diff -r ef8a98bc71f8 -r c4d9d1b08e2e src/hotspot/share/utilities/globalDefinitions.hpp
--- a/src/hotspot/share/utilities/globalDefinitions.hpp	Wed Jan 31 10:55:49 2018 -0800
+++ b/src/hotspot/share/utilities/globalDefinitions.hpp	Fri Sep 08 10:46:46 2017 -0700
@@ -596,6 +596,10 @@
   return (t == T_BYTE || t == T_SHORT);
 }
 
+inline bool is_reference_type(BasicType t) {
+  return (t == T_OBJECT || t == T_ARRAY);
+}
+
 // Convert a char from a classfile signature to a BasicType
 inline BasicType char2type(char c) {
   switch( c ) {