Eclipse JDT Plug-in Developer Guide (Galileo) - IJavaElement (Eclipse JDT API Specification)

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Eclipse JDT
Release 3.5

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org.eclipse.jdt.core
Interface IJavaElement

All Superinterfaces:: IAdaptable

All Known Subinterfaces:: IAnnotation, IClassFile, ICompilationUnit, IField, IImportContainer, IImportDeclaration, IInitializer, IJavaModel, IJavaProject, ILocalVariable, IMember, IMethod, IPackageDeclaration, IPackageFragment, IPackageFragmentRoot, IType, ITypeParameter, ITypeRoot

public interface IJavaElement
extends IAdaptable
extends IAdaptable

Common protocol for all elements provided by the Java model. Java model elements are exposed to clients as handles to the actual underlying element. The Java model may hand out any number of handles for each element. Handles that refer to the same element are guaranteed to be equal, but not necessarily identical.

Methods annotated as "handle-only" do not require underlying elements to exist. Methods that require underlying elements to exist throw a JavaModelException when an underlying element is missing. JavaModelException.isDoesNotExist can be used to recognize this common special case.

Restriction:: This interface is not intended to be implemented by clients.

Field Summary

static int ANNOTATION
          Constant representing an annotation.

static int CLASS_FILE
          Constant representing a class file.

static int COMPILATION_UNIT
          Constant representing a Java compilation unit.

static int FIELD
          Constant representing a field.

static int IMPORT_CONTAINER
          Constant representing all import declarations within a compilation unit.

static int IMPORT_DECLARATION
          Constant representing an import declaration within a compilation unit.

static int INITIALIZER
          Constant representing a stand-alone instance or class initializer.

static int JAVA_MODEL
          Constant representing a Java model (workspace level object).

static int JAVA_PROJECT
          Constant representing a Java project.

static int LOCAL_VARIABLE
          Constant representing a local variable declaration.

static int METHOD
          Constant representing a method or constructor.

static int PACKAGE_DECLARATION
          Constant representing a package declaration within a compilation unit.

static int PACKAGE_FRAGMENT
          Constant representing a package fragment.

static int PACKAGE_FRAGMENT_ROOT
          Constant representing a package fragment root.

static int TYPE
          Constant representing a type (a class or interface).

static int TYPE_PARAMETER
          Constant representing a type parameter declaration.

Method Summary

boolean exists ()
          Returns whether this Java element exists in the model.

IJavaElement getAncestor (int ancestorType)
          Returns the first ancestor of this Java element that has the given type.

String getAttachedJavadoc ( IProgressMonitor monitor)
          Returns the Javadoc as an html source if this element has an attached javadoc, null otherwise.

IResource getCorrespondingResource ()
          Returns the resource that corresponds directly to this element, or null if there is no resource that corresponds to this element.

String getElementName ()
          Returns the name of this element.

int getElementType ()
          Returns this element's kind encoded as an integer.

String getHandleIdentifier ()
          Returns a string representation of this element handle.

IJavaModel getJavaModel ()
          Returns the Java model.

IJavaProject getJavaProject ()
          Returns the Java project this element is contained in, or null if this element is not contained in any Java project (for instance, the IJavaModel is not contained in any Java project).

IOpenable getOpenable ()
          Returns the first openable parent.

IJavaElement getParent ()
          Returns the element directly containing this element, or null if this element has no parent.

IPath getPath ()
          Returns the path to the innermost resource enclosing this element.

IJavaElement getPrimaryElement ()
          Returns the primary element (whose compilation unit is the primary compilation unit) this working copy element was created from, or this element if it is a descendant of a primary compilation unit or if it is not a descendant of a working copy (e.g. it is a binary member).

IResource getResource ()
          Returns the innermost resource enclosing this element.

ISchedulingRule getSchedulingRule ()
          Returns the scheduling rule associated with this Java element.

IResource getUnderlyingResource ()
          Returns the smallest underlying resource that contains this element, or null if this element is not contained in a resource.

boolean isReadOnly ()
          Returns whether this Java element is read-only.

boolean isStructureKnown ()
          Returns whether the structure of this element is known.

Methods inherited from interface org.eclipse.core.runtime. IAdaptable

getAdapter

Field Detail

JAVA_MODEL

static final int JAVA_MODEL

Constant representing a Java model (workspace level object). A Java element with this type can be safely cast to IJavaModel.

See Also:: Constant Field Values

JAVA_PROJECT

static final int JAVA_PROJECT

Constant representing a Java project. A Java element with this type can be safely cast to IJavaProject.

