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* ORACLE PROPRIETARY/CONFIDENTIAL. Use is subject to license terms.
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package java.beans;
/**
* A bean implementor who wishes to provide explicit information about
* their bean may provide a BeanInfo class that implements this BeanInfo
* interface and provides explicit information about the methods,
* properties, events, etc, of their bean.
* <p>
* A bean implementor doesn't need to provide a complete set of
* explicit information. You can pick and choose which information
* you want to provide and the rest will be obtained by automatic
* analysis using low-level reflection of the bean classes' methods
* and applying standard design patterns.
* <p>
* You get the opportunity to provide lots and lots of different
* information as part of the various XyZDescriptor classes. But
* don't panic, you only really need to provide the minimal core
* information required by the various constructors.
* <P>
* See also the SimpleBeanInfo class which provides a convenient
* "noop" base class for BeanInfo classes, which you can override
* for those specific places where you want to return explicit info.
* <P>
* To learn about all the behaviour of a bean see the Introspector class.
*/
public interface BeanInfo {
/**
* Gets the beans <code>BeanDescriptor</code>.
*
* @return A BeanDescriptor providing overall information about
* the bean, such as its displayName, its customizer, etc. May
* return null if the information should be obtained by automatic
* analysis.
*/
BeanDescriptor getBeanDescriptor();
/**
* Gets the beans <code>EventSetDescriptor</code>s.
*
* @return An array of EventSetDescriptors describing the kinds of
* events fired by this bean. May return null if the information
* should be obtained by automatic analysis.
*/
EventSetDescriptor[] getEventSetDescriptors();
/**
* A bean may have a "default" event that is the event that will
* mostly commonly be used by humans when using the bