Method and variable handles vs. Java reflection. To truly understand MethodHandles and VarHandles—what they do and why they are useful—it’s helpful to know a few things about reflection in Java.

Java Reflection in Action provides a thorough introduction to Java reflection. It features many positive aspects and its main negative aspect is its age (2004/JDK 1.4).

No Java component has had a bigger bull’s eye on its back this year than the Java Reflection API. Bug hunters and hackers alike have found a number of zero-days related to the Reflection API ...

Details were published on a number of Java flaws in the Java Reflection API. Oracle’s Critical Patch update addresses 154 vulnerabilities, many of which are remotely exploitable.