Description Tim Hanson 2005-03-18 14:37:19 EST

The following example should not compile:

@interface ann
{
    Class foo();
}

@ann(foo=Inner.class)
class Outer
{
    public static class Inner
    {
    }
}

The reference to Inner.class in the annotation member value is not in scope.
According to the JLS section 6.3:

The scope of a declaration of a member m declared in or inherited by a
class type C is the entire body of C, including any nested type
declarations.

This implies that Inner is only in scope within the body of Outer. It should
only work if the type name is qualified as Outer.Inner.