See Also:: Constant Field Values

PACKAGE_FRAGMENT_ROOT

static final int PACKAGE_FRAGMENT_ROOT

Constant representing a package fragment root. A Java element with this type can be safely cast to IPackageFragmentRoot.

See Also:: Constant Field Values

PACKAGE_FRAGMENT

static final int PACKAGE_FRAGMENT

Constant representing a package fragment. A Java element with this type can be safely cast to IPackageFragment.

See Also:: Constant Field Values

COMPILATION_UNIT

static final int COMPILATION_UNIT

Constant representing a Java compilation unit. A Java element with this type can be safely cast to ICompilationUnit.

See Also:: Constant Field Values

CLASS_FILE

static final int CLASS_FILE

Constant representing a class file. A Java element with this type can be safely cast to IClassFile.

See Also:: Constant Field Values

TYPE

static final int TYPE

Constant representing a type (a class or interface). A Java element with this type can be safely cast to IType.

See Also:: Constant Field Values

FIELD

static final int FIELD

Constant representing a field. A Java element with this type can be safely cast to IField.

See Also:: Constant Field Values

METHOD

static final int METHOD

Constant representing a method or constructor. A Java element with this type can be safely cast to IMethod.

See Also:: Constant Field Values

INITIALIZER

static final int INITIALIZER

Constant representing a stand-alone instance or class initializer. A Java element with this type can be safely cast to IInitializer.

See Also:: Constant Field Values

PACKAGE_DECLARATION

static final int PACKAGE_DECLARATION

Constant representing a package declaration within a compilation unit. A Java element with this type can be safely cast to IPackageDeclaration.

See Also:: Constant Field Values

IMPORT_CONTAINER

static final int IMPORT_CONTAINER

Constant representing all import declarations within a compilation unit. A Java element with this type can be safely cast to IImportContainer.

See Also:: Constant Field Values

IMPORT_DECLARATION

static final int IMPORT_DECLARATION

Constant representing an import declaration within a compilation unit. A Java element with this type can be safely cast to IImportDeclaration.

See Also:: Constant Field Values

LOCAL_VARIABLE

static final int LOCAL_VARIABLE

Constant representing a local variable declaration. A Java element with this type can be safely cast to ILocalVariable.

Since:: 3.0
See Also:: Constant Field Values

TYPE_PARAMETER

static final int TYPE_PARAMETER

Constant representing a type parameter declaration. A Java element with this type can be safely cast to ITypeParameter.

Since:: 3.1
See Also:: Constant Field Values

ANNOTATION

static final int ANNOTATION

Constant representing an annotation. A Java element with this type can be safely cast to IAnnotation.

Since:: 3.4
See Also:: Constant Field Values

Method Detail

exists

boolean exists()

Returns whether this Java element exists in the model.

Java elements are handle objects that may or may not be backed by an actual element. Java elements that are backed by an actual element are said to "exist", and this method returns true. For Java elements that are not working copies, it is always the case that if the element exists, then its parent also exists (provided it has one) and includes the element as one of its children. It is therefore possible to navigated to any existing Java element from the root of the Java model along a chain of existing Java elements. On the other hand, working copies are said to exist until they are destroyed (with IWorkingCopy.destroy). Unlike regular Java elements, a working copy never shows up among the children of its parent element (which may or may not exist).

Returns:: true if this element exists in the Java model, and false if this element does not exist

getAncestor


IJavaElement getAncestor(int ancestorType)

Returns the first ancestor of this Java element that has the given type. Returns null if no such an ancestor can be found. This is a handle-only method.

Parameters:: ancestorType - the given type
Returns:: the first ancestor of this Java element that has the given type, null if no such an ancestor can be found
Since:: 2.0

getAttachedJavadoc


String getAttachedJavadoc(
IProgressMonitor monitor)
                          throws 
JavaModelException

Returns the Javadoc as an html source if this element has an attached javadoc, null otherwise.

This should be used only for binary elements. Source elements will always return null.

The encoding used to read the javadoc is the one defined by the content type of the file. If none is defined, then the project's encoding of this java element is used. If the project's encoding cannot be retrieved, then the platform encoding is used.

In case of the javadoc doesn't exist for this element, null is returned.

The html is extracted from the attached javadoc and provided as is. No transformation or validation is done.

Parameters:

monitor - the given progress monitor

Returns:

the extracted javadoc from the attached javadoc, null if none

Throws:


JavaModelException

- if:

this element does not exist
retrieving the attached javadoc fails (timed-out, invalid URL, ...)
the format of the javadoc doesn't match expected standards (different anchors,...)

