Type Repository 

The type repository (TypeRepository.xml) allows you to define types for elements that you may want to use throughout your application, such as colors, layouts, nodes, and lines. You can define a type the same way that you define an individual element. The tags and the attributes are the same. The different types are sorted according to type classes in the type repository.

JNet provides a default type repository, which you can use to start with. You must only define a new type repository, if you want to make changes to the default values. If you want to make changes to the existing type repository, you can make changes to the existing TypeRepository.xml file, create a new file, or use the <TypeRepository> tag in the data file. The entries made in the <TypeRepository> tag overwrite any definitions made in the TypeRepository.xml. Using the <TypeRepository> tag makes sense for testing purposes, or if you want to make changes to the TypeRepository.xml at a later stage.

We recommend that you define as much information as possible in the type repository, since this allows you to reuse predefined types.

A type in the type repository can inherit from another type. If you reference a type at a later stage, JNet takes the default values from the type definition. If you want to change just one element of the type, you just need to define a different value for the element that you want to change. A type inherits all values that have been specified and all default values of its class.

JNet also provides a set of predefined types, which you can reuse and modify, if necessary.