The shape and structure of an array object, such as an array of int

values, is similar to that of a standard Java object. The primary

difference is that the array object has an additional piece of

metadata that denotes the array’s size. An array object’s metadata,

then, consists of: Class : A pointer to the class information, which

describes the object type. In the case of an array of int fields, this

is a pointer to the int[] class.

Flags : A collection of flags that describe the state of the object,

including the hash code for the object if it has one, and the shape of

the object (that is, whether or not the object is an array).

Lock : The synchronization information for the object — that is,

whether the object is currently synchronized.

Size : The size of the array.