn_foo)(s);
}
};
int _tmain(int argc, _TCHAR* argv[]) {
CPatch patch_aclass_doSomething(pfn_foo, &proxy::my_foo);
ptidej::C o(42);
o.foo(std::string("This is o: "));
return 0;
}

169/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
– Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2013
Function foo() is patched!
This is o: 42

170/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
– Is similar to a proxy in Java
– Can easily access and modify the arguments
of the proxy’ed method call
– Makes it difficult to do something after the
original method call

172/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Given a class C
class C:
def __init__(self, i:int):
self._i = i
def foo(self, s:str):
print(s + str(self._i))
o = C(42)

173/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– No single way ·
– No complete way ☲
– Methods are attributes that wrap functions
• The Python interpreter checks and calls special methods
on attributes when a program accesses these attributes
– Given a class C
https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/questions/206860/why-are-methods-considered-the-class-attributes-in-python

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Simple way
– Given a class C
print("Identify all the methods available on o")
for name in dir(o):
if callable(getattr(o, name)):
print(name)
print("Invoke a method using its name foo")
thefoo = getattr(o, 'foo’)
thefoo("This is foo: ")

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Simple way
– Given a class C
__class__
__delattr__
__dir__
…
__init__
__init_subclass__
…
__new__
…
__str__
__subclasshook__
foo
This is foo: 42

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Simple way, some explanations
– Given a class C
for name in dir(o):
print(name)

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Given a class C
Returns all the names
in the scope/object
for name in dir(o):
print(name)

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Given a class C
Returns all the names
in the scope/object
Gets the attribute
with that name in o
for name in dir(o):
print(name)

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Simple way, a problem
– Given a class C
for name in dir(o):
print(name)

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Simple way, a problem
– Given a class C
Not completely dynamic
for name in dir(o):
print(name)

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Some other ways
– Given a class C
class C:
self._i = i
def fooNoArg(self):
print("This is foo")
def fooWithString(self, s:str):
def barNoArg():
print("This is bar")
def barWithString(s:str):
print(s + "42")
o = C(42)

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Some other ways
• Two questions
– How to obtain a callable attribute?
– How to execute a callable attribute?
– Given a class C

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Some other ways
• Two questions
– Given a class C

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
• Methods
• Functions
– Given a class C

185/287
Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
• Methods
• Functions
– Given a class C
thefoo = getattr(o, "fooNoArg")
thefoo = getattr(o, "fooWithString")

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
• Methods
• Functions
– Defined in a class
– Defined in a module
– Given a class C

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
• Methods
• Functions
– Given a class C
thefoo = C.fooNoArg
thefoo = C.__dict__['fooNoArg']
thefoo = list(C.__dict__.values())[2]

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
• Methods
• Functions
– Given a class C
thebar = barNoArg
thebar = locals()['barNoArg']
tehbar = list(locals().values())[10]

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
• Special mentions!
– Given a class C
special = attrgetter("fooWithString")
special(o)("This is foo: ")
special = methodcaller("fooWithString", "This is foo: ")
special(o)
special = compile("""
def barNoArg():
print("This is bar")
barNoArg()""", "<string>", "exec")
exec(special)

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– Some other ways
• Two questions
– Given a class C

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
• With a string
• With a method (bound method)
• With a function (unbound method)
– Given a class C

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
• With a string
– Given a class C
eval("o.fooNoArg()") # Or exec("o.fooNoArg()")
eval("o.fooWithString('This is foo: ')") # Or exec("o.fooWithString('This is foo: ')")
eval("barNoArg()") # Or exec("barNoArg()")
eval("barWithString('This is bar')") # Or exec("barWithString()")
https://github.com/pwwang/python-varname

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
• With a string
– Given a class C
thefoo = getattr(o, "fooNoArg")
thefoo() # Or thefoo.__call__()
thefoo = getattr(o, "fooWithString")
thefoo("This is foo: ") # Or thefoo.__call__("This is foo: ")
# Not applicable to functions

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
• With a string
– Given a class C
thefoo = C.fooNoArg
thefoo(o) # Or thefoo.__call__(o)
thefoo = C.fooWithString
thefoo(o, "This is foo: ") # Or thefoo.__call__(o, "This is foo: ")
thebar = barNoArg
thebar() # Or thebar.__call__()
thebar = barWithString
thebar("This is bar: ") # Or thebar.__call__("This is bar: ")

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Scenarios
 Scenario 1:
– No complete way
• The __dict__ and __slots__ attributes are writable
• The method __getattribute__() is “[c]alled uncon-
ditionally to implement attribute accesses” and can
thus hide/provide what it wants
• Only get_referents() may be safe…
– Given a class C
import gc
print(gc.get_referents(C))
print(gc.get_referents(o))
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/42497929/lowlevel-introspection-in-python3
[{'__module__': '__main__', '__init__’: ...]
[42, <class '__main__.C'>]

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Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
o._i = 42 (int)
o._i = 43

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Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
class C:
self._i = i
def foo(self, s:str):
o = C(42)
print("Save on disk the complete state of o")
for name in vars(o):
print("o." + str(name) + " = " + str(getattr(o, name)) +
" (" + type(getattr(o, name)).__name__ + ")")
print("Restore from disk the object o at a later time")
o = C.__new__(C)
# print(o._i) # o doesn't have an attribute _i yet!
setattr(o, "_i", 43)
print(f"o._i = {o._i}")

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Scenarios
 Scenario 2:
– Quite trivial because Python is a dynamic
programming language
– The methods __call__(), __new__(), and
__init__() control instantiation

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
class C(....................................):
pass
class D():
pass
x = C()
print(C.getNumberOfInstances())
y = C()
z = C()
x = D()
y = D()
– Given a class C

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
class C(....................................):
pass
class D():
pass
x = C()
y = C()
z = C()
x = D()
y = D()
– Given a class C
1
2
3

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
class C(....................................):
pass
class D():
pass
x = C()
y = C()
z = C()
x = D()
y = D()
– Given a class C
1
2
3
The magic’s here

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
class C(metaclass=ReferenceCountingMetaClass):
pass
class D():
pass
x = C()
y = C()
z = C()
x = D()
y = D()
– Given a class C
The magic’s here

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
– Given a class C
class ReferenceCountingMetaClass(type):
def __init__(self, name, bases, namespace):
self._instances = 0
def __call__(self):
newInstance = super().__call__()
self._instances = self._instances + 1
return newInstance
def getNumberOfInstances(self):
return self._instances

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 Scenario 3:
Scenarios
– Given a class C
self._instances = 0
def __call__(self):
newInstance = super().__call__()
self._instances = self._instances + 1
return newInstance
return self._instances
Override the __call__ metaclass instance method
Define the get…() metaclass instance method

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
– A method declared in a class applies on the
instances of this class, i.e., objects
– A method declared in a metaclass applies on the
instances of this metaclass, i.e., classes
– Given a class C

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Scenarios
 Scenario 3:
– The overriding of __call__ allows changing the
instantiation of a class because the instantiation
process is actually a method call
(Similar to C++, Java, or Smalltalk, the instantiation could
be done directly using cls.__new__(cls) but without the
automatic initialisation of the instance by __init__())
– Given a class C
x = C()

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
– Straightforward because
• Everything is an object in Python, including methods
• Everything can be assigned anything
– Except read-only properties or other special cases

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
class C:
def foo(self):
print("This is foo()")
def bar(self, s:str):
print(f"This is bar() with {s}")
o = C()
o.foo()
def foo2():
print("This is the new foo()")
o.foo = foo2
o.foo()
o.bar("1")
def bar2(s:str):
print(f"This is the new bar() with {s}")
o.bar = bar2
o.bar("2")
This is foo()
This is the new foo()
This is bar() with 1
This is the new bar() with 2

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
– Special mentions!
• No final keyword in Python
But
• The concept of properties
• The __setattr__() method

