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/*******************************************************************************
 * Copyright (c) 2013, 2014 Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
 * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the 
 * terms of the Eclipse Public License v1.0 and Eclipse Distribution License v. 1.0 
 * which accompanies this distribution. 
 * The Eclipse Public License is available at http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-v10.html
 * and the Eclipse Distribution License is available at 
 * http://www.eclipse.org/org/documents/edl-v10.php.
 *
 * Contributors:
 *     Oracle - initial API and implementation
 ******************************************************************************/  
package org.eclipse.persistence.annotations;

import java.lang.annotation.Retention;
import java.lang.annotation.Target;

import org.eclipse.persistence.sessions.serializers.JavaSerializer;
import org.eclipse.persistence.sessions.serializers.Serializer;

import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.FIELD;
import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.METHOD;
import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.TYPE;
import static java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME;
 
/** 
 * A SerializedConverter is used to serialize an object's value into a database binary, character, or XML field.
 * This annotation allows a named converter that can be used in mappings.
 * 
 * A converter must be be uniquely identified by name and can be defined at 
 * the class level and can be specified within an Entity, 
 * MappedSuperclass and Embeddable class.
 * 
 * The usage of a SerializedConverter is always specified via the Converter annotation and 
 * is supported on a Basic, or ElementCollection mapping.
 * 
 * @see org.eclipse.persistence.annotations.Converter
 * @see org.eclipse.persistence.sessions.serializers.Serializer
 * @author James Sutherland
 * @since EclipseLink 2.6 
 */ 
@Target({TYPE, METHOD, FIELD})
@Retention(RUNTIME)
public @interface SerializedConverter {
    /**
     * (Required) Name this converter. The name should be unique across the 
     * whole persistence unit.
     */
    String name();
    
    /**
     * Allows a package name to be passed to the serializer.
     * This is used by some serializers such as XML, JSON to initialize the 
     * JAXB context from the classes in the package or a jaxb.index file.
     */
    String serializerPackage() default "";

    /**
     * The serializer class to be used. This class must implement the
     * org.eclipse.persistence.sessions.serializers.Serializer interface.
     */
    Class serializerClass() default JavaSerializer.class; 
}