Interface Context

All Known Implementing Classes:
Source

interface Context
The Context object acts as a contextual object that is used to store all information regarding an instance of serialization or deserialization. This maintains the Strategy as well as the Filter used to replace template variables. When serialization and deserialization are performed the source is required as it acts as a factory for objects used in the process.

For serialization the source object is required as a factory for Schema objects, which are used to visit each field in the class that can be serialized. Also this can be used to get any data entered into the session Map object.

When deserializing the source object provides the contextual data used to replace template variables extracted from the XML source. This is performed using the Filter object. Also, as in serialization it acts as a factory for the Schema objects used to examine the serializable fields of an object.

See Also:
  • Method Summary

    Modifier and Type
    Method
    Description
    This is used to acquire the attribute mapped to the specified key.
    This is used to acquire the Caller object.
    This will acquire the Decorator for the type.
    This will create an Instance that can be used to instantiate objects of the specified class.
    This will create an Instance that can be used to instantiate objects of the specified class.
    getName(Class type)
    This is used to acquire the name of the specified type using the Root annotation for the class.
    getOverride(Type type, InputNode node)
    This is used to resolve and load a class for the given element.
    Replaces any template variables within the provided string.
    This creates a Schema object that can be used to examine the fields within the XML class schema.
    This is used to acquire the Session object that is used to store the values used within the serialization process.
    This is used to acquire the Style for the format.
    This is used to acquire the Support object.
    getType(Type type, Object value)
    This is used to determine the type of an object given the source instance.
    This returns the version for the type specified.
    boolean
    isFloat(Class type)
    This is used to determine if the type specified is a floating point type.
    boolean
    isFloat(Type type)
    This is used to determine if the type specified is a floating point type.
    boolean
    This is used to determine whether the scanned class represents a primitive type.
    boolean
    This is used to determine whether the scanned type represents a primitive type.
    boolean
    This is used to determine if the deserialization mode is strict or not.
    boolean
    setOverride(Type type, Object value, OutputNode node)
    This is used to attach elements or attributes to the given element during the serialization process.
  • Method Details

    • isStrict

      boolean isStrict()
      This is used to determine if the deserialization mode is strict or not. If this is not strict then deserialization will be done in such a way that additional elements and attributes can be ignored. This allows external XML formats to be used without having to match the object structure to the XML fully.
      Returns:
      this returns true if the deserialization is strict
    • getStyle

      Style getStyle()
      This is used to acquire the Style for the format. If no style has been set a default style is used, which does not modify the attributes and elements that are used to build the resulting XML document.
      Returns:
      this returns the style used for this format object
    • getSession

      Session getSession()
      This is used to acquire the Session object that is used to store the values used within the serialization process. This provides the internal map that is passed to all of the call back methods so that is can be populated.
      Returns:
      this returns the session that is used by this source
    • getSupport

      Support getSupport()
      This is used to acquire the Support object. The support object is used to translate strings to and from their object representations and is also used to convert the strings to their template values. This is the single source of translation for all of the strings encountered.
      Returns:
      this returns the support used by the context
    • isFloat

      boolean isFloat(Class type) throws Exception
      This is used to determine if the type specified is a floating point type. Types that are floating point are the double and float primitives as well as the java types for this primitives.
      Parameters:
      type - this is the type to determine if it is a float
      Returns:
      this returns true if the type is a floating point
      Throws:
      Exception
    • isFloat

      boolean isFloat(Type type) throws Exception
      This is used to determine if the type specified is a floating point type. Types that are floating point are the double and float primitives as well as the java types for this primitives.
      Parameters:
      type - this is the type to determine if it is a float
      Returns:
      this returns true if the type is a floating point
      Throws:
      Exception
    • isPrimitive

      boolean isPrimitive(Class type) throws Exception
      This is used to determine whether the scanned class represents a primitive type. A primitive type is a type that contains no XML annotations and so cannot be serialized with an XML form. Instead primitives a serialized using transformations.
      Parameters:
      type - this is the type to determine if it is primitive
      Returns:
      this returns true if no XML annotations were found
      Throws:
      Exception
    • isPrimitive

      boolean isPrimitive(Type type) throws Exception
      This is used to determine whether the scanned type represents a primitive type. A primitive type is a type that contains no XML annotations and so cannot be serialized with an XML form. Instead primitives a serialized using transformations.
      Parameters:
      type - this is the type to determine if it is primitive
      Returns:
      this returns true if no XML annotations were found
      Throws:
      Exception
    • getInstance