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
– The concept of properties
class C:
def __init__(self):
self._x = 42
@property
def x(self):
return self._x
o = C()
print(o.x)
o.x = 0
print(o.x)
42
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "...", line 12, in <module>
o.x = 0
^^^
AttributeError: property 'x' of 'C'
object has no setter

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Scenarios
 Scenario 4:
– The __setattr__() method
class C:
def __setattr__(self, attr, value):
if hasattr(self, attr):
raise Exception("Attempting to alter read-only value")
self.__dict__[attr] = value
def foo(self):
print("This is foo()")
o = C()
o.foo()
def foo2():
print("This is the new foo()")
o.foo = foo2
o.foo()
This is foo()
File "...", line 15, in <module>
o.foo = foo2
^^^^^
File "...", line 4, in __setattr_
raise Exception("Attempting…")

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Scenarios Java 



Smalltalk 



C++ 



Python 




213/287
Scenarios Java 



Smalltalk 



C++ 



Python 




214/287
Scenarios Java 



Smalltalk 



C++ 



Python 



Differences in semantics and syntax due to the difference
of runtime environments and of object models

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Outline
 Rationale
 Definition
 Context
 Scenarios
 Theory
 Conclusion
 Appendix

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Theory
 Class
– A programming construct that encapsulates
some state (fields) and behaviours (methods)
– A construct whose instances are objects
 Metaclass
– A programming construct that encapsulates
some state (fields) and behaviours (methods)
– A construct whose instances are classes
Aristote (Ἀριστοτέλης)
*-384 †-322

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Theory
 An object is an instance of a class
– A class generates an object
 A class is an instance of a metaclass
– A metaclass generates a class
 A metaclass is an instance of…

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Theory
(a) A meta-metaclass?

219/287
Theory
(b) Itself?

220/287
Theory
(b) Itself

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Theory
 Typically
– The class Object is the parent of all classes,
including metaclasses
– One given metaclass is the generator of all
classes, including Object

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Theory
 The object model
defines the organisation
among metaclasses,
classes, and objects
– Inheritance vs.
Instantiation
– Multiplicity, reification,
mutability
– …
 The meta-object
protocol (MOP ⧠)
defines the interactions
among metaclasses,
classes, and objects
– Create or delete a
class, method, field
– Create inheritance,
instantiation relations
– …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_the_Metaobject_Protocol

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/2827810_Preprocessing_C_Meta-Class_Aspects

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https://www.researchgate.net/publication/246576384_Java_Reflection_in_Action

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https://www.theses.fr/2000MON20072
Inheritance
Instantiation

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https://blog.invisivel.net/2012/04/10/pythons-object-model-explained/

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Object Models
 No, implicit, or explicit metaclass
 Same metaclass for all classes, one
metaclass per class, or different
metaclasses for different classes
 One level, two levels, or any number of
levels of metaclasses (instantiation)
 Mutability of metaclasses

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MOPs ⧠
 Compare
self._instances = {}
def __call__(self, *args, **kwargs):
newInstance = super().__call__(*args, **kwargs)
if self not in self._instances:
self._instances[self] = 0
self._instances[self] = self._instances[self] + 1
return newInstance
return self._instances[self]
class C(metaclass=ReferenceCountingMetaClass):
pass
class C {
private:
int i;
static int numberOfInstances;
public:
numberOfInstances++;
}
...
static int getNumberOfInstances() {
return numberOfInstances;
}
};

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Theory
 The classes
– Class
– Method
– Field
– …
reify constructs of the programming
languages, they become first-class entities,
to allow programs to manipulate these
constructs at runtime

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 Instance variable ∈ C
 Instance method ∈ C
 Class variable ∈ C class
 Class method ∈ C class
 Class instance variables
– To count the numbers of
instances of subclasses of C
(D, E…) independently from
one another
Java
 Field ∈ C
 Method ∈ C
 Static field ∈ C
 Static method ∈ C
 



Smalltalk
Theory

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one another
Smalltalk
Theory