Since:

3.2

getCorrespondingResource


IResource getCorrespondingResource()
                                   throws 
JavaModelException

Returns the resource that corresponds directly to this element, or null if there is no resource that corresponds to this element.

For example, the corresponding resource for an ICompilationUnit is its underlying IFile. The corresponding resource for an IPackageFragment that is not contained in an archive is its underlying IFolder. An IPackageFragment contained in an archive has no corresponding resource. Similarly, there are no corresponding resources for IMethods, IFields, etc.

Returns:: the corresponding resource, or null if none
Throws:: JavaModelException - if this element does not exist or if an exception occurs while accessing its corresponding resource

getElementName


String getElementName()

Returns the name of this element. This is a handle-only method.

Returns:: the element name

getElementType

int getElementType()

Returns this element's kind encoded as an integer. This is a handle-only method.

Returns:: the kind of element; one of the constants declared in IJavaElement
See Also:: IJavaElement

getHandleIdentifier


String getHandleIdentifier()

Returns a string representation of this element handle. The format of the string is not specified; however, the identifier is stable across workspace sessions, and can be used to recreate this handle via the JavaCore.create(String) method.

Returns:: the string handle identifier
See Also:: JavaCore.create(java.lang.String)

getJavaModel


IJavaModel getJavaModel()

Returns the Java model. This is a handle-only method.

Returns:: the Java model

getJavaProject


IJavaProject getJavaProject()

Returns the Java project this element is contained in, or null if this element is not contained in any Java project (for instance, the IJavaModel is not contained in any Java project). This is a handle-only method.

Returns:: the containing Java project, or null if this element is not contained in a Java project

getOpenable


IOpenable getOpenable()

Returns the first openable parent. If this element is openable, the element itself is returned. Returns null if this element doesn't have an openable parent. This is a handle-only method.

Returns:: the first openable parent or null if this element doesn't have an openable parent.
Since:: 2.0

getParent


IJavaElement getParent()

Returns the element directly containing this element, or null if this element has no parent. This is a handle-only method.

Returns:: the parent element, or null if this element has no parent

getPath


IPath getPath()

Returns the path to the innermost resource enclosing this element. If this element is not included in an external library, the path returned is the full, absolute path to the underlying resource, relative to the workbench. If this element is included in an external library, the path returned is the absolute path to the archive or to the folder in the file system. This is a handle-only method.

Returns:: the path to the innermost resource enclosing this element
Since:: 2.0

getPrimaryElement


IJavaElement getPrimaryElement()

Returns the primary element (whose compilation unit is the primary compilation unit) this working copy element was created from, or this element if it is a descendant of a primary compilation unit or if it is not a descendant of a working copy (e.g. it is a binary member). The returned element may or may not exist.

Returns:: the primary element this working copy element was created from, or this element.
Since:: 3.0

getResource


IResource getResource()

Returns the innermost resource enclosing this element. If this element is included in an archive and this archive is not external, this is the underlying resource corresponding to the archive. If this element is included in an external library, null is returned. This is a handle-only method.

Returns:: the innermost resource enclosing this element, null if this element is included in an external archive
Since:: 2.0

getSchedulingRule


ISchedulingRule getSchedulingRule()

Returns the scheduling rule associated with this Java element. This is a handle-only method.

Returns:: the scheduling rule associated with this Java element
Since:: 3.0

getUnderlyingResource


IResource getUnderlyingResource()
                                throws 
JavaModelException

Returns the smallest underlying resource that contains this element, or null if this element is not contained in a resource.

Returns:: the underlying resource, or null if none
Throws:: JavaModelException - if this element does not exist or if an exception occurs while accessing its underlying resource

isReadOnly

boolean isReadOnly()

Returns whether this Java element is read-only. An element is read-only if its structure cannot be modified by the java model.

Note this is different from IResource.isReadOnly(). For example, .jar files are read-only as the java model doesn't know how to add/remove elements in this file, but the underlying IFile can be writable.

This is a handle-only method.

Returns:: true if this element is read-only

isStructureKnown

boolean isStructureKnown()
                         throws 
JavaModelException

Returns whether the structure of this element is known. For example, for a compilation unit that has syntax errors, false is returned. If the structure of an element is unknown, navigations will return reasonable defaults. For example, getChildren for a compilation unit with syntax errors will return a collection of the children that could be parsed.

Note: This does not imply anything about consistency with the underlying resource/buffer contents.

Returns:: true if the structure of this element is known
Throws:: JavaModelException - if this element does not exist or if an exception occurs while accessing its corresponding resource