Question

I was wondering if

synchronize (lock) {
    ... 
}

Where lock is an instance of java.util.concurrent.locks.Lock, treats lock like any other object or as the try-finally idiom i.e.

 lock.lock(); 
 try {
     ... 
 } finally { 
    lock.unlock();
 }

Answer 1

Lock documentation:

Note that Lock instances are just
normal objects and can themselves be
used as the target in a synchronized
statement. Acquiring the monitor lock
of a Lock instance has no specified
relationship with invoking any of the
lock() methods of that instance. It is
recommended that to avoid confusion
you never use Lock instances in this
way, except within their own
implementation.

So basically, it’s treated as any other object. And, don’t do that.