# Public Methods

These methods are exposed via the generated business interface of the entity.

- `registerChange(Change)` - Allows for an entity to register the fact that a different entity has changed, in order to fire any dependent change handler logic in this entity. This is most useful in situations where the changed object and the dependent object (the one needing to know about the change) are not directly related by parent-child relationships.
- `getDTO()` - Get a `DataTransferObject` representing the current state of the entity.
- `setDTO(DataTransferObject)` - Update the state of the entity based on the passed values in the DTO.
- `getId()` - Each entity has a method by this name, which retrieves and Id instance of the appropriate class for the entity.
- `getFoo()` - Get the value of the persistent property `foo`.
- `fetchBar()` - Convenience method that will fetch the value of `bar`, where `bar` is a parent entity referenced by an optional foreign key reference. The word `fetch` is used to denote that navigation to that entity is not provided from within HQL.
- `getBazzes()` - Get the `EntityList` containing members of the entity `baz`. For example, a `getPersonNames()` method on the `person` entity might return an instance of an `EntityList` containing `PersonName` instances.

Parent topic: Business Entity Public Methods