jdk/src/share/classes/javax/management/MBeanInfo.java
changeset 2 90ce3da70b43
child 1510 e747d3193ef2
--- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
+++ b/jdk/src/share/classes/javax/management/MBeanInfo.java	Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 2007 +0000
@@ -0,0 +1,717 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 1999-2006 Sun Microsystems, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
+ * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER.
+ *
+ * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+ * under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 only, as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation.  Sun designates this
+ * particular file as subject to the "Classpath" exception as provided
+ * by Sun in the LICENSE file that accompanied this code.
+ *
+ * This code is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
+ * ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
+ * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License
+ * version 2 for more details (a copy is included in the LICENSE file that
+ * accompanied this code).
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License version
+ * 2 along with this work; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
+ * Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
+ *
+ * Please contact Sun Microsystems, Inc., 4150 Network Circle, Santa Clara,
+ * CA 95054 USA or visit www.sun.com if you need additional information or
+ * have any questions.
+ */
+
+package javax.management;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.StreamCorruptedException;
+import java.io.Serializable;
+import java.io.ObjectOutputStream;
+import java.io.ObjectInputStream;
+import java.lang.reflect.Method;
+import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.WeakHashMap;
+import java.security.AccessController;
+import java.security.PrivilegedAction;
+
+import static javax.management.ImmutableDescriptor.nonNullDescriptor;
+
+/**
+ * <p>Describes the management interface exposed by an MBean; that is,
+ * the set of attributes and operations which are available for
+ * management operations.  Instances of this class are immutable.
+ * Subclasses may be mutable but this is not recommended.</p>
+ *
+ * <p>The contents of the <code>MBeanInfo</code> for a Dynamic MBean
+ * are determined by its {@link DynamicMBean#getMBeanInfo
+ * getMBeanInfo()} method.  This includes Open MBeans and Model
+ * MBeans, which are kinds of Dynamic MBeans.</p>
+ *
+ * <p>The contents of the <code>MBeanInfo</code> for a Standard MBean
+ * are determined by the MBean server as follows:</p>
+ *
+ * <ul>
+ *
+ * <li>{@link #getClassName()} returns the Java class name of the MBean
+ * object;
+ *
+ * <li>{@link #getConstructors()} returns the list of all public
+ * constructors in that object;
+ *
+ * <li>{@link #getAttributes()} returns the list of all attributes
+ * whose existence is deduced from the presence in the MBean interface
+ * of a <code>get<i>Name</i></code>, <code>is<i>Name</i></code>, or
+ * <code>set<i>Name</i></code> method that conforms to the conventions
+ * for Standard MBeans;
+ *
+ * <li>{@link #getOperations()} returns the list of all methods in
+ * the MBean interface that do not represent attributes;
+ *
+ * <li>{@link #getNotifications()} returns an empty array if the MBean
+ * does not implement the {@link NotificationBroadcaster} interface,
+ * otherwise the result of calling {@link
+ * NotificationBroadcaster#getNotificationInfo()} on it;
+ *
+ * <li>{@link #getDescriptor()} returns a descriptor containing the contents
+ * of any descriptor annotations in the MBean interface.
+ *
+ * </ul>
+ *
+ * <p>The description returned by {@link #getDescription()} and the
+ * descriptions of the contained attributes and operations are determined
+ * by the corresponding <!-- link here --> Description annotations if any;
+ * otherwise their contents are not specified.</p>
+ *
+ * <p>The remaining details of the <code>MBeanInfo</code> for a
+ * Standard MBean are not specified.  This includes the description of
+ * any contained constructors, and notifications; the names
+ * of parameters to constructors and operations; and the descriptions of
+ * constructor parameters.</p>
+ *
+ * @since 1.5
+ */
+public class MBeanInfo implements Cloneable, Serializable, DescriptorRead {
+
+    /* Serial version */
+    static final long serialVersionUID = -6451021435135161911L;
+
+    /**
+     * @serial The Descriptor for the MBean.  This field
+     * can be null, which is equivalent to an empty Descriptor.
+     */
+    private transient Descriptor descriptor;
+
+    /**
+     * @serial The human readable description of the class.
+     */
+    private final String description;
+
+    /**
+     * @serial The MBean qualified name.
+     */
+    private final String className;
+
+    /**
+     * @serial The MBean attribute descriptors.
