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audit-map-contract

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Audit ConcurrentMap and Map contract compliance for asMap() view

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Audit compliance with java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentMap and java.util.Map contracts, and Caffeine's alignment with the Java Collections Framework.

Cross-reference the latest OpenJDK source — do NOT reason from JavaDoc memory

The JavaDoc is silent or ambiguous on the behaviors that actually bite (null inside a bulk collection arg, containsAll(self), equals across map types, the optional NPE points, default-method bodies). WebFetch the real source and read the method body before asserting a contract. Track master (latest) — we stay pragmatically current, not pinned to a JDK version. Fetch the raw form (raw.githubusercontent.com/openjdk/jdk/master/src/ java.base/share/classes/…), not the blob page. These files are large (CHM ~6500 lines) and WebFetch answers a prompt over the content with a small model, so a generic "dump the file" truncates — prompt for the specific method ("quote the exact body of CollectionView.containsAll"), one method per fetch:

  • ConcurrentHashMap — the primary reference; asMap() is a ConcurrentMap and closest to CHM: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openjdk/jdk/master/src/java.base/share/classes/java/util/concurrent/ConcurrentHashMap.java
  • ConcurrentSkipListMap — the other JDK ConcurrentMap; the tie-breaker on whether a divergence from CHM is legal (e.g. it also throws UOE on entrySet().add, where CHM's put-through is a nonstandard v8-rewrite addition): https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openjdk/jdk/master/src/java.base/share/classes/java/util/concurrent/ConcurrentSkipListMap.java
  • ConcurrentMap — interface + default methods (getOrDefault, compute*, merge, replaceAll): https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openjdk/jdk/master/src/java.base/share/classes/java/util/concurrent/ConcurrentMap.java
  • Map — base contract + interface default methods: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openjdk/jdk/master/src/java.base/share/classes/java/util/Map.java
  • AbstractMap — the default-method bodies the views inherit (AbstractMap.equals, and via AbstractCollection/AbstractSet the containsAll/removeAll/retainAll loops): https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openjdk/jdk/master/src/java.base/share/classes/java/util/AbstractMap.java
  • HashMap — the most common equals/hashCode comparison target: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openjdk/jdk/master/src/java.base/share/classes/java/util/HashMap.java
  • IdentityHashMap — identity-semantics edge, relevant to weak-key identity and the async future-keyed raw view: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openjdk/jdk/master/src/java.base/share/classes/java/util/IdentityHashMap.java
  • WeakHashMap — relevant to weak keys with automatic removal: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openjdk/jdk/master/src/java.base/share/classes/java/util/WeakHashMap.java
  • Guava LocalCache — the reference for Caffeine's Guava-compat behavior (the CaffeinatedGuava facade + the uniform null-leniency the philosophy below cites; its asMap() views, removal causes, loader/exception translation): https://raw.githubusercontent.com/google/guava/master/guava/src/com/google/common/cache/LocalCache.java

Alignment philosophy — close to CHM, diverge when better

Be pragmatically close to CHM, but Caffeine may diverge where its behavior is better — and when it does, the divergence must be coherent and recorded (design-decisions.md / the cross-model ledger). Do not treat "differs from CHM" as a bug by itself:

  • CHM is internally inconsistent. e.g. removeAll([null]) throws NPE while containsAll([null]) returns false — an artifact of which methods happened to get an explicit null-guard, not a contract. Don't chase CHM's inconsistencies.
  • Caffeine's own coherent principles are the target, not any one JDK map's quirks: null-hostile on direct single-element ops (put/get/containsKey/contains(null) → NPE — nulls are rejected), but null-tolerant of a null element in a bulk collection arg (containsAll/removeAll skip it — a null is trivially absent); weakly-consistent views; size() is an estimate; expired/collected entries filtered from queries and iteration. The CaffeinatedGuava facade is the deliberate exception — uniformly null-lenient (Guava-compat), overriding native null-hostility only where Guava diverges.
  • A contract-optional behavior (permitted NPE, ordering, equals across types) has a legal spread — check several impls (CHM / CSLM / HashMap / Guava), not one, and note that the collections testlibs usually tolerate both legal choices (e.g. guava-testlib testContainsAll_nullNotAllowed does assertFalse(...) with catch (NPE tolerated)). Flag a divergence only when Caffeine is the incoherent one, or diverges from both CHM and Guava with no better rationale.

Settle divergences empirically, not from memory

For any "does Caffeine match CHM/Guava?" question, compile a tiny harness and run Caffeine side-by-side with real CHM / CSLM / Guava — don't guess (this session, "we mirror CHM" on containsAll([null]) was empirically wrong — both CHM and Guava return false, Caffeine NPE'd; and the CHMv8 entrySet().add history was non-obvious):

  • Classpath: the built jar caffeine/build/libs/caffeine-*.jar (it has the generated node classes like SSMS; build/classes/java/main does NOT → factory reflection throws), plus real guava from ~/.gradle/caches/**/guava-*.jar.
  • Run under JDK 26 (~/.gradle/jdks/*26*/**/bin/java) — the classes are that bytecode level.
  • Gotcha: a timeout … | grep pipeline reports grep's exit code, not gradle's — read the BUILD line.
  • For a native-view fix, AsMapTest's map param is polymorphic: compute=ASYNC yields the async sync-view (LocalAsyncCache.AsMapView), not BLC/ULC — a view change must cover it.
  • Cross-check the collections testlibs (:caffeine:googleTest/apacheTest/eclipseTest, :guava:test) — they encode the contract's tolerated spread.

Audit dimensions

  1. Map contract: equals/hashCode consistency (and across map types — HashMap, TreeMap, IdentityHashMap), putAll atomicity (if weigher throws mid-batch), replaceAll per-entry atomicity, containsValue consistency.

  2. ConcurrentMap contract: compute/computeIfAbsent/merge atomicity ("mapping function applied at most once"), getOrDefault on expired entries, forEach with concurrent mutations, compute returning null (should remove entry), the interface default methods.

  3. Null handling: NPE at the correct points for null keys/values on direct ops; null elements in bulk args (containsAll/removeAll/retainAll) per the philosophy above; mapping functions returning null (compute→remove, merge→remove); putIfAbsent(key, null).

  4. Entry/EntrySet contracts: Map.Entry.setValue() write-through, entrySet remove/contains checking both key AND value, snapshot vs live entries, entrySet().add UOE.

  5. Collection view contracts: keySet()/values()/entrySet() backed by the cache (bidirectional), contains/containsAll/remove/removeAll/retainAll/removeIf, containsAll(self) short-circuit, view equals/hashCode over the logical (filtered) set.

  6. Cache semantics interaction: expired-but-present entries visible via asMap()? Collected weak keys visible? asMap() operations triggering listeners? asMap().put() vs cache.put() differences (access time, stats, refresh)? Async raw view vs sync view.

For each finding: quote the requirement from the fetched OpenJDK source (the method + actual body, not remembered JavaDoc), show Caffeine's behavior (ideally via the harness), name the reference spread (CHM / CSLM / HashMap / Guava) and whether Caffeine is coherent, and provide a test case. If Caffeine's divergence is intentional and better, the output is a design-decisions.md / ledger note, not a bug.