org.simpleframework.xml.core.Contact Maven / Gradle / Ivy
/*
* Contact.java April 2007
*
* Copyright (C) 2007, Niall Gallagher
*
* This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
* modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
* License as published by the Free Software Foundation.
*
* This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
* but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
* MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
* GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
*
* You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General
* Public License along with this library; if not, write to the
* Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330,
* Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA
*/
package org.simpleframework.xml.core;
import java.lang.annotation.Annotation;
/**
* The Contact interface is used to provide a point of
* contact with an object. Typically this will be used to get and
* set to an from a field or a pair of matching bean methods. Each
* contact must be labeled with an annotation.
*
* @author Niall Gallagher
*
* @see org.simpleframework.xml.core.Label
*/
interface Contact {
/**
* This is used to identify annotated methods are fields that
* can not be modified. Such field will require that there is
* a constructor that can have the value injected in to it.
*
* @return this returns true if the field or method is final
*/
public boolean isFinal();
/**
* This represents the name of the object contact. If the contact
* is a field then the name of the field is provided. If however
* the contact is a method then the Java Bean name of the method
* is provided, which will be the decapatilized name of the
* method without the get, set, or is prefix to the method.
*
* @return this returns the name of the contact represented
*/
public String getName();
/**
* This will provide the contact type. The contact type is the
* class that is to be set and get on the object. Typically the
* type will be a serializable object or a primitive type.
*
* @return this returns the type that this contact represents
*/
public Class getType();
/**
* This provides the dependent class for the contact. This will
* typically represent a generic type for the actual type. For
* contacts that use a Collection type this will
* be the generic type parameter for that collection.
*
* @return this returns the dependent type for the contact
*/
public Class getDependent();
/**
* This provides the dependent classes for the contact. This will
* typically represent a generic types for the actual type. For
* contacts that use a Map type this will be the
* generic type parameter for that map type declaration.
*
* @return this returns the dependent types for the contact
*/
public Class[] getDependents();
/**
* This is the annotation associated with the point of contact.
* This will be an XML annotation that describes how the contact
* should be serialized and deserialized from the object.
*
* @return this provides the annotation associated with this
*/
public Annotation getAnnotation();
/**
* This is the annotation associated with the point of contact.
* This will be an XML annotation that describes how the contact
* should be serialized and deserialized from the object.
*
* @param type this is the type of the annotation to acquire
*
* @return this provides the annotation associated with this
*/
public T getAnnotation(Class type);
/**
* This is used to set the value on the specified object through
* this contact. Depending on the type of contact this will set
* the value given, typically this will be done by invoking a
* method or setting the value on the object field.
*
* @param source this is the object to set the value on
* @param value this is the value to be set through the contact
*/
public void set(Object source, Object value) throws Exception;
/**
* This is used to get the value from the specified object using
* the point of contact. Typically the value is retrieved from
* the specified object by invoking a get method of by acquiring
* the value from a field within the specified object.
*
* @param source this is the object to acquire the value from
*
* @return this is the value acquired from the point of contact
*/
public Object get(Object source) throws Exception;
/**
* This is used to describe the contact as it exists within the
* owning class. This is used to provide error messages that can
* be used to debug issues that occur when processing a contact.
*
* @return this returns a string representation of the contact
*/
public String toString();
}