com.bea.content
Class PropertyDefinition

java.lang.Object
  com.bea.content.ContentEntity
      com.bea.content.PropertyDefinition

All Implemented Interfaces

Serializable, Cloneable

public class PropertyDefinition
extends ContentEntity
implements Cloneable

PropertyDefinition defines the shape of a Property. It describes the Property type (binary, boolean, string, double, calendar, long, link), whether it is required, whether it is editable, the default value and restricted values, if applicable.

A PropertyDefinition may contain a PropertyChoice array. This is a list of values that may be selected for a Property's values.

Rules for a PropertyDefinition are as follows.

If the PropertyDefinition contains a reference, it may not be multi-valued, or of types link or binary.

If the PropertyDefinition is of type binary, it may not be multi-valued or restricted and may only have one PropertyChoice.

If the PropertyDefinition is of type boolean, it may not be multi-valued.

If the PropertyDefinition is of type link, it may not have PropertyChoice(s), or be set as the primary property.

If the PropertyDefinition is restricted then the Properties of this type must have value(s) must be contained in the PropertyChoice list. For example: consider a PropertyDefinition named "color". It has PropertyChoices "blue", "green", and "red". If the PropertyDefinition is restricted then the value of a Property defined by this PropertyDefinition may not have a value that isn't "green", "red", or "blue".

An ObjectClass is defined using PropertyDefinitions. ObjectClasses can be nested within one another. As an example, consider an ObjectClass 'Address' with PropertyDefinitions for 'street', 'city', and 'zipcode'. Another ObjectClass called 'PersonalInformation' contains PropertyDefinitions for 'firstname', 'lastname', etc. Now 'PersonalInformation' can also refer to 'Address' as a "nested" ObjectClass. Those PropertyDefinitions that belong to the 'Address' ObjectClass are then considered "nested" and 'Address' is an ObjectClass that is nested in 'PersonalInformation'.

In the above example, 'PersonalInformation' is called the "root level container", and the two PropertyDefinitions 'firstname', 'lastname' are not considered nested.

Here is a code example using nested property definitions:

        // First create the nested and container ObjectClasses
        ID repId = new ID(repositoryName, null);

        // create nested type with a mandatory primary property
        PropertyDefinition[] pds = new PropertyDefinition[2];
        pds[0] = new PropertyDefinition(repId, "stringType", null, Property.STRING, false, false,
                false, false, false, null);
        pds[1] = new PropertyDefinition(repId, "primaryType", null, Property.STRING, false, false,
                true, false, true, null);
        nestedType = new ObjectClass(repId, "NestedType", pds[1], pds);
        nestedType = typeManager.addType(context, nestedType);

        // create the container ObjectClass
        pds = new PropertyDefinition[2];
        pds[0] = new PropertyDefinition(repId, "longType", null, Property.LONG, false, false,
                false, false, false, null);
        pds[1] = new PropertyDefinition(nestedType.getId(), repId, "nestedType", Property.NESTED,
                false, multiValued, "nested type");
        container = new ObjectClass(repId, "container", null, pds);
        container = typeManager.addType(context, container);




See Also
Serialized Form






Field Summary




static int
INHERITED



          An inherited type
 indicates a property definition which is a part of the object class due
 to the definition's object class extending another object class.



static int
NATIVE



          A native type
 indicates a property definition explicitly defined on a given object
 class.



static int
OVERRIDDEN



          An overridden type
 indicates a property definition which was inherited and then was further
 modified to override the original definition in some fashion.


 
Fields inherited from class com.bea.content.ContentEntity
id
 



Constructor Summary
PropertyDefinition(ID nestedObjectClassId,
                   ID id,
                   String name,
                   int type,
                   boolean isMandatory,
                   boolean isMultiValued,
                   String description)



          Constructs PropertyDefinition without PropertyChoices that represents a nested ObjectClass.
PropertyDefinition(ID id,
                   String name,
                   String reference,
                   int type,
                   boolean isReadOnly,
                   boolean isRestricted,
                   boolean isMandatory,
                   boolean isMultiValued,
                   boolean isPrimary,
                   String description)



          Constructs PropertyDefinition without PropertyChoices.
PropertyDefinition(PropertyChoice[] propertyChoices,
                   ID id,
                   String name,
                   String reference,
                   int type,
                   boolean isReadOnly,
                   boolean isRestricted,
                   boolean isMandatory,
                   boolean isMultiValued,
                   boolean isPrimary,
                   String description)



          Constructs the PropertyDefinition with all attributes.
 