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one another
 Class variable ∈ C
 Class method ∈ C
 Class instance variables ∈ C class
 Class instance methods ∈ C class
 Class class variables ∈ C class
 Class class methods ∈ C class
 Etc.
Smalltalk Python
Theory

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Theory
 Not quite ·
– The decorations
@classmethod and
@staticmethod are
about bindings
– Not about the
receiver / call site
– Not the object model
(i.e., metaclasses)
Python
 Class variable ∈ C
 Class method ∈ C
 Class instance variables ∈ C class
 Class instance methods ∈ C class
 Class class variables ∈ C class
 Class class methods ∈ C class
 Etc.

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Practice
 Java
– public final class Class<T>
 Smalltalk
– One, unique metaclass per class
 C++
– No metaclass, really
 Python
– No overloading
– No class vs. instance methods

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Practice
 In particular in Python
– Cannot have both a class and an instance
__new__() method in the same class
– The class Object defines a static (à la Python)
__new__() method that hide any __new__()
method from a metaclass
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/6760685/what-is-the-best-way-of-implementing-singleton-in-python

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Practice
https://xkcd.com/974/

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Theory
 Earlier, we said that reflection is of
• Libraries
• Frameworks

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Theory
• Libraries
• Frameworks

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Theory
• Libraries
• Frameworks
A virtual machine
is an interpreter

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Theory
 In Java, the metaclass is anonymous and
cannot be modified
 In Smalltalk, “[t]here is only one instance of a
particular Metaclass, namely the class which
is being described”

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Theory
 Many other variations are possible
– LISP
• http://www.cliki.net/mop
– Perl 5, 6
• http://search.cpan.org/perldoc?Class::MOP
– Python
• https://www.python.org/doc/essays/metaclasses/
– MetaclassTalk – Noury Bouraqadi, Pierre Cointe
• http://csl.ensm-douai.fr/MetaclassTalk
– NeoClassTalk – Fred Rivard, Pierre Cointe
• http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?NeoClassTalk
– OpenC++ – Shigeru Chiba, Gregor Kiczales
• http://www.csg.ci.i.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~chiba/openc++.html

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Theory
 A Meta Object Protocol exposes some or all
internal structure of the interpreter to the
programmer
 The MOP is (often) a set of classes and
methods that allow a program to inspect the
state of the supporting system and alter its
behaviour

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Theory
 MOP can be accessible at
– Compile-time
• OpenJava
– http://www.csg.ci.i.u-tokyo.ac.jp/openjava/
– Load-time
• Javassist
– http://www.csg.ci.i.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~chiba/javassist/
– Run-time
• AspectJ
– http://eclipse.org/aspectj/

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Outline
 Rationale
 Definition
 Context
 Scenarios
 Theory
 Conclusion
 Appendix

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Conclusion
 Scenario 1: invoke an arbitrary method on an object (see
the problems with instanceof and plugins)
 Scenario 2: access the complete (including private) state of
an object (see the problem with serialisation)
 Scenario 3: count the number of instances of a class
created at runtime (see the problem with
debugging/profiling)
 Scenario 4: modify the behaviour at run-time of a method
without the need to recompile and restart the program (see
the problem with patching)

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Conclusion
 Reflection helps addressing these scenarios
– Depends on the capabilities of the programming
language and underlying execution environment
– Yields more or less elegant code
 Use reflection sparingly and purposefully
– Complexity
– Performance

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Scenarios Java 



Smalltalk 



C++ 



Python 




249/287
Scenarios Java 



Smalltalk 



C++ 



Python 



Differences in semantics and syntax mostly due
to the presence (or absence) of virtual machines

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Outline
 Rationale
 Definition
 Context
 Scenarios
 Theory
 Conclusion
 Appendix

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Java: Class Loading
 Virtual machines
– Interpreters
– Closed world
 Must
– Access resources
– Load classes

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Java: Class Loading
– Interpreters
– Closed world
 Must
– Load classes

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Java: Class Loading
– Interpreters
– Closed world
 Must
– Load classes

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Java: Class Loading
 Example
– Given an interface ICommand
– Load at runtime a class implementing
ICommand using its binary name
• A binary name is in the form
<pckg1>.….<pckgn>.<ClassName>
– net.ptidej.reflection.java.scenario1.C
final Class<ICommand> command =
this.classLoader.loadClass(binaryName);

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Java: Class Loading
http://map.sdsu.edu/geog583/images/week8.3.gif

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Java: Class Loading
http://www.onjava.com/2005/01/26/graphics/Figure01_MultipleClassLoaders.JPG
https://in.pinterest.com/pin/internals-of-java-class-loading-o39reilly-media--311311392977275647/

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Java: Class Loading
public class ClassLoader extends java.lang.ClassLoader {
private final String directory;
public ClassLoader(
final java.lang.ClassLoader parent,
final String directory) {
super(parent);
this.directory = directory;
}

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Java: Class Loading
protected Class findClass(final String name) {
Class newClass = null;
try {
newClass = super.findClass(name);
}
catch (final ClassNotFoundException cnfe) {
final String osName =
this.directory + name.replace('.', '/') + ".class";
try {
final FileInputStream fis = new FileInputStream(osName);
newClass = this.defineClasses(name, fis);
}
catch (final ClassFormatError cfe) {
cfe.printStackTrace(Output.getInstance().errorOutput());
}
catch (final FileNotFoundException fnfe) {
// fnfe.printStackTrace();
}
}
return newClass;
}

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Java: Class Loading
try {
newClass = super.findClass(name);
}
try {
}
}
}
}
return newClass;
}
Use the method defined in
the superclass on this CL

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Java: Class Loading
private Class defineClasses(final String name, final InputStream inputStream) {
try {
int b;
int length = 0;
byte[] bytes = new byte[4];
while ((b = inputStream.read()) != -1) {
if (length == bytes.length) {
final byte[] temp = new byte[length + 4];
System.arraycopy(bytes, 0, temp, 0, length);
bytes = temp;
}
bytes[length] = (byte) b;
length++;
}
System.out.println(name);
final Class newClass = this.defineClass(name, bytes, 0, length);
return newClass;
}
return null;
}
catch (final NoClassDefFoundError ncdfe) {
ncdfe.printStackTrace(Output.getInstance().errorOutput());
return null;
}
}

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Java: Class Loading
private Class defineClasses(final String name, final InputStream inputStream) {
try {
int b;
int length = 0;
byte[] bytes = new byte[4];
while ((b = inputStream.read()) != -1) {
if (length == bytes.length) {
final byte[] temp = new byte[length + 4];
System.arraycopy(bytes, 0, temp, 0, length);
bytes = temp;
}
bytes[length] = (byte) b;
length++;
}
System.out.println(name);
final Class newClass = this.defineClass(name, bytes, 0, length);
return newClass;
}
return null;
}
catch (final NoClassDefFoundError ncdfe) {
ncdfe.printStackTrace(Output.getInstance().errorOutput());
return null;
}
}
Use the method defined in
the superclass on this CL

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Java: Class Loading
http://www.onjava.com/2005/01/26/graphics/Figure01_MultipleClassLoaders.JPG
https://analyzejava.wordpress.com/2014/09/25/java-classloader-part-5-complete-reference/

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Java: Class Loading
try {
newClass = this.getParent().loadClass(name);
}
try {
}
}
}
}
return newClass;
}

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Java: Class Loading
try {
newClass = this.getParent().loadClass(name);
}
try {
}
}
}
}
return newClass;
}
Ask the parent CL if it
already knows the class

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Java: Class Loading
 Virtual machines must access resources and
load classes, in specific cases
– Can extend ClassLoader
– Must override (typically) method
• Class findClass(String)
– Must be careful with inheritance vs. delegation!
• super vs. getParent()

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Outline
 Rationale
 Definition
 Context
 Scenarios
 Theory
 Conclusion
 Appendix

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Python: Inheritance
 Java
– “[The] super keyword is used to access methods of the parent class
while this is used to access methods of the current class.”
 Smalltalk
– “self is used when an object wishes to refer to itself, and super is
used to refer to the superclass of the object.”
 C++
– “this is a keyword that refers to the current instance of the class.”
– There is no super keyword in (standard) C++
 Python
– “self is a reference to the object instance […]. super allows you to
access attributes (methods, members, etc.) of an ancestor type.”
https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/super-and-this-keywords-in-java/
https://courses.cs.washington.edu/courses/cse505/99au/oo/smalltalk-concepts.html
https://www.javatpoint.com/cpp-this-pointer
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/72705781/difference-between-self-and-super

268/287
Python: Inheritance
 Single inheritance
– Java
– Smalltalk
 super refers to the (direct) superclass of a
class so an object can access the methods
and fields of the superclass of its class

269/287
Python: Inheritance
 Multiple inheritance
– C++
– Python
 Two different approaches
– C++ Ἢ
– Python ⏏

270/287
Python: Inheritance
 C++ Ἢ
– virtual keyword in
base clause
– Base initialisation in
the member
initializer list
class Object {
public:
Object(int c) {
printf("Objectn");
a = 0;
}
int a;
};
class Object1 : public virtual Object {
public:
Object1(int c) : Object(c) {
printf("Object1n");
a1 = 0;
a = 1;
}
int a1;
};
class Object2 : public virtual Object {
public:
Object2(int c) : Object(c) {
printf("Object2n");
a2= 0;
a = 2;
}
int a2;
};
class Object4 : public Object1, public Object2 { public:
Object4(int c) : Object(c), Object1(c), Object2(c) {
printf("Object4n");
a4 = 0;
a = 4;
}
int a4;
};
https://cplusplus.com/forum/general/1414/
https://cplusplus.com/forum/general/1420/

271/287
Python: Inheritance
 Python ⏏
– Method Resolution Order
• C3 algorithm
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/236337.236343
https://www.python.org/download/releases/2.3/mro/
class A:
def __init__(self):
print("A")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("A.output()")
class B(A):
def __init__(self):
print("B")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("B.output()")
super().output()
class C(B):
def __init__(self):
print("C")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("C.output()")
super().output()
class D(A):
def __init__(self):
print("D")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("D.output()")
super().output()
class E(C, D):
def __init__(self):
print("E")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("E.output()")
super().output()

272/287
Python: Inheritance
 Python ⏏
• C3 algorithm
class A:
def __init__(self):
print("A")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("A.output()")
class B(A):
def __init__(self):
print("B")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("B.output()")
super().output()
class C(B):
def __init__(self):
print("C")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("C.output()")
super().output()
class D(A):
def __init__(self):
print("D")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("D.output()")
super().output()
class E(C, D):
def __init__(self):
print("E")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("E.output()")
super().output()
e = E()
e.output()

273/287
Python: Inheritance
 Python ⏏
• C3 algorithm
class A:
def __init__(self):
print("A")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("A.output()")
class B(A):
def __init__(self):
print("B")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("B.output()")
super().output()
class C(B):
def __init__(self):
print("C")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("C.output()")
super().output()
class D(A):
def __init__(self):
print("D")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("D.output()")
super().output()
class E(C, D):
def __init__(self):
print("E")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("E.output()")
super().output()
e = E()
e.output()
E
C
B
D
A
E.output()
C.output()
B.output()
D.output()
A.output()

274/287
Python: Inheritance
 Python ⏏
• C3 algorithm
print(E.mro())
print(D.mro())
print(C.mro())
print(B.mro())
print(A.mro())
[<class '__main__.E'>, <class ‘….C'>, <class ‘….B'>, <class ‘….D'>, <class ‘….A'>, <class 'object'>]
[<class '__main__.D'>, <class '__main__.A'>, <class 'object'>]
[<class '__main__.C'>, <class '__main__.B'>, <class '__main__.A'>, <class 'object'>]
[<class '__main__.B'>, <class '__main__.A'>, <class 'object'>]
[<class '__main__.A'>, <class 'object'>]

