Class RelationDescriptor

  • All Implemented Interfaces:
    java.io.Serializable, java.lang.Comparable

    public class RelationDescriptor
    extends AttributeDescriptor
    A special attribute descriptor for describing the item relation ends.

    Item relations are accessed via attributes at each member of the relation. Besides their value type these attributes know the relation type which stores all relation tuples.

    See Also:
    Serialized Form
    • Field Detail

      • RELATION_TYPE

        public static final java.lang.String RELATION_TYPE
        The relation type attribute string constant.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • IS_SOURCE

        public static final java.lang.String IS_SOURCE
        The is source attribute string constant.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • RELATION_NAME

        public static final java.lang.String RELATION_NAME
        The relation name attribute string constant.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
      • ORDERED

        public static final java.lang.String ORDERED
        The orderd attribute string constant.
        See Also:
        Constant Field Values
    • Constructor Detail

      • RelationDescriptor

        public RelationDescriptor()
    • Method Detail

      • isSource

        public boolean isSource()
        Tells whether this attribute belong to the source end of the relation or to the target end.
      • isOrdered

        public boolean isOrdered()
        Tells whether this attribute has been marked as 'ordered'.
      • getRelationName

        public java.lang.String getRelationName()
        Returns the relation name.

        This is just a shortcut for getting the relation type and calling Type.getCode() on it. Nervertheless surely faster.

      • getRelationType

        public RelationType getRelationType()
        Returns the relation type this attribute belongs to.
      • getXMLDefinition

        public java.lang.String getXMLDefinition()
        Since relation descriptors are created during relation creation, they do not have an XML definition of their own.
        Overrides:
        getXMLDefinition in class AttributeDescriptor
        Returns:
        empty string