Module java.base
Package java.lang.constant

# Interface Constable

All Known Subinterfaces:
  `MemoryLayout`

public interface Constable
Represents a type which is constable. A constable type is one whose values are constants that can be represented in the constant pool of a Java classfile as described in JVMS 4.4, and whose instances can describe themselves nominally as a `ConstantDesc`.

Some constable types have a native representation in the constant pool: `String`, `Integer`, `Long`, `Float`, `Double`, `Class`, `MethodType`, and `MethodHandle`. The types `String`, `Integer`, `Long`, `Float`, and `Double` serve as their own nominal descriptors; `Class`, `MethodType`, and `MethodHandle` have corresponding nominal descriptors `ClassDesc`, `MethodTypeDesc`, and `MethodHandleDesc`.

Other reference types can be constable if their instances can describe themselves in nominal form as a `ConstantDesc`. Examples in the Java SE Platform API are types that support Java language features such as `Enum`, and runtime support classes such as `VarHandle`. These are typically described with a `DynamicConstantDesc`, which describes dynamically generated constants (JVMS 4.4.10).

The nominal form of an instance of a constable type is obtained via `describeConstable()`. A Constable need not be able to (or may choose not to) describe all its instances in the form of a `ConstantDesc`; this method returns an `Optional` that can be empty to indicate that a nominal descriptor could not be created for an instance. (For example, `MethodHandle` will produce nominal descriptors for direct method handles, but not necessarily those produced by method handle combinators.)

See Java Virtual Machine Specification:
  4.4 The Constant Pool
  4.4.10 The `CONSTANT_Dynamic_info` and `CONSTANT_InvokeDynamic_info` Structures
Since:
  12

- ## Method Summary

  Modifier and Type
  Method
  Description
  `Optional<? extends ConstantDesc>`
  `describeConstable()`
  Returns an `Optional` containing the nominal descriptor for this instance, if one can be constructed, or an empty `Optional` if one cannot be constructed.

- ## Method Details

  - ### describeConstable

    Optional<? extends ConstantDesc> describeConstable()
    Returns an `Optional` containing the nominal descriptor for this instance, if one can be constructed, or an empty `Optional` if one cannot be constructed.
    Returns:
      An `Optional` containing the resulting nominal descriptor, or an empty `Optional` if one cannot be constructed.