--- a/graal/com.oracle.graal.api.meta/src/com/oracle/graal/api/meta/ConstantReflectionProvider.java	Mon Apr 07 23:35:41 2014 +0200
+++ b/graal/com.oracle.graal.api.meta/src/com/oracle/graal/api/meta/ConstantReflectionProvider.java	Mon Apr 07 16:09:17 2014 -0700
@@ -23,34 +23,68 @@
 package com.oracle.graal.api.meta;
 
 /**
- * Reflection operations on values represented as {@linkplain Constant constants}.
+ * Reflection operations on values represented as {@linkplain Constant constants}. All methods in
+ * this interface require the VM to access the actual object encapsulated in {@link Kind#Object
+ * object} constants. This access is not always possible, depending on kind of VM and the state that
+ * the VM is in. Therefore, all methods can return {@code null} at any time, to indicate that the
+ * result is not available at this point. The caller is responsible to check for {@code null}
+ * results and handle them properly, e.g., not perform an optimization.
  */
 public interface ConstantReflectionProvider {
 
     /**
-     * Compares two constants for equality. The equality relationship is symmetric. If the constants
-     * cannot be compared at this point, the return value is {@code null};
-     * 
-     * @return {@code true} if the two parameters represent the same runtime object, {@code false}
-     *         if they are different, or {@code null} if the parameters cannot be compared.
+     * Compares two constants for equality. The equality relationship is symmetric. Returns
+     * {@link Boolean#TRUE true} if the two constants represent the same run time value,
+     * {@link Boolean#FALSE false} if they are different. Returns {@code null} if the constants
+     * cannot be compared at this point.
      */
     Boolean constantEquals(Constant x, Constant y);
 
     /**
-     * Returns the length of an array that is wrapped in a {@link Constant} object. If {@code array}
-     * is not an array, or the array length is not available at this point, the return value is
-     * {@code null}.
+     * Returns the length of the array constant. Returns {@code null} if the constant is not an
+     * array, or if the array length is not available at this point.
      */
-    Integer lookupArrayLength(Constant array);
+    Integer readArrayLength(Constant array);
 
     /**
-     * Reads a value of this kind using a base address and a displacement.
-     * 
-     * @param base the base address from which the value is read
+     * Reads a value from the given array at the given index. Returns {@code null} if the constant
+     * is not an array, if the index is out of bounds, or if the value is not available at this
+     * point.
+     */
+    Constant readArrayElement(Constant array, int index);
+
+    /**
+     * Reads a value of this kind using a base address and a displacement. No bounds checking or
+     * type checking is performed. Returns {@code null} if the value is not available at this point.
+     *
+     * @param base the base address from which the value is read.
      * @param displacement the displacement within the object in bytes
      * @param compressible whether this is a read of a compressed or an uncompressed pointer
      * @return the read value encapsulated in a {@link Constant} object, or {@code null} if the
      *         value cannot be read.
      */
-    Constant readUnsafeConstant(Kind kind, Object base, long displacement, boolean compressible);
+    Constant readUnsafeConstant(Kind kind, Constant base, long displacement, boolean compressible);
+
+    /**
+     * Converts the given {@link Kind#isPrimitive() primitive} constant to a boxed
+     * {@link Kind#Object object} constant, according to the Java boxing rules. Returns {@code null}
+     * if the source is is not a primitive constant, or the boxed value is not available at this
+     * point.
+     */
+    Constant boxPrimitive(Constant source);
+
+    /**
+     * Converts the given {@link Kind#Object object} constant to a {@link Kind#isPrimitive()
+     * primitive} constant, according to the Java unboxing rules. Returns {@code null} if the source
+     * is is not an object constant that can be unboxed, or the unboxed value is not available at
+     * this point.
+     */
+    Constant unboxPrimitive(Constant source);
+
+    /**
+     * Returns the {@link ResolvedJavaType} for a {@link Class} object (or any other object regarded
+     * as a class by the VM) encapsulated in the given constant. Returns {@code null} if the
+     * constant does not encapsulate a class, or if the type is not available at this point.
+     */
+    ResolvedJavaType asJavaType(Constant constant);
 }