Name: rlT66838 Date: 07/29/97


I have to wonder why private/protected fields
and methods are hidden in the java.lang.reflect
package? I can access this information using
javap -private so it is not a security issue.

Why doesn't java.lang.reflect:
  - expose all fields and methods (including
    private and protected)
  - throw security exceptions if you try to
    get/set/invoke a private or protected
    field or method?

Private and protected attributes are not in any
way hidden because the classfile is completely
documented, so why don't you allow developers
to use java.lang.reflect to really do true
introspection without forcing us to use javap
or our own classfile disassemblers?

======================================================================