+     */
+    private final MBeanAttributeInfo[] attributes;
+
+    /**
+     * @serial The MBean operation descriptors.
+     */
+    private final MBeanOperationInfo[] operations;
+
+     /**
+     * @serial The MBean constructor descriptors.
+     */
+    private final MBeanConstructorInfo[] constructors;
+
+    /**
+     * @serial The MBean notification descriptors.
+     */
+    private final MBeanNotificationInfo[] notifications;
+
+    private transient int hashCode;
+
+    /**
+     * <p>True if this class is known not to override the array-valued
+     * getters of MBeanInfo.  Obviously true for MBeanInfo itself, and true
+     * for a subclass where we succeed in reflecting on the methods
+     * and discover they are not overridden.</p>
+     *
+     * <p>The purpose of this variable is to avoid cloning the arrays
+     * when doing operations like {@link #equals} where we know they
+     * will not be changed.  If a subclass overrides a getter, we
+     * cannot access the corresponding array directly.</p>
+     */
+    private final transient boolean arrayGettersSafe;
+
+    /**
+     * Constructs an <CODE>MBeanInfo</CODE>.
+     *
+     * @param className The name of the Java class of the MBean described
+     * by this <CODE>MBeanInfo</CODE>.  This value may be any
+     * syntactically legal Java class name.  It does not have to be a
+     * Java class known to the MBean server or to the MBean's
+     * ClassLoader.  If it is a Java class known to the MBean's
+     * ClassLoader, it is recommended but not required that the
+     * class's public methods include those that would appear in a
+     * Standard MBean implementing the attributes and operations in
+     * this MBeanInfo.
+     * @param description A human readable description of the MBean (optional).
+     * @param attributes The list of exposed attributes of the MBean.
+     * This may be null with the same effect as a zero-length array.
+     * @param constructors The list of public constructors of the
+     * MBean.  This may be null with the same effect as a zero-length
+     * array.
+     * @param operations The list of operations of the MBean.  This
+     * may be null with the same effect as a zero-length array.
+     * @param notifications The list of notifications emitted.  This
+     * may be null with the same effect as a zero-length array.
+     */
+    public MBeanInfo(String className,
+                     String description,
+                     MBeanAttributeInfo[] attributes,
+                     MBeanConstructorInfo[] constructors,
+                     MBeanOperationInfo[] operations,
+                     MBeanNotificationInfo[] notifications)
+            throws IllegalArgumentException {
+        this(className, description, attributes, constructors, operations,
+             notifications, null);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Constructs an <CODE>MBeanInfo</CODE>.
+     *
+     * @param className The name of the Java class of the MBean described
+     * by this <CODE>MBeanInfo</CODE>.  This value may be any
+     * syntactically legal Java class name.  It does not have to be a
+     * Java class known to the MBean server or to the MBean's
+     * ClassLoader.  If it is a Java class known to the MBean's
+     * ClassLoader, it is recommended but not required that the
+     * class's public methods include those that would appear in a
+     * Standard MBean implementing the attributes and operations in
+     * this MBeanInfo.
+     * @param description A human readable description of the MBean (optional).
+     * @param attributes The list of exposed attributes of the MBean.
+     * This may be null with the same effect as a zero-length array.
+     * @param constructors The list of public constructors of the
+     * MBean.  This may be null with the same effect as a zero-length
+     * array.
+     * @param operations The list of operations of the MBean.  This
+     * may be null with the same effect as a zero-length array.
+     * @param notifications The list of notifications emitted.  This
+     * may be null with the same effect as a zero-length array.
+     * @param descriptor The descriptor for the MBean.  This may be null
+     * which is equivalent to an empty descriptor.
+     *
+     * @since 1.6
+     */
+    public MBeanInfo(String className,
+                     String description,
+                     MBeanAttributeInfo[] attributes,
+                     MBeanConstructorInfo[] constructors,
+                     MBeanOperationInfo[] operations,
+                     MBeanNotificationInfo[] notifications,
+                     Descriptor descriptor)
+            throws IllegalArgumentException {
+
+        this.className = className;
+
+        this.description = description;
+
+        if (attributes == null)
+            attributes = MBeanAttributeInfo.NO_ATTRIBUTES;
+        this.attributes = attributes;
+
+        if (operations == null)
+            operations = MBeanOperationInfo.NO_OPERATIONS;
+        this.operations = operations;
+
+        if (constructors == null)
+            constructors = MBeanConstructorInfo.NO_CONSTRUCTORS;
+        this.constructors = constructors;
+
+        if (notifications == null)
+            notifications = MBeanNotificationInfo.NO_NOTIFICATIONS;
+        this.notifications = notifications;
+
+        if (descriptor == null)
+            descriptor = ImmutableDescriptor.EMPTY_DESCRIPTOR;
+        this.descriptor = descriptor;
+
+        this.arrayGettersSafe =
+                arrayGettersSafe(this.getClass(), MBeanInfo.class);
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * <p>Returns a shallow clone of this instance.
+     * The clone is obtained by simply calling <tt>super.clone()</tt>,
+     * thus calling the default native shallow cloning mechanism
+     * implemented by <tt>Object.clone()</tt>.
+     * No deeper cloning of any internal field is made.</p>
+     *
+     * <p>Since this class is immutable, the clone method is chiefly of
+     * interest to subclasses.</p>
+     */
+     public Object clone () {
+         try {
+             return super.clone() ;
+         } catch (CloneNotSupportedException e) {
+             // should not happen as this class is cloneable
+             return null;
+         }
+     }
+
+
+    /**
+     * Returns the name of the Java class of the MBean described by
+     * this <CODE>MBeanInfo</CODE>.
+     *
+     * @return the class name.
+     */
+    public String getClassName()  {
+        return className;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns a human readable description of the MBean.
+     *
+     * @return the description.
+     */
+    public String getDescription()  {
+        return description;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns the list of attributes exposed for management.
+     * Each attribute is described by an <CODE>MBeanAttributeInfo</CODE> object.
+     *
+     * The returned array is a shallow copy of the internal array,
+     * which means that it is a copy of the internal array of
+     * references to the <CODE>MBeanAttributeInfo</CODE> objects
+     * but that each referenced <CODE>MBeanAttributeInfo</CODE> object is not copied.
+     *
+     * @return  An array of <CODE>MBeanAttributeInfo</CODE> objects.
+     */
+    public MBeanAttributeInfo[] getAttributes()   {
+        MBeanAttributeInfo[] as = nonNullAttributes();
+        if (as.length == 0)
+            return as;
+        else
+            return as.clone();
+    }
+
+    private MBeanAttributeInfo[] fastGetAttributes() {
+        if (arrayGettersSafe)
+            return nonNullAttributes();
+        else
+            return getAttributes();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Return the value of the attributes field, or an empty array if
+     * the field is null.  This can't happen with a
+     * normally-constructed instance of this class, but can if the
+     * instance was deserialized from another implementation that
+     * allows the field to be null.  It would be simpler if we enforced
+     * the class invariant that these fields cannot be null by writing
+     * a readObject() method, but that would require us to define the
+     * various array fields as non-final, which is annoying because
+     * conceptually they are indeed final.
+     */
+    private MBeanAttributeInfo[] nonNullAttributes() {
+        return (attributes == null) ?
+            MBeanAttributeInfo.NO_ATTRIBUTES : attributes;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns the list of operations  of the MBean.
+     * Each operation is described by an <CODE>MBeanOperationInfo</CODE> object.
+     *
+     * The returned array is a shallow copy of the internal array,
+     * which means that it is a copy of the internal array of
+     * references to the <CODE>MBeanOperationInfo</CODE> objects
+     * but that each referenced <CODE>MBeanOperationInfo</CODE> object is not copied.
+     *
+     * @return  An array of <CODE>MBeanOperationInfo</CODE> objects.
+     */
+    public MBeanOperationInfo[] getOperations()  {
+        MBeanOperationInfo[] os = nonNullOperations();
+        if (os.length == 0)
+            return os;
+        else
+            return os.clone();
+    }
+
+    private MBeanOperationInfo[] fastGetOperations() {
+        if (arrayGettersSafe)
+            return nonNullOperations();
+        else
+            return getOperations();
+    }
+
+    private MBeanOperationInfo[] nonNullOperations() {
+        return (operations == null) ?
+            MBeanOperationInfo.NO_OPERATIONS : operations;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * <p>Returns the list of the public constructors of the MBean.
+     * Each constructor is described by an
+     * <CODE>MBeanConstructorInfo</CODE> object.</p>
+     *
+     * <p>The returned array is a shallow copy of the internal array,
+     * which means that it is a copy of the internal array of
+     * references to the <CODE>MBeanConstructorInfo</CODE> objects but
+     * that each referenced <CODE>MBeanConstructorInfo</CODE> object
+     * is not copied.</p>
+     *
+     * <p>The returned list is not necessarily exhaustive.  That is,
+     * the MBean may have a public constructor that is not in the
+     * list.  In this case, the MBean server can construct another
+     * instance of this MBean's class using that constructor, even
+     * though it is not listed here.</p>
+     *
+     * @return  An array of <CODE>MBeanConstructorInfo</CODE> objects.
+     */
+    public MBeanConstructorInfo[] getConstructors()  {
+        MBeanConstructorInfo[] cs = nonNullConstructors();
+        if (cs.length == 0)
+            return cs;
+        else
+            return cs.clone();
+    }
+
+    private MBeanConstructorInfo[] fastGetConstructors() {
+        if (arrayGettersSafe)
+            return nonNullConstructors();
+        else
+            return getConstructors();
+    }
+
+    private MBeanConstructorInfo[] nonNullConstructors() {
+        return (constructors == null) ?
+            MBeanConstructorInfo.NO_CONSTRUCTORS : constructors;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns the list of the notifications emitted by the MBean.
+     * Each notification is described by an <CODE>MBeanNotificationInfo</CODE> object.
+     *
+     * The returned array is a shallow copy of the internal array,
+     * which means that it is a copy of the internal array of
+     * references to the <CODE>MBeanNotificationInfo</CODE> objects
+     * but that each referenced <CODE>MBeanNotificationInfo</CODE> object is not copied.
+     *
+     * @return  An array of <CODE>MBeanNotificationInfo</CODE> objects.
+     */
+    public MBeanNotificationInfo[] getNotifications()  {
+        MBeanNotificationInfo[] ns = nonNullNotifications();
+        if (ns.length == 0)
+            return ns;
+        else
+            return ns.clone();
+    }
+
+    private MBeanNotificationInfo[] fastGetNotifications() {
+        if (arrayGettersSafe)
+            return nonNullNotifications();
+        else
+            return getNotifications();
+    }
+
+    private MBeanNotificationInfo[] nonNullNotifications() {
+        return (notifications == null) ?
+            MBeanNotificationInfo.NO_NOTIFICATIONS : notifications;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Get the descriptor of this MBeanInfo.  Changing the returned value
+     * will have no affect on the original descriptor.
+     *
+     * @return a descriptor that is either immutable or a copy of the original.
+     *
+     * @since 1.6
+     */
+    public Descriptor getDescriptor() {
+        return (Descriptor) nonNullDescriptor(descriptor).clone();
+    }
+
+    public String toString() {
+        return
+            getClass().getName() + "[" +
+            "description=" + getDescription() + ", " +
+            "attributes=" + Arrays.asList(fastGetAttributes()) + ", " +
+            "constructors=" + Arrays.asList(fastGetConstructors()) + ", " +
+            "operations=" + Arrays.asList(fastGetOperations()) + ", " +
+            "notifications=" + Arrays.asList(fastGetNotifications()) + ", " +
+            "descriptor=" + getDescriptor() +
+            "]";
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * <p>Compare this MBeanInfo to another.  Two MBeanInfo objects
+     * are equal if and only if they return equal values for {@link
+     * #getClassName()}, for {@link #getDescription()}, and for
+     * {@link #getDescriptor()}, and the
+     * arrays returned by the two objects for {@link
+     * #getAttributes()}, {@link #getOperations()}, {@link
+     * #getConstructors()}, and {@link #getNotifications()} are
+     * pairwise equal.  Here "equal" means {@link
+     * Object#equals(Object)}, not identity.</p>
+     *
+     * <p>If two MBeanInfo objects return the same values in one of
+     * their arrays but in a different order then they are not equal.</p>
+     *
+     * @param o the object to compare to.
+     *
+     * @return true if and only if <code>o</code> is an MBeanInfo that is equal
+     * to this one according to the rules above.
+     */
+    public boolean equals(Object o) {
+        if (o == this)
+            return true;
+        if (!(o instanceof MBeanInfo))
+            return false;
+        MBeanInfo p = (MBeanInfo) o;
+        if (!isEqual(getClassName(),  p.getClassName()) ||
+                !isEqual(getDescription(), p.getDescription()) ||
+                !getDescriptor().equals(p.getDescriptor())) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        return
+            (Arrays.equals(p.fastGetAttributes(), fastGetAttributes()) &&
+             Arrays.equals(p.fastGetOperations(), fastGetOperations()) &&
+             Arrays.equals(p.fastGetConstructors(), fastGetConstructors()) &&
+             Arrays.equals(p.fastGetNotifications(), fastGetNotifications()));
+    }
+
+    public int hashCode() {
+        /* Since computing the hashCode is quite expensive, we cache it.
+           If by some terrible misfortune the computed value is 0, the
+           caching won't work and we will recompute it every time.
+
+           We don't bother synchronizing, because, at worst, n different
+           threads will compute the same hashCode at the same time.  */
+        if (hashCode != 0)
+            return hashCode;
+
+        hashCode =
+            getClassName().hashCode() ^
+            getDescriptor().hashCode() ^
+            arrayHashCode(fastGetAttributes()) ^
+            arrayHashCode(fastGetOperations()) ^
+            arrayHashCode(fastGetConstructors()) ^
+            arrayHashCode(fastGetNotifications());
+
+        return hashCode;
+    }
+
+    private static int arrayHashCode(Object[] array) {
+        int hash = 0;
+        for (int i = 0; i < array.length; i++)
+            hash ^= array[i].hashCode();
+        return hash;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Cached results of previous calls to arrayGettersSafe.  This is
+     * a WeakHashMap so that we don't prevent a class from being
+     * garbage collected just because we know whether it's immutable.
+     */
+    private static final Map<Class, Boolean> arrayGettersSafeMap =
+        new WeakHashMap<Class, Boolean>();
+
+    /**
+     * Return true if <code>subclass</code> is known to preserve the
+     * immutability of <code>immutableClass</code>.  The class
+     * <code>immutableClass</code> is a reference class that is known
+     * to be immutable.  The subclass <code>subclass</code> is
+     * considered immutable if it does not override any public method
+     * of <code>immutableClass</code> whose name begins with "get".
+     * This is obviously not an infallible test for immutability,
+     * but it works for the public interfaces of the MBean*Info classes.
+    */
+    static boolean arrayGettersSafe(Class subclass, Class immutableClass) {
+        if (subclass == immutableClass)
+            return true;
+        synchronized (arrayGettersSafeMap) {
+            Boolean safe = arrayGettersSafeMap.get(subclass);
+            if (safe == null) {
+                try {
+                    ArrayGettersSafeAction action =
+                        new ArrayGettersSafeAction(subclass, immutableClass);
+                    safe = AccessController.doPrivileged(action);
+                } catch (Exception e) { // e.g. SecurityException
+                    /* We don't know, so we assume it isn't.  */
+                    safe = false;
+                }
+                arrayGettersSafeMap.put(subclass, safe);
+            }
+            return safe;
+        }
+    }
+
+    /*
+     * The PrivilegedAction stuff is probably overkill.  We can be
+     * pretty sure the caller does have the required privileges -- a
+     * JMX user that can't do reflection can't even use Standard
+     * MBeans!  But there's probably a performance gain by not having
+     * to check the whole call stack.
+     */
+    private static class ArrayGettersSafeAction
+            implements PrivilegedAction<Boolean> {
+
+        private final Class<?> subclass;
+        private final Class<?> immutableClass;
+
+        ArrayGettersSafeAction(Class<?> subclass, Class<?> immutableClass) {
+            this.subclass = subclass;
+            this.immutableClass = immutableClass;
+        }
+
+        public Boolean run() {
+            Method[] methods = immutableClass.getMethods();
+            for (int i = 0; i < methods.length; i++) {
+                Method method = methods[i];
+                String methodName = method.getName();
+                if (methodName.startsWith("get") &&
+                        method.getParameterTypes().length == 0 &&
+                        method.getReturnType().isArray()) {
+                    try {
+                        Method submethod =
+                            subclass.getMethod(methodName);
+                        if (!submethod.equals(method))
+                            return false;
+                    } catch (NoSuchMethodException e) {
+                        return false;
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            return true;
+        }
+    }
+
+    private static boolean isEqual(String s1, String s2) {
+        boolean ret;
+
+        if (s1 == null) {
+            ret = (s2 == null);
+        } else {
+            ret = s1.equals(s2);
+        }
+
+        return ret;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Serializes an {@link MBeanInfo} to an {@link ObjectOutputStream}.
