Which types can be used for Java annotation members?

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It’s specified by section 9.6.1 of the JLS. The annotation member types must be one of:

  • primitive
  • String
  • an Enum
  • another Annotation
  • Class
  • an array of any of the above

It does seem restrictive, but no doubt there are reasons for it.

Also note that multidimensional arrays (e.g. String[][]) are implicitly forbidden by the above rule.

Arrays of Class are not allowed as described in this answer.

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