public class

FeatureDescriptor

extends Object
java.lang.Object
   ↳ java.beans.FeatureDescriptor
Known Direct Subclasses
Known Indirect Subclasses

Class Overview

The FeatureDescriptor class is the common baseclass for PropertyDescriptor, EventSetDescriptor, and MethodDescriptor, etc.

It supports some common information that can be set and retrieved for any of the introspection descriptors.

In addition it provides an extension mechanism so that arbitrary attribute/value pairs can be associated with a design feature.

Summary

Public Constructors
FeatureDescriptor()
Constructs a FeatureDescriptor.
Public Methods
Enumeration<String> attributeNames()
Gets an enumeration of the locale-independent names of this feature.
String getDisplayName()
Gets the localized display name of this feature.
String getName()
Gets the programmatic name of this feature.
String getShortDescription()
Gets the short description of this feature.
Object getValue(String attributeName)
Retrieve a named attribute with this feature.
boolean isExpert()
The "expert" flag is used to distinguish between those features that are intended for expert users from those that are intended for normal users.
boolean isHidden()
The "hidden" flag is used to identify features that are intended only for tool use, and which should not be exposed to humans.
boolean isPreferred()
The "preferred" flag is used to identify features that are particularly important for presenting to humans.
void setDisplayName(String displayName)
Sets the localized display name of this feature.
void setExpert(boolean expert)
The "expert" flag is used to distinguish between features that are intended for expert users from those that are intended for normal users.
void setHidden(boolean hidden)
The "hidden" flag is used to identify features that are intended only for tool use, and which should not be exposed to humans.
void setName(String name)
Sets the programmatic name of this feature.
void setPreferred(boolean preferred)
The "preferred" flag is used to identify features that are particularly important for presenting to humans.
void setShortDescription(String text)
You can associate a short descriptive string with a feature.
void setValue(String attributeName, Object value)
Associate a named attribute with this feature.
[Expand]
Inherited Methods
From class java.lang.Object

Public Constructors

public FeatureDescriptor ()

Constructs a FeatureDescriptor.

Public Methods

public Enumeration<String> attributeNames ()

Gets an enumeration of the locale-independent names of this feature.

Returns
  • An enumeration of the locale-independent names of any attributes that have been registered with setValue.

public String getDisplayName ()

Gets the localized display name of this feature.

Returns
  • The localized display name for the property/method/event. This defaults to the same as its programmatic name from getName.

public String getName ()

Gets the programmatic name of this feature.

Returns
  • The programmatic name of the property/method/event

public String getShortDescription ()

Gets the short description of this feature.

Returns
  • A localized short description associated with this property/method/event. This defaults to be the display name.

public Object getValue (String attributeName)

Retrieve a named attribute with this feature.

Parameters
attributeName The locale-independent name of the attribute
Returns
  • The value of the attribute. May be null if the attribute is unknown.

public boolean isExpert ()

The "expert" flag is used to distinguish between those features that are intended for expert users from those that are intended for normal users.

Returns
  • True if this feature is intended for use by experts only.

public boolean isHidden ()

The "hidden" flag is used to identify features that are intended only for tool use, and which should not be exposed to humans.

Returns
  • True if this feature should be hidden from human users.

public boolean isPreferred ()

The "preferred" flag is used to identify features that are particularly important for presenting to humans.

Returns
  • True if this feature should be preferentially shown to human users.

public void setDisplayName (String displayName)

Sets the localized display name of this feature.

Parameters
displayName The localized display name for the property/method/event.

public void setExpert (boolean expert)

The "expert" flag is used to distinguish between features that are intended for expert users from those that are intended for normal users.

Parameters
expert True if this feature is intended for use by experts only.

public void setHidden (boolean hidden)

The "hidden" flag is used to identify features that are intended only for tool use, and which should not be exposed to humans.

Parameters
hidden True if this feature should be hidden from human users.

public void setName (String name)

Sets the programmatic name of this feature.

Parameters
name The programmatic name of the property/method/event

public void setPreferred (boolean preferred)

The "preferred" flag is used to identify features that are particularly important for presenting to humans.

Parameters
preferred True if this feature should be preferentially shown to human users.

public void setShortDescription (String text)

You can associate a short descriptive string with a feature. Normally these descriptive strings should be less than about 40 characters.

Parameters
text A (localized) short description to be associated with this property/method/event.

public void setValue (String attributeName, Object value)

Associate a named attribute with this feature.

Parameters
attributeName The locale-independent name of the attribute
value The value.