Interface ObjectDescription

All Superinterfaces:
Serializable
All Known Implementing Classes:
AbstractObjectDescription, ArrayObjectDescription, BasicStrokeObjectDescription, BeanObjectDescription, BooleanObjectDescription, ByteObjectDescription, CharacterObjectDescription, ClassLoaderObjectDescription, CollectionObjectDescription, ColorObjectDescription, DateObjectDescription, DecimalFormatObjectDescription, Dimension2DObjectDescription, DimensionObjectDescription, DoubleObjectDescription, FloatObjectDescription, IntegerObjectDescription, Line2DObjectDescription, LongObjectDescription, Point2DObjectDescription, Rectangle2DObjectDescription, ShortObjectDescription, SimpleDateFormatObjectDescription, StringObjectDescription, URLObjectDescription
public interface ObjectDescription extends Serializable
An interface for object descriptions.
Author:
Thomas Morgner

  • Method Details

    • getParameterDefinition

      Class getParameterDefinition(String name)
      Returns a parameter definition. If the parameter is invalid, this function returns null.
      Parameters:
      name - the definition name.
      Returns:
      The parameter class or null, if the parameter is not defined.

    • setParameter

      void setParameter(String name, Object value)
      Sets the value of a parameter.
      Parameters:
      name - the parameter name.
      value - the parameter value.

    • getParameter

      Object getParameter(String name)
      Returns the value of a parameter.
      Parameters:
      name - the parameter name.
      Returns:
      The value.

    • getParameterNames

      Iterator getParameterNames()
      Returns an iterator the provides access to the parameter names. This returns all _known_ parameter names, the object description may accept additional parameters.
      Returns:
      The iterator.

    • getObjectClass

      Class getObjectClass()
      Returns the object class.
      Returns:
      The Class.

    • createObject

      Object createObject()
      Creates an object based on the description.
      Returns:
      The object.

    • getUnconfiguredInstance

      ObjectDescription getUnconfiguredInstance()
      Returns a cloned instance of the object description. The contents of the parameter objects collection are cloned too, so that any already defined parameter value is copied to the new instance.

      Parameter definitions are not cloned, as they are considered read-only.

      The newly instantiated object description is not configured. If it need to be configured, then you have to call configure on it.

      Returns:
      A cloned instance.

    • getInstance

      ObjectDescription getInstance()
      Returns a cloned instance of the object description. The contents of the parameter objects collection are cloned too, so that any already defined parameter value is copied to the new instance.

      Parameter definitions are not cloned, as they are considered read-only.

      Returns:
      A cloned instance.

    • setParameterFromObject

      void setParameterFromObject(Object o) throws ObjectFactoryException
      Sets the parameters of this description object to match the supplied object.
      Parameters:
      o - the object.
      Throws:
      ObjectFactoryException - if there is a problem while reading the properties of the given object.

    • configure

      void configure(Configuration config)
      Configures this factory. The configuration contains several keys and their defined values. The given reference to the configuration object will remain valid until the report parsing or writing ends.

      The configuration contents may change during the reporting.

      Parameters:
      config - the configuration, never null

    • equals

      boolean equals(Object o)
      Compares whether two object descriptions are equal.
      Overrides:
      equals in class Object
      Parameters:
      o - the other object.
      Returns:
      true, if both object desciptions describe the same object, false otherwise.

    • hashCode

      int hashCode()
      Computes the hashCode for this ClassFactory. As equals() must be implemented, a corresponding hashCode() should be implemented as well.
      Overrides:
      hashCode in class Object
      Returns:
      the hashcode.