275/287
Python: Inheritance
 Python ⏏
• C3 algorithm
class A:
def __init__(self):
print("A")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("A.output()")
class B(A):
def __init__(self):
print("B")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("B.output()")
super().output()
class C(B):
def __init__(self):
print("C")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("C.output()")
super().output()
class D(A):
def __init__(self):
print("D")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("D.output()")
super().output()
class E(C, D):
def __init__(self):
print("E")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("E.output()")
super().output()

276/287
Python: Inheritance
 Python ⏏
• C3 algorithm
e = E()
e.output()
class A:
def __init__(self):
print("A")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("A.output()")
class B(A):
def __init__(self):
print("B")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("B.output()")
super().output()
class C(B):
def __init__(self):
print("C")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("C.output()")
super().output()
class D(A):
def __init__(self):
print("D")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("D.output()")
super().output()
class E(C, D):
def __init__(self):
print("E")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("E.output()")
super().output()

277/287
Python: Inheritance
 Python ⏏
• C3 algorithm
e = E()
e.output()
class A:
def __init__(self):
print("A")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("A.output()")
class B(A):
def __init__(self):
print("B")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("B.output()")
super().output()
class C(B):
def __init__(self):
print("C")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("C.output()")
super().output()
class D(A):
def __init__(self):
print("D")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("D.output()")
super().output()
class E(C, D):
def __init__(self):
print("E")
super().__init__()
def output(self):
print("E.output()")
super().output()
E
C
B
D
A
E.output()
C.output()
B.output()
D.output()
A.output()

278/287
Python: Inheritance
 Python ⏏
• C3 algorithm
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24255334
class A(object):
def __init__(self):
self.x = 1
class B(object):
def __init__(self):
self.y = 2
class C(A, B):
pass
print(C().y)

279/287
Python: Inheritance
 Python ⏏
• C3 algorithm
class A(object):
def __init__(self):
self.x = 1
class B(object):
def __init__(self):
self.y = 2
class C(A, B):
pass
print(C().y)
File “…Inheritance2.py", line 14, in <module>
print(C().y)
^^^^^
AttributeError: 'C' object has no attribute 'y'

280/287
Python: Inheritance
 Python ⏏
• C3 algorithm
class A(object):
def __init__(self):
super().__init__()
self.x = 1
class B(object):
def __init__(self):
self.y = 2
class C(A, B):
pass
print(C().y)

281/287
Python: Inheritance
 Python ⏏
• C3 algorithm
class A(object):
def __init__(self):
super().__init__()
self.x = 1
class B(object):
def __init__(self):
self.y = 2
class C(A, B):
pass
print(C().y)
2

282/287
Python: Inheritance
 Python ⏏
• C3 algorithm
 Breaks (at least) two principles
– Principle of least astonishment / surprise
– Principle of locality

283/287
Python: Inheritance
 Principle of least astonishment / surprise
– “Transparency is a passive quality. A program is
transparent when it is possible to form a simple
mental model of its behavior that is actually
predictive for all or most cases, because you
can see through the machinery to what is
actually going on.” – Eric Raymond
(Emphasis mine)
https://wiki.c2.com/?PrincipleOfLeastAstonishment

284/287
Python: Inheritance
 Principle of locality
– “[A]n error is local in time if it is discovered very
soon after it is created; an error is local in
space if it is identified very close (at) the site
where the error actually resides.”
(Emphasis mine)
https://beza1e1.tuxen.de/articles/principle_of_locality.html
https://wiki.c2.com/?CeeVsAdaStudy

285/287
Python: Inheritance
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3277367/how-does-pythons-super-work-with-multiple-inheritance

286/287
Python: Inheritance
Inheritance in Python involves explicit
delegations and an obscure algorithm

287/287
Python: Inheritance
Inheritance in Python involves explicit
delegations and an obscure algorithm
Exercise utmost caution

On Reflection in OO Programming Languages v1.6

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