      Instance getInstance(Value value)
      This will create an Instance that can be used to instantiate objects of the specified class. This leverages an internal constructor cache to ensure creation is quicker.
      Parameters:
      value - this contains information on the object instance
      Returns:
      this will return an object for instantiating objects
    • getInstance

      Instance getInstance(Class type)
      This will create an Instance that can be used to instantiate objects of the specified class. This leverages an internal constructor cache to ensure creation is quicker.
      Parameters:
      type - this is the type that is to be instantiated
      Returns:
      this will return an object for instantiating objects
    • getName

      String getName(Class type) throws Exception
      This is used to acquire the name of the specified type using the Root annotation for the class. This will use either the name explicitly provided by the annotation or it will use the name of the class that the annotation was placed on if there is no explicit name for the root.
      Parameters:
      type - this is the type to acquire the root name for
      Returns:
      this returns the name of the type from the root
      Throws:
      Exception - if the class contains an illegal schema
    • getCaller

      Caller getCaller(Class type) throws Exception
      This is used to acquire the Caller object. This is used to call the callback methods within the object. If the object contains no callback methods then this will return an object that does not invoke any methods that are invoked.
      Parameters:
      type - this is the type to acquire the caller for
      Returns:
      this returns the caller for the specified type
      Throws:
      Exception
    • getVersion

      Version getVersion(Class type) throws Exception
      This returns the version for the type specified. The version is used to determine how the deserialization process is performed. If the version of the type is different from the version for the XML document, then deserialization is done in a best effort.
      Parameters:
      type - this is the type to acquire the version for
      Returns:
      the version that has been set for this XML schema class
      Throws:
      Exception
    • getDecorator

      Decorator getDecorator(Class type) throws Exception
      This will acquire the Decorator for the type. A decorator is an object that adds various details to the node without changing the overall structure of the node. For example comments and namespaces can be added to the node with a decorator as they do not affect the deserialization.
      Parameters:
      type - this is the type to acquire the decorator for
      Returns:
      this returns the decorator associated with this
      Throws:
      Exception
    • getSchema

      Schema getSchema(Class type) throws Exception
      This creates a Schema object that can be used to examine the fields within the XML class schema. The schema maintains information when a field from within the schema is visited, this allows the serialization and deserialization process to determine if all required XML annotations are used.
      Parameters:
      type - the schema class the schema is created for
      Returns:
      a new schema that can track visits within the schema
      Throws:
      Exception - if the class contains an illegal schema
    • getOverride

      Value getOverride(Type type, InputNode node) throws Exception
      This is used to resolve and load a class for the given element. The class should be of the same type or a subclass of the class specified. It can be resolved using the details within the provided XML element, if the details used do not represent any serializable values they should be removed so as not to disrupt the deserialization process. For example the default strategy removes all "class" attributes from the given elements.
      Parameters:
      type - this is the type of the root element expected
      node - this is the element used to resolve an override
      Returns:
      returns the type that should be used for the object
      Throws:
      Exception - thrown if the class cannot be resolved
    • setOverride

      boolean setOverride(Type type, Object value, OutputNode node) throws Exception
      This is used to attach elements or attributes to the given element during the serialization process. This method allows the strategy to augment the XML document so that it can be deserialized using a similar strategy. For example the default strategy adds a "class" attribute to the element.
      Parameters:
      type - this is the field type for the associated value
      value - this is the instance variable being serialized
      node - this is the element used to represent the value
      Returns:
      this returns true if serialization has complete
      Throws:
      Exception - thrown if the details cannot be set
    • getType

      Class getType(Type type, Object value)
      This is used to determine the type of an object given the source instance. To provide a best match approach this will first attempt to get the value for the actual instance, if however the instance is null the type is delegated to.
      Parameters:
      type - this is the type used in the serialization
      value - this is the source instance being used
      Returns:
      the best match given the criteria
    • getAttribute

      Object getAttribute(Object key)
      This is used to acquire the attribute mapped to the specified key. In order for this to return a value it must have been previously placed into the context as it is empty by default.
      Parameters:
      key - this is the name of the attribute to retrieve
      Returns:
      this returns the value mapped to the specified key
    • getProperty

      String getProperty(String text)
      Replaces any template variables within the provided string. This is used in the deserialization process to replace variables with system properties, environment variables, or used specified mappings. If a template variable does not have a mapping from the Filter is is left unchanged.
      Parameters:
      text - this is processed by the template engine object
      Returns:
      this returns the text will all variables replaced