com.tensegrity.generic.attribute
Interface CustomAttribute

All Superinterfaces:

Attribute, java.lang.Cloneable, Restrictable

All Known Implementing Classes:

DirectoryLocationAttribute, FormatAttribute, HRefAttribute, ItemListAttribute

public interface CustomAttribute

extends Attribute

The CustomAttribute interface is an extension of the Attribute interface and defines the methods a class implementation has to provide for persistence and use in an AttributeEditor. A CustomAttribute is used whenever special data (of different types than the basic types String, Integer, etc.) is stored as a value in the attribute or when the behavior or look in an AttributeEditor should be modified by a custom renderer or editor.

These methods are used to define the look and feel of the CustomAttribute when used in an AttributeEditor:

• CustomAttributeEditor getEditor()
• CustomAttributeRenderer getRenderer()
• boolean useDefaultEditor()

These methods define how to serialize and rebuild instances of a concrete CustomAttribute implementation:

• String getStringRepresentation()
• String getGeneratorKey()

Version:

$Id: CustomAttribute.java,v 1.16 2005/10/24 13:36:15 KevinCVS Exp $

Author:

Gilles Iachelini, Burkhard Wick

Method Summary

CustomAttributeEditor	getEditor() Method getEditor returns an instance of a CustomAttributeEditor which the AttributeTree will use to allow users to edit this attribute.
java.lang.String	getGeneratorKey() Returns a String which will be used as key to retrieve the generator for this CustomAttribute.
CustomAttributeRenderer	getRenderer() Returns an instance of a CustomAttributeRenderer which the AttributeTree uses to render values of this attribute.
java.lang.String	getStringRepresentation() Returns a String representation for the value of this attribute, which will be used to create an instance of this attribute via the CustomAttributeGenerator.
java.lang.Object	newValueInstance() Deprecated. Not called anymore, use Attribute.cloneValue() instead!
void	setName(java.lang.String name) Deprecated. Not called anymore, attribute instances must not change their name after creation
boolean	useDefaultEditor() If the CustomAttribute does not implement its own editor, it can use the default editors if the value is one of the recognized types (e.g.

Methods inherited from interface com.tensegrity.generic.attribute.Attribute

clone, cloneValue, getName, getType, getValue, isMutable, setMutable, setValue

Methods inherited from interface com.tensegrity.generic.constraint.Restrictable

getConstraint, setConstraint

Method Detail

getEditor

public CustomAttributeEditor getEditor()

Method getEditor returns an instance of a CustomAttributeEditor which the AttributeTree will use to allow users to edit this attribute. The method returns null if no such editor exists and the attribute is not editable or the default editor should be used.

Returns:

a CustomAttributeEditor for this attribute.

Find more information in the class documentation

useDefaultEditor

public boolean useDefaultEditor()

If the CustomAttribute does not implement its own editor, it can use the default editors if the value is one of the recognized types (e.g. String, Integer, etc.)

Returns:

true to use the default editors if the method getEditor() returns null

Find more information in the class documentation

getRenderer

public CustomAttributeRenderer getRenderer()

Returns an instance of a CustomAttributeRenderer which the AttributeTree uses to render values of this attribute. The method returns null if no such renderer exists and the default renderer should be used. A renderer is required if the Attribute cannot be rendered by the standard renderer of the Table.

Returns:

a CustomAttributeRenderer for this attribute.

Find more information in the class documentation

getStringRepresentation

public java.lang.String getStringRepresentation()

Returns a String representation for the value of this attribute, which will be used to create an instance of this attribute via the CustomAttributeGenerator.

Returns:

a String representation of this attribute.

Find more information in the class documentation

getGeneratorKey

public java.lang.String getGeneratorKey()

Returns a String which will be used as key to retrieve the generator for this CustomAttribute. Applications should use this key to provide a registry-alike mechanism to obtain generators.

Returns:

a String usable as a key for this attribute.

Find more information in the class documentation

newValueInstance

public java.lang.Object newValueInstance()

Deprecated. Not called anymore, use Attribute.cloneValue() instead!

Creates a new instance of the value part of the CustomAttribute. This is needed when instances of this Attribute need to be added and an instance of the value part is required.

Returns:

an Object for the value part of this attribute.

setName

public void setName(java.lang.String name)

Deprecated. Not called anymore, attribute instances must not change their name after creation

Sets the name of this attribute.

Parameters:

name - String for the new name.