org.ldp4j.application.vocabulary.Term Maven / Gradle / Ivy
/**
* #-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=#
* This file is part of the LDP4j Project:
* http://www.ldp4j.org/
*
* Center for Open Middleware
* http://www.centeropenmiddleware.com/
* #-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=#
* Copyright (C) 2014-2016 Center for Open Middleware.
* #-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=#
* Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
* you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
* You may obtain a copy of the License at
*
* http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
*
* Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
* distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
* WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
* See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
* limitations under the License.
* #-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=#
* Artifact : org.ldp4j.framework:ldp4j-application-api:0.2.1
* Bundle : ldp4j-application-api-0.2.1.jar
* #-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=#
*/
package org.ldp4j.application.vocabulary;
import java.io.Serializable;
/**
* The class represents the terms of a vocabulary. The class includes different
* mechanisms for identifying the term as well as utility methods for
* transforming the term into different types.
*
* @version 1.0
* @since 1.0.0
* @author Miguel Esteban Gutiérrez
* @see Vocabulary
*/
public interface Term extends Comparable, Serializable {
/**
* Returns the ordinal of this term (its position in its vocabulary
* declaration, where the initial constant is assigned an ordinal of zero).
*
* @return the ordinal of this term
*/
int ordinal();
/**
* Returns the name of this term constant, exactly as declared in its
* vocabulary declaration.
*
* Most programmers should use the {@link #toString} method in preference
* to this one, as the toString method may return a more user-friendly
* name. This method is designed primarily for use in specialized
* situations where correctness depends on getting the exact name, which
* will not vary from release to release.
*
* @return the name of this term
*/
String name();
/**
* Returns the simple name of the entity of the vocabulary identified by
* this term constant.
*/
String entityName();
/**
* Returns the qualified name of the entity of the vocabulary identified by
* this term constant.
*/
String qualifiedEntityName();
/**
* Returns the Vocabulary object corresponding to this term constant's
* vocabulary type. Two term constants e1 and e2 are of the same vocabulary
* type if and only if
* {@code e1.getDeclaringVocabulary() == e2.getDeclaringVocabulary()}.
*
* @return the Vocabulary object corresponding to this term constant's
* vocabulary type
*/
Vocabulary getDeclaringVocabulary();
/**
* Transform the term to an instance of the specified type.
*
* @param type
* The type to which the term is to be transformed to.
* @return An instance of the specified type that represents this term.
* @throws UnsupportedOperationException
* if the term cannot be transformed to the specified type.
*/
T as(Class type);
}