javax.naming.directory
Class BasicAttribute

java.lang.Object
  |
  +--javax.naming.directory.BasicAttribute

All Implemented Interfaces:

Attribute, Cloneable, Serializable

public class BasicAttribute

extends Object

implements Attribute

This class provides a basic implementation of the Attribute interface.

This implementation does not support the schema methods getAttributeDefinition() and getAttributeSyntaxDefinition(). They simply throw OperationNotSupportedException. Subclasses of BasicAttribute should override these methods if they support them.

The BasicAttribute class by default uses Object.equals() to determine equality of attribute values when testing for equality or when searching for values, except when the value is an array. For an array, each element of the array is checked using Object.equals(). Subclasses of BasicAttribute can make use of schema information when doing similar equality checks by overriding methods in which such use of schema is meaningful. Similarly, the BasicAttribute class by default returns the values passed to its constructor and/or manipulated using the add/remove methods. Subclasses of BasicAttribute can override get() and getAll() to get the values dynamically from the directory (or implement the Attribute interface directly instead of subclassing BasicAttribute).

Note that updates to BasicAttribute (such as adding or removing a value) does not affect the corresponding representation of the attribute in the directory. Updates to the directory can only be effected using operations in the DirContext interface.

A BasicAttribute instance is not synchronized against concurrent multithreaded access. Multiple threads trying to access and modify a BasicAttribute should lock the object.

Since:

1.3

See Also:

Serialized Form

Field Summary

protected String	attrID Holds the attribute's id.
protected boolean	ordered A flag for recording whether this attribute's values are ordered.
protected Vector	values Holds the attribute's values.

Fields inherited from interface javax.naming.directory.Attribute

serialVersionUID

Constructor Summary

BasicAttribute(String id)
Constructs a new instance of an unordered attribute with no value.

BasicAttribute(String id, boolean ordered)
Constructs a new instance of a possibly ordered attribute with no value.

BasicAttribute(String id, Object value)
Constructs a new instance of an unordered attribute with a single value.

BasicAttribute(String id, Object value, boolean ordered)
Constructs a new instance of a possibly ordered attribute with a single value.

Method Summary

void	add(int ix, Object attrVal) Adds an attribute value to the ordered list of attribute values.
boolean	add(Object attrVal) Adds a new value to this attribute.
void	clear() Removes all values from this attribute.
Object	clone() Makes a copy of the attribute.
boolean	contains(Object attrVal) Determines whether a value is in this attribute.
boolean	equals(Object obj) Determines whether obj is equal to this attribute.
Object	get() Retrieves one of this attribute's values.
Object	get(int ix) Retrieves the attribute value from the ordered list of attribute values.
NamingEnumeration	getAll() Retrieves an enumeration of this attribute's values.
DirContext	getAttributeDefinition() Retrieves this attribute's schema definition.
DirContext	getAttributeSyntaxDefinition() Retrieves the syntax definition associated with this attribute.
String	getID() Retrieves the id of this attribute.
int	hashCode() Calculates the hash code of this attribute.
boolean	isOrdered() Determines whether this attribute's values are ordered.
Object	remove(int ix) Removes an attribute value from the ordered list of attribute values.
boolean	remove(Object attrval) Removes a specified value from this attribute.
Object	set(int ix, Object attrVal) Sets an attribute value in the ordered list of attribute values.
int	size() Retrieves the number of values in this attribute.
String	toString() Generates the string representation of this attribute.

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

finalize, getClass, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait

Field Detail

attrID

protected String attrID

Holds the attribute's id. It is initialized by the public constructor and cannot be null unless methods in BasicAttribute that use attrID have been overridden.

values

protected transient Vector values

Holds the attribute's values. Initialized by public constructors. Cannot be null unless methods in BasicAttribute that use values have been overridden.

ordered

protected boolean ordered

A flag for recording whether this attribute's values are ordered.

Constructor Detail

BasicAttribute

public BasicAttribute(String id)

Constructs a new instance of an unordered attribute with no value.

Parameters:

id - The attribute's id. It cannot be null.

BasicAttribute

public BasicAttribute(String id,
                      Object value)

Constructs a new instance of an unordered attribute with a single value.

Parameters:

id - The attribute's id. It cannot be null.

value - The attribute's value. If null, a null value is added to the attribute.

BasicAttribute

public BasicAttribute(String id,
                      boolean ordered)

Constructs a new instance of a possibly ordered attribute with no value.

Parameters:

id - The attribute's id. It cannot be null.

ordered - true means the attribute's values will be ordered; false otherwise.