+     * @serialData
+     * For compatibility reasons, an object of this class is serialized as follows.
+     * <ul>
+     * The method {@link ObjectOutputStream#defaultWriteObject defaultWriteObject()}
+     * is called first to serialize the object except the field {@code descriptor}
+     * which is declared as transient. The field {@code descriptor} is serialized
+     * as follows:
+     *     <ul>
+     *     <li> If {@code descriptor} is an instance of the class
+     *        {@link ImmutableDescriptor}, the method {@link ObjectOutputStream#write
+     *        write(int val)} is called to write a byte with the value {@code 1},
+     *        then the method {@link ObjectOutputStream#writeObject writeObject(Object obj)}
+     *        is called twice to serialize the field names and the field values of the
+     *        {@code descriptor}, respectively as a {@code String[]} and an
+     *        {@code Object[]};</li>
+     *     <li> Otherwise, the method {@link ObjectOutputStream#write write(int val)}
+     *        is called to write a byte with the value {@code 0}, then the method
+     *        {@link ObjectOutputStream#writeObject writeObject(Object obj)} is called
+     *        to serialize the field {@code descriptor} directly.
+     *     </ul>
+     * </ul>
+     * @since 1.6
+     */
+    private void writeObject(ObjectOutputStream out) throws IOException {
+        out.defaultWriteObject();
+
+        if (descriptor.getClass() == ImmutableDescriptor.class) {
+            out.write(1);
+
+            final String[] names = descriptor.getFieldNames();
+
+            out.writeObject(names);
+            out.writeObject(descriptor.getFieldValues(names));
+        } else {
+            out.write(0);
+
+            out.writeObject(descriptor);
+        }
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Deserializes an {@link MBeanInfo} from an {@link ObjectInputStream}.
+     * @serialData
+     * For compatibility reasons, an object of this class is deserialized as follows.
+     * <ul>
+     * The method {@link ObjectInputStream#defaultReadObject defaultReadObject()}
+     * is called first to deserialize the object except the field
+     * {@code descriptor}, which is not serialized in the default way. Then the method
+     * {@link ObjectInputStream#read read()} is called to read a byte, the field
+     * {@code descriptor} is deserialized according to the value of the byte value:
+     *    <ul>
+     *    <li>1. The method {@link ObjectInputStream#readObject readObject()}
+     *       is called twice to obtain the field names (a {@code String[]}) and
+     *       the field values (a {@code Object[]}) of the {@code descriptor}.
+     *       The two obtained values then are used to construct
+     *       an {@link ImmutableDescriptor} instance for the field
+     *       {@code descriptor};</li>
+     *    <li>0. The value for the field {@code descriptor} is obtained directly
+     *       by calling the method {@link ObjectInputStream#readObject readObject()}.
+     *       If the obtained value is null, the field {@code descriptor} is set to
+     *       {@link ImmutableDescriptor#EMPTY_DESCRIPTOR EMPTY_DESCRIPTOR};</li>
+     *    <li>-1. This means that there is no byte to read and that the object is from
+     *       an earlier version of the JMX API. The field {@code descriptor} is set to
+     *       {@link ImmutableDescriptor#EMPTY_DESCRIPTOR EMPTY_DESCRIPTOR}.</li>
+     *    <li>Any other value. A {@link StreamCorruptedException} is thrown.</li>
+     *    </ul>
+     * </ul>
+     * @since 1.6
+     */
+
+    private void readObject(ObjectInputStream in)
+        throws IOException, ClassNotFoundException {
+
+        in.defaultReadObject();
+
+        switch (in.read()) {
+        case 1:
+            final String[] names = (String[])in.readObject();
+
+            if (names.length == 0) {
+                descriptor = ImmutableDescriptor.EMPTY_DESCRIPTOR;
+            } else {
+                final Object[] values = (Object[])in.readObject();
+                descriptor = new ImmutableDescriptor(names, values);
+            }
+
+            break;
+        case 0:
+            descriptor = (Descriptor)in.readObject();
+
+            if (descriptor == null) {
+                descriptor = ImmutableDescriptor.EMPTY_DESCRIPTOR;
+            }
+
+            break;
+        case -1: // from an earlier version of the JMX API
+            descriptor = ImmutableDescriptor.EMPTY_DESCRIPTOR;
+
+            break;
+        default:
+            throw new StreamCorruptedException("Got unexpected byte.");
+        }
+    }
+}