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11  * This code is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
12  * ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
13  * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License
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25 
26 package java.lang;
27 
28 /**
29  * An object that may hold resources (such as file or socket handles)
30  * until it is closed. The {@link #close()} method of an {@code AutoCloseable}
31  * object is called automatically when exiting a {@code
32  * try}-with-resources block for which the object has been declared in
33  * the resource specification header. This construction ensures prompt
34  * release, avoiding resource exhaustion exceptions and errors that
35  * may otherwise occur.
36  *
37  * @apiNote
38  * <p>It is possible, and in fact common, for a base class to
39  * implement AutoCloseable even though not all of its subclasses or
40  * instances will hold releasable resources.  For code that must operate
41  * in complete generality, or when it is known that the {@code AutoCloseable}
42  * instance requires resource release, it is recommended to use {@code
43  * try}-with-resources constructions. However, when using facilities such as
44  * {@link java.util.stream.Stream} that support both I/O-based and
45  * non-I/O-based forms, {@code try}-with-resources blocks are in
46  * general unnecessary when using non-I/O-based forms.
47  *
48  * @author Josh Bloch
49  * @since 1.7
50  */
51 public interface AutoCloseable {
52     /**
53      * Closes this resource, relinquishing any underlying resources.
54      * This method is invoked automatically on objects managed by the
55      * {@code try}-with-resources statement.
56      *
57      * <p>While this interface method is declared to throw {@code
58      * Exception}, implementers are <em>strongly</em> encouraged to
59      * declare concrete implementations of the {@code close} method to
60      * throw more specific exceptions, or to throw no exception at all
61      * if the close operation cannot fail.
62      *
63      * <p> Cases where the close operation may fail require careful
64      * attention by implementers. It is strongly advised to relinquish
65      * the underlying resources and to internally <em>mark</em> the
66      * resource as closed, prior to throwing the exception. The {@code
67      * close} method is unlikely to be invoked more than once and so
68      * this ensures that the resources are released in a timely manner.
69      * Furthermore it reduces problems that could arise when the resource
70      * wraps, or is wrapped, by another resource.
71      *
72      * <p><em>Implementers of this interface are also strongly advised
73      * to not have the {@code close} method throw {@link
74      * InterruptedException}.</em>
75      *
76      * This exception interacts with a thread's interrupted status,
77      * and runtime misbehavior is likely to occur if an {@code
78      * InterruptedException} is {@linkplain Throwable#addSuppressed
79      * suppressed}.
80      *
81      * More generally, if it would cause problems for an
82      * exception to be suppressed, the {@code AutoCloseable.close}
83      * method should not throw it.
84      *
85      * <p>Note that unlike the {@link java.io.Closeable#close close}
86      * method of {@link java.io.Closeable}, this {@code close} method
87      * is <em>not</em> required to be idempotent.  In other words,
88      * calling this {@code close} method more than once may have some
89      * visible side effect, unlike {@code Closeable.close} which is
90      * required to have no effect if called more than once.
91      *
92      * However, implementers of this interface are strongly encouraged
93      * to make their {@code close} methods idempotent.
94      *
95      * @throws Exception if this resource cannot be closed
96      */
close()97     void close() throws Exception;
98 }
99