BasicAttribute

public BasicAttribute(String id,
                      Object value,
                      boolean ordered)

Constructs a new instance of a possibly ordered attribute with a single value.

Parameters:

id - The attribute's id. It cannot be null.

value - The attribute's value. If null, a null value is added to the attribute.

ordered - true means the attribute's values will be ordered; false otherwise.

Method Detail

clone

public Object clone()

Description copied from interface: Attribute

Makes a copy of the attribute. The copy contains the same attribute values as the original attribute: the attribute values are not themselves cloned. Changes to the copy will not affect the original and vice versa.

Specified by:

clone in interface Attribute

Overrides:

clone in class Object

Returns:

A non-null copy of the attribute.

equals

public boolean equals(Object obj)

Determines whether obj is equal to this attribute. Two attributes are equal if their attribute-ids, syntaxes and values are equal. If the attribute values are unordered, the order that the values were added are irrelevant. If the attribute values are ordered, then the order the values must match. If obj is null or not an Attribute, false is returned.

By default Object.equals() is used when comparing the attribute id and its values except when a value is an array. For an array, each element of the array is checked using Object.equals(). A subclass may override this to make use of schema syntax information and matching rules, which define what it means for two attributes to be equal. How and whether a subclass makes use of the schema information is determined by the subclass. If a subclass overrides equals(), it should also override hashCode() such that two attributes that are equal have the same hash code.

Overrides:

equals in class Object

Parameters:

obj - The possibly null object to check.

Returns:

true if obj is equal to this attribute; false otherwise.

See Also:

hashCode(), contains(java.lang.Object)

hashCode

public int hashCode()

Calculates the hash code of this attribute.

The hash code is computed by adding the hash code of the attribute's id and that of all of its values except for values that are arrays. For an array, the hash code of each element of the array is summed. If a subclass overrides hashCode(), it should override equals() as well so that two attributes that are equal have the same hash code.

Overrides:

hashCode in class Object

Returns:

an int representing the hash code of this attribute.

See Also:

equals(java.lang.Object)

toString

public String toString()

Generates the string representation of this attribute. The string consists of the attribute's id and its values. This string is meant for debugging and not meant to be interpreted programmatically.

Overrides:

toString in class Object

Returns:

The non-null string representation of this attribute.

getAll

public NamingEnumeration getAll()
                         throws NamingException

Retrieves an enumeration of this attribute's values.

By default, the values returned are those passed to the constructor and/or manipulated using the add/replace/remove methods. A subclass may override this to retrieve the values dynamically from the directory.

Specified by:

getAll in interface Attribute

Returns:

A non-null enumeration of the attribute's values. Each element of the enumeration is a possibly null Object. The object's class is the class of the attribute value. The element is null if the attribute's value is null. If the attribute has zero values, an empty enumeration is returned.

Throws:

NamingException - If a naming exception was encountered while retrieving the values.

See Also:

Attribute.isOrdered()

get

public Object get()
           throws NamingException

Retrieves one of this attribute's values.

By default, the value returned is one of those passed to the constructor and/or manipulated using the add/replace/remove methods. A subclass may override this to retrieve the value dynamically from the directory.

Specified by:

get in interface Attribute

Returns:

A possibly null object representing one of the attribute's value. It is null if the attribute's value is null.

Throws:

NamingException - If a naming exception was encountered while retrieving the value.

size

public int size()

Description copied from interface: Attribute

Retrieves the number of values in this attribute.

Specified by:

size in interface Attribute

Returns:

The nonnegative number of values in this attribute.

getID

public String getID()

Description copied from interface: Attribute

Retrieves the id of this attribute.

Specified by:

getID in interface Attribute

Returns:

The id of this attribute. It cannot be null.

contains

public boolean contains(Object attrVal)

Determines whether a value is in this attribute.

By default, Object.equals() is used when comparing attrVal with this attribute's values except when attrVal is an array. For an array, each element of the array is checked using Object.equals(). A subclass may use schema information to determine equality.

Specified by:

contains in interface Attribute

Parameters:

attrVal - The possibly null value to check. If null, check whether the attribute has an attribute value whose value is null.

Returns:

true if attrVal is one of this attribute's values; false otherwise.

See Also:

Object.equals(java.lang.Object), equals(java.lang.Object)

add

public boolean add(Object attrVal)

Adds a new value to this attribute.

By default, Object.equals() is used when comparing attrVal with this attribute's values except when attrVal is an array. For an array, each element of the array is checked using Object.equals(). A subclass may use schema information to determine equality.

