javax.lang.model.util
Interface Elements

public interface Elements

Utility methods for operating on program elements.

Compatibility Note: Methods may be added to this interface in future releases of the platform.

Since:

1.6

See Also:

ProcessingEnvironment.getElementUtils()

Method Summary

List<? extends AnnotationMirror>	getAllAnnotationMirrors(Element e) Returns all annotations of an element, whether inherited or directly present.
List<? extends Element>	getAllMembers(TypeElement type) Returns all members of a type element, whether inherited or declared directly.
Name	getBinaryName(TypeElement type) Returns the binary name of a type element.
String	getConstantExpression(Object value) Returns the text of a constant expression representing a primitive value or a string.
String	getDocComment(Element e) Returns the text of the documentation ("Javadoc") comment of an element.
Map<? extends ExecutableElement,? extends AnnotationValue>	getElementValuesWithDefaults(AnnotationMirror a) Returns the values of an annotation's elements, including defaults.
Name	getName(CharSequence cs) Return a name with the same sequence of characters as the argument.
PackageElement	getPackageElement(CharSequence name) Returns a package given its fully qualified name.
PackageElement	getPackageOf(Element type) Returns the package of an element.
TypeElement	getTypeElement(CharSequence name) Returns a type element given its canonical name.
boolean	hides(Element hider, Element hidden) Tests whether one type, method, or field hides another.
boolean	isDeprecated(Element e) Returns true if the element is deprecated, false otherwise.
boolean	overrides(ExecutableElement overrider, ExecutableElement overridden, TypeElement type) Tests whether one method, as a member of a given type, overrides another method.
void	printElements(Writer w, Element... elements) Prints a representation of the elements to the given writer in the specified order.

Method Detail

getPackageElement

PackageElement getPackageElement(CharSequence name)

Returns a package given its fully qualified name.

Parameters:

name - fully qualified package name, or "" for an unnamed package

Returns:

the named package, or null if it cannot be found

getTypeElement

TypeElement getTypeElement(CharSequence name)

Returns a type element given its canonical name.

Parameters:

name - the canonical name

Returns:

the named type element, or null if it cannot be found

getElementValuesWithDefaults

Map<? extends ExecutableElement,? extends AnnotationValue> getElementValuesWithDefaults(AnnotationMirror a)

Returns the values of an annotation's elements, including defaults.

Parameters:

a - annotation to examine

Returns:

the values of the annotation's elements, including defaults

See Also:

AnnotationMirror.getElementValues()

getDocComment

String getDocComment(Element e)

Returns the text of the documentation ("Javadoc") comment of an element.

Parameters:

e - the element being examined

Returns:

the documentation comment of the element, or null if there is none

isDeprecated

boolean isDeprecated(Element e)

Returns true if the element is deprecated, false otherwise.

Parameters:

e - the element being examined

Returns:

true if the element is deprecated, false otherwise

getBinaryName

Name getBinaryName(TypeElement type)

Returns the binary name of a type element.

Parameters:

type - the type element being examined

Returns:

the binary name

See Also:

TypeElement.getQualifiedName()

See The Java Language Specification, Third Edition:

13.1 The Form of a Binary

getPackageOf

PackageElement getPackageOf(Element type)

Returns the package of an element. The package of a package is itself.

Parameters:

type - the element being examined

Returns:

the package of an element

getAllMembers

List<? extends Element> getAllMembers(TypeElement type)

Returns all members of a type element, whether inherited or declared directly. For a class the result also includes its constructors, but not local or anonymous classes.

Note that elements of certain kinds can be isolated using methods in ElementFilter.

Parameters:

type - the type being examined

Returns:

all members of the type

See Also:

Element.getEnclosedElements()

getAllAnnotationMirrors

List<? extends AnnotationMirror> getAllAnnotationMirrors(Element e)

Returns all annotations of an element, whether inherited or directly present.

Parameters:

e - the element being examined

Returns:

all annotations of the element

See Also:

Element.getAnnotationMirrors()

hides

boolean hides(Element hider,
              Element hidden)

Tests whether one type, method, or field hides another.

Parameters:

hider - the first element

hidden - the second element

Returns:

true if and only if the first element hides the second

overrides

boolean overrides(ExecutableElement overrider,
                  ExecutableElement overridden,
                  TypeElement type)

Tests whether one method, as a member of a given type, overrides another method. When a non-abstract method overrides an abstract one, the former is also said to implement the latter.

In the simplest and most typical usage, the value of the type parameter will simply be the class or interface directly enclosing overrider (the possibly-overriding method). For example, suppose m1 represents the method String.hashCode and m2 represents Object.hashCode. We can then ask whether m1 overrides m2 within the class String (it does):

assert elements.overrides(m1, m2, elements.getTypeElement("java.lang.String"));

A more interesting case can be illustrated by the following example in which a method in type A does not override a like-named method in type B:

class A { public void m() {} }
interface B { void m(); }
...
m1 = ...; // A.m
m2 = ...; // B.m
assert ! elements.overrides(m1, m2, elements.getTypeElement("A"));

When viewed as a member of a third type C, however, the method in A does override the one in B:

class C extends A implements B {}
...
assert elements.overrides(m1, m2, elements.getTypeElement("C"));

Parameters:

overrider - the first method, possible overrider

overridden - the second method, possibly being overridden

type - the type of which the first method is a member

Returns:

true if and only if the first method overrides the second

See The Java Language Specification, Third Edition:

8.4.8 Inheritance, Overriding, and Hiding, 9.4.1 Inheritance and Overriding

getConstantExpression

String getConstantExpression(Object value)

Returns the text of a constant expression representing a primitive value or a string. The text returned is in a form suitable for representing the value in source code.

Parameters:

value - a primitive value or string

Returns:

the text of a constant expression

Throws:

IllegalArgumentException - if the argument is not a primitive value or string

See Also:

VariableElement.getConstantValue()

printElements

void printElements(Writer w,
                   Element... elements)

Prints a representation of the elements to the given writer in the specified order. The main purpose of this method is for diagnostics. The exact format of the output is not specified and is subject to change.

Parameters:

w - the writer to print the output to

elements - the elements to print

getName

Name getName(CharSequence cs)

Return a name with the same sequence of characters as the argument.

Parameters:

cs - the character sequence to return as a name