Method Summary




 Object
clone()



          Clones a PropertyDefinition with its property choices.



 String
getDescription()



          Gets the description.



 String
getName()



          Returns the name of this PropertyDefinition.



 ObjectClass
getNestedObjectClass()



          Return the object class associated with this property definition if is type NESTED.



 ID
getNestedObjectClassId()



          Gets the nested object class id that this property definition represents.



 PropertyChoice[]
getPropertyChoices()



          Returns the array of PropertyChoices.



 int
getPropertyDefinitionType()



          Gets the property definition type for this definition.



 String
getReference()



          Returns a means by which instances of properties for this PropertyDefinition may be referenced.



 int
getType()



          Gets the defined data type.



 boolean
isMandatory()



          Returns true if a value for the Property is required.



 void
isMandatory(boolean isMandatory)



          Set to true if a value for the Property is required, or false otherwise.



 boolean
isMultiValued()



          Returns true if the Property can have multiple values.



 void
isMultiValued(boolean isMultiValued)



          Set to true if the Property can have multiple values, false otherwise.



 boolean
isNested()



          Indicates whether this PropertyDefinition belongs to an Objectclass that is nested inside another ObjectClass.



 void
isNested(boolean isNested)



          Indicates whether this PropertyDefinition belongs to an Objectclass that is nested inside another ObjectClass.



 boolean
isPrimary()



          Returns true if this PropertyDefinition represents the primary PropertyDefinition for its ObjectClass.



 void
isPrimary(boolean isPrimary)



          Set to true if this PropertyDefinition represents the primary PropertyDefinition for its ObjectClass.



 boolean
isReadOnly()



          Returns true if a value for the Property cannot be edited.



 void
isReadOnly(boolean isReadOnly)



          Set to true if a value for the Property cannot be edited, or false otherwise.



 boolean
isRestricted()



          Returns true if a value for the Property is restricted
 to the available choices.



 void
isRestricted(boolean isRestricted)



          Set to true if a value for the Property is restricted
 to the available choices, or false otherwise.



 boolean
isSearchable()



          Returns true if a value for the Property should be indexed when nodes of this type are indexed in the
 repository's full-text search implementation.



 void
isSearchable(boolean isSearchable)



          Set to true if a value for the Property should be indexed when nodes of this type are indexed in the
 repository's full-text search implementation.



 void
setDescription(String description)



          Sets the description.



 void
setMandatory(boolean isMandatory)



          Set to true if a value for the Property is required, or false otherwise.



 void
setMultiValued(boolean isMultiValued)



          Set to true if the Property can have multiple values, false otherwise.



 void
setName(String name)



          Sets the name of this PropertyDefinition.



 void
setNested(boolean isNested)



          Indicates whether this PropertyDefinition belongs to an Objectclass that is nested inside another ObjectClass.



 void
setObjectClassOps(ObjectClassOps objectClassOps)



          Sets the ObjectClassOps to perform objectclass lookup for a nested property.



 void
setPrimary(boolean isPrimary)



          Set to true if this PropertyDefinition represents the primary PropertyDefinition for its ObjectClass.



 void
setPropertyChoices(PropertyChoice[] propertyChoices)



          Sets the array of PropertyChoices.



 void
setReadOnly(boolean isReadOnly)



          Set to true if a value for the Property cannot be edited, or false otherwise.



 void
setReference(String reference)



          Sets a means by which all instances of properties for this PropertyDefinition may be referenced.



 void
setRestricted(boolean isRestricted)



          Set to true if a value for the Property is restricted
 to the available choices, or false otherwise.



 void
setSearchable(boolean isSearchable)



          Set to true if a value for the Property should be indexed when nodes of this type are indexed in the
 repository's full-text search implementation.



 void
setType(int type)



          Sets the defined data type id.



 String
toString()



          Returns the PropertyDefinition attributs as a String.


 
Methods inherited from class com.bea.content.ContentEntity
getId, setId
 
Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait
 





Field Detail



NATIVE
public static final int NATIVE

A native type
 indicates a property definition explicitly defined on a given object
 class.  The definition was not a part of the object class via object
 class inheritance.


See Also
Constants Summary




INHERITED
public static final int INHERITED

An inherited type
 indicates a property definition which is a part of the object class due
 to the definition's object class extending another object class.


See Also
Constants Summary




OVERRIDDEN
public static final int OVERRIDDEN

An overridden type
 indicates a property definition which was inherited and then was further
 modified to override the original definition in some fashion.


See Also
Constants Summary





Constructor Detail



PropertyDefinition
public PropertyDefinition(PropertyChoice[] propertyChoices,
                          ID id,
                          String name,
                          String reference,
                          int type,
                          boolean isReadOnly,
                          boolean isRestricted,
                          boolean isMandatory,
                          boolean isMultiValued,
                          boolean isPrimary,
                          String description)

Constructs the PropertyDefinition with all attributes.


Parameters
propertyChoices - - available value choices for
 a Property that is defined by this PropertyDefinition.
id - - the unique id for this PropertyDefinition
name - - the name of this PropertyDefinition that
 is unique relative to its ObjectClass.
reference - - an external reference for all
 Properties defined by this PropertyDefinition. In the
 WLP Repository, this is the column name for an
 explicit property.
type - - the type of this PropertyDefinition.
isReadOnly - - true if a Property defined by
 this PropertyDefinition is intended to not be writable,
 false otherwise.
isRestricted - - true if a Property defined by
 this PropertyDefinition may only contain value(s)
 defined in this PropertyDefinitions PropertyChoice array,
 false otherwise
isMandatory - - true if a Property defined by
 this PropertyDefinition must contain a non-null value
 and in the case of a String must not be empty, false otherwise
isMultiValued - - true if a Property defined by
 this PropertyDefinition may contain multiple values,
 false otherwise.
isPrimary - - true if the PropertyDefinition is the
 Primary PropertyDefinition for the ObjectClass.
description - - a description of this PropertyDefinition.




PropertyDefinition
public PropertyDefinition(ID id,
                          String name,
                          String reference,
                          int type,
                          boolean isReadOnly,
                          boolean isRestricted,
                          boolean isMandatory,
                          boolean isMultiValued,
                          boolean isPrimary,
                          String description)

Constructs PropertyDefinition without PropertyChoices.


Parameters
id - - the unique id for this PropertyDefinition
name - - the name of this PropertyDefinition that
 is unique relative to its ObjectClass.
reference - - an external reference for all
 Properties defined by this PropertyDefinition. In the
 WLP Repository, this is the column name for an
 explicit property.
type - - the type of this PropertyDefinition.
isReadOnly - - true if a Property defined by
 this PropertyDefinition is intended to not be writable,
 false otherwise.
isRestricted - - true if a Property defined by
 this PropertyDefinition may only contain value(s)
 defined in this PropertyDefinitions PropertyChoice array,
 false otherwise
isMandatory - - true if a Property defined by
 this PropertyDefinition must contain a non-null value
 and in the case of a String must not be empty, false otherwise.
isMultiValued - - true if a Property defined by
 this PropertyDefinition may contain multiple values,
 false otherwise.
isPrimary - - true if the PropertyDefinition is the
 Primary PropertyDefinition for the ObjectClass.
description - - a description of this PropertyDefinition.




PropertyDefinition
public PropertyDefinition(ID nestedObjectClassId,
                          ID id,
                          String name,
                          int type,
                          boolean isMandatory,
                          boolean isMultiValued,
                          String description)

Constructs PropertyDefinition without PropertyChoices that represents a nested ObjectClass.
 There is no way to set propertyChoices, isReadOnly, reference, isRestricted,
 or isPrimary variables, as they have to be null or false for a nested type.


Parameters
nestedObjectClassId - - the unique id of the nested ObjectClass that this
 PropertyDefinition represents.
id - - the unique id for this PropertyDefinition
name - - the name of this PropertyDefinition that
 is unique relative to its ObjectClass.
type - - the type of this PropertyDefinition.
isMandatory - - true if a Property defined by
 this PropertyDefinition must contain a non-null value
 and in the case of a String must not be empty, false otherwise.
isMultiValued - - true if a Property defined by
 this PropertyDefinition may contain multiple values,
 false otherwise.
description - - a description of this PropertyDefinition.





Method Detail



getDescription
public String getDescription()

Gets the description.






Returns
The description.





setDescription
public void setDescription(String description)

Sets the description.





Parameters
description - The description.





getPropertyChoices
public PropertyChoice[] getPropertyChoices()

Returns the array of PropertyChoices.






Returns
The array of property choices for this property definition or null if there aren't any.





setPropertyChoices
public void setPropertyChoices(PropertyChoice[] propertyChoices)

Sets the array of PropertyChoices.





Parameters
propertyChoices - The property choices for this property definition.





getName
public String getName()

Returns the name of this PropertyDefinition.

 If this is a nested type, the name will reflect the nested hierarchy with
 Property.NESTED_DELIMITER between each parent and child property definition name.
 The delimiter is not valid for use within the actual name, only to seperate the parent/child names.






Returns
The name of this property definition.





setName
public void setName(String name)

Sets the name of this PropertyDefinition.

 If this is a nested type, the name will reflect the nested hierarchy with
 Property.NESTED_DELIMITER between each parent and child property definition name.
 The delimiter is not valid for use within the actual name, only to seperate the parent/child names.





Parameters
name - The name of this property definition.





getReference
public String getReference()

Returns a means by which instances of properties for this PropertyDefinition may be referenced.  In the
 WLP Repository, this is the column name for an explicit property.  The property will be stored in the CM_NODE table
 as opposed to the CM_PROPERTY table.  Please see the product documentation for further details about explicit
 properties.






Returns
The reference value.  A null value means that instances of this property definition are not referenced.





setReference
public void setReference(String reference)

Sets a means by which all instances of properties for this PropertyDefinition may be referenced.  In the
 WLP Repository, this is the column name for an explicit property.  The property will be stored in the CM_NODE table
 as opposed to the CM_PROPERTY table.  Please see the product documentation for further details about explicit
 properties.





Parameters
reference - The reference value.  A null value means that instances of this property definition are not
 referenced.





getType
public int getType()

Gets the defined data type.
 See constants defined in Property for the valid types.






Returns
The data type.





setType
public void setType(int type)

Sets the defined data type id.
 See constants defined in Property for the valid types.





Parameters
type - The data type.





setObjectClassOps
public void setObjectClassOps(ObjectClassOps objectClassOps)

Sets the ObjectClassOps to perform objectclass lookup for a nested property.
 This method exists for VCR usage.





Parameters
objectClassOps - The objectClassOps of the SPI for this repository.





getNestedObjectClass
public ObjectClass getNestedObjectClass()
                                 throws RepositoryException

Return the object class associated with this property definition if is type NESTED.






Returns
The object class associated with this property definition if is type NESTED.
Throws
RepositoryException - If this operation fails.





getNestedObjectClassId
public ID getNestedObjectClassId()

Gets the nested object class id that this property definition represents.






Returns
The nested object class id or null if this property definition isn't a type of Property.NESTED





getPropertyDefinitionType
public int getPropertyDefinitionType()

Gets the property definition type for this definition.  This will be one
 of NATIVE, INHERITED or
 OVERRIDDEN.  This is system managed and therefore is not settable.






Returns
The property definition type.





isReadOnly
public boolean isReadOnly()

Returns true if a value for the Property cannot be edited.






Returns
True if the property is read-only.





isReadOnly
public void isReadOnly(boolean isReadOnly)

Set to true if a value for the Property cannot be edited, or false otherwise.





Parameters
isReadOnly - True if the property is read-only.





setReadOnly
public void setReadOnly(boolean isReadOnly)

Set to true if a value for the Property cannot be edited, or false otherwise.





Parameters
isReadOnly - True if the property is read-only.





isRestricted
public boolean isRestricted()

Returns true if a value for the Property is restricted
 to the available choices.






Returns
True if the proeprty value(s) is/are restricted.





isRestricted
public void isRestricted(boolean isRestricted)

Set to true if a value for the Property is restricted
 to the available choices, or false otherwise.





Parameters
isRestricted - True if the property value(s) is/are restricted.





setRestricted
public void setRestricted(boolean isRestricted)

Set to true if a value for the Property is restricted
 to the available choices, or false otherwise.





Parameters
isRestricted - True if the property value(s) is/are restricted.





isMultiValued
public boolean isMultiValued()

Returns true if the Property can have multiple values.






Returns
True if the property can have multiple values.





isMultiValued
public void isMultiValued(boolean isMultiValued)

Set to true if the Property can have multiple values, false otherwise.





Parameters
isMultiValued - True if the property can have multiple values.





setMultiValued
public void setMultiValued(boolean isMultiValued)

Set to true if the Property can have multiple values, false otherwise.





Parameters
isMultiValued - True if the property can have multiple values.





isMandatory
public boolean isMandatory()

Returns true if a value for the Property is required.






Returns
True if the property requires a value.





isMandatory
public void isMandatory(boolean isMandatory)

Set to true if a value for the Property is required, or false otherwise.





Parameters
isMandatory - True if the property requires a value.





setMandatory
public void setMandatory(boolean isMandatory)

Set to true if a value for the Property is required, or false otherwise.





Parameters
isMandatory - True if the property requires a value.





isSearchable
public boolean isSearchable()

Returns true if a value for the Property should be indexed when nodes of this type are indexed in the
 repository's full-text search implementation.






Returns
True if properties should be indexed by the repository's full-text search implementation.





isSearchable
public void isSearchable(boolean isSearchable)

Set to true if a value for the Property should be indexed when nodes of this type are indexed in the
 repository's full-text search implementation.





Parameters
isSearchable - True if properties should be indexed by the repository's full-text search implementation.





setSearchable
public void setSearchable(boolean isSearchable)

Set to true if a value for the Property should be indexed when nodes of this type are indexed in the
 repository's full-text search implementation.





Parameters
isSearchable - True if properties should be indexed by the repository's full-text search implementation.





isNested
public boolean isNested()

Indicates whether this PropertyDefinition belongs to an Objectclass that is nested inside another ObjectClass.
 A code example using nested PropertyDefinitions is provided in this class level javadoc.






Returns
True if this property definition is nested.





isNested
public void isNested(boolean isNested)

Indicates whether this PropertyDefinition belongs to an Objectclass that is nested inside another ObjectClass.
 A code example using nested PropertyDefinitions is provided in this class level javadoc.





Parameters
isNested - True if this property definition is nested.





setNested
public void setNested(boolean isNested)

Indicates whether this PropertyDefinition belongs to an Objectclass that is nested inside another ObjectClass.
 A code example using nested PropertyDefinitions is provided in this class level javadoc.





Parameters
isNested - True if this property definition is nested.





isPrimary
public boolean isPrimary()

Returns true if this PropertyDefinition represents the primary PropertyDefinition for its ObjectClass. There may
 only be one primary PropertyDefinition per ObjectClass. The ObjectClass holds the true relationship to the
 primary PropertyDefinition.  This is an indicator to describe that relationship.






Returns
True if this properfy definition is the primary property definition for its containing object class.





isPrimary
public void isPrimary(boolean isPrimary)

Set to true if this PropertyDefinition represents the primary PropertyDefinition for its ObjectClass. There may
 only be one primary PropertyDefinition per ObjectClass. The ObjectClass holds the true relationship to the
 primary PropertyDefinition.  This is an indicator to describe that relationship.





Parameters
isPrimary - True if this properfy definition is the primary property definition for its containing object
 class.





setPrimary
public void setPrimary(boolean isPrimary)

Set to true if this PropertyDefinition represents the primary PropertyDefinition for its ObjectClass. There may
 only be one primary PropertyDefinition per ObjectClass. The ObjectClass holds the true relationship to the
 primary PropertyDefinition.  This is an indicator to describe that relationship.





Parameters
isPrimary - True if this properfy definition is the primary property definition for its containing object
 class.





toString
public String toString()

Returns the PropertyDefinition attributs as a String.


Overrides:
toString in class ContentEntity








clone
public Object clone()
             throws CloneNotSupportedException

Clones a PropertyDefinition with its property choices.
 Note that binary property choice streams are not cloned, but merely copied.


Overrides:
clone in class ContentEntity



Returns
A clone of the PropertyDefinition.
Throws
CloneNotSupportedException - If the clone fails.