Specified by:

add in interface Attribute

Parameters:

attrVal - The new possibly null value to add. If null, null is added as an attribute value.

Returns:

true if a value was added; false otherwise.

remove

public boolean remove(Object attrval)

Removes a specified value from this attribute.

By default, Object.equals() is used when comparing attrVal with this attribute's values except when attrVal is an array. For an array, each element of the array is checked using Object.equals(). A subclass may use schema information to determine equality.

Specified by:

remove in interface Attribute

Parameters:

attrval - The possibly null value to remove from this attribute. If null, remove the attribute value that is null.

Returns:

true if the value was removed; false otherwise.

clear

public void clear()

Description copied from interface: Attribute

Removes all values from this attribute.

Specified by:

clear in interface Attribute

isOrdered

public boolean isOrdered()

Description copied from interface: Attribute

Determines whether this attribute's values are ordered. If an attribute's values are ordered, duplicate values are allowed. If an attribute's values are unordered, they are presented in any order and there are no duplicate values.

Specified by:

isOrdered in interface Attribute

Returns:

true if this attribute's values are ordered; false otherwise.

See Also:

Attribute.get(int), Attribute.remove(int), Attribute.add(int, java.lang.Object), Attribute.set(int, java.lang.Object)

get

public Object get(int ix)
           throws NamingException

Description copied from interface: Attribute

Retrieves the attribute value from the ordered list of attribute values. This method returns the value at the ix index of the list of attribute values. If the attribute values are unordered, this method returns the value that happens to be at that index.

Specified by:

get in interface Attribute

Parameters:

ix - The index of the value in the ordered list of attribute values. 0 <= ix < size().

Returns:

The possibly null attribute value at index ix; null if the attribute value is null.

Throws:

NamingException - If a naming exception was encountered while retrieving the value.

remove

public Object remove(int ix)

Description copied from interface: Attribute

Removes an attribute value from the ordered list of attribute values. This method removes the value at the ix index of the list of attribute values. If the attribute values are unordered, this method removes the value that happens to be at that index. Values located at indices greater than ix are shifted up towards the front of the list (and their indices decremented by one).

Specified by:

remove in interface Attribute

Parameters:

ix - The index of the value to remove. 0 <= ix < size().

Returns:

The possibly null attribute value at index ix that was removed; null if the attribute value is null.

add

public void add(int ix,
                Object attrVal)

Description copied from interface: Attribute

Adds an attribute value to the ordered list of attribute values. This method adds attrVal to the list of attribute values at index ix. Values located at indices at or greater than ix are shifted down towards the end of the list (and their indices incremented by one). If the attribute values are unordered and already have attrVal, IllegalStateException is thrown.

Specified by:

add in interface Attribute

Parameters:

ix - The index in the ordered list of attribute values to add the new value. 0 <= ix <= size().

attrVal - The possibly null attribute value to add; if null, null is the value added.

set

public Object set(int ix,
                  Object attrVal)

Description copied from interface: Attribute

Sets an attribute value in the ordered list of attribute values. This method sets the value at the ix index of the list of attribute values to be attrVal. The old value is removed. If the attribute values are unordered, this method sets the value that happens to be at that index to attrVal, unless attrVal is already one of the values. In that case, IllegalStateException is thrown.

Specified by:

set in interface Attribute

Parameters:

ix - The index of the value in the ordered list of attribute values. 0 <= ix < size().

attrVal - The possibly null attribute value to use. If null, 'null' replaces the old value.

Returns:

The possibly null attribute value at index ix that was replaced. Null if the attribute value was null.

getAttributeSyntaxDefinition

public DirContext getAttributeSyntaxDefinition()
                                        throws NamingException

Retrieves the syntax definition associated with this attribute.

This method by default throws OperationNotSupportedException. A subclass should override this method if it supports schema.

Specified by:

getAttributeSyntaxDefinition in interface Attribute

Returns:

The attribute's syntax definition. Null if the implementation supports schemas but this particular attribute does not have any schema information.

Throws:

NamingException - If a naming exception occurs while getting the schema.

getAttributeDefinition

public DirContext getAttributeDefinition()
                                  throws NamingException

Retrieves this attribute's schema definition.

This method by default throws OperationNotSupportedException. A subclass should override this method if it supports schema.

Specified by:

getAttributeDefinition in interface Attribute

Returns:

This attribute's schema definition. Null if the implementation supports schemas but this particular attribute does not have any schema information.

Throws:

NamingException - If a naming exception occurs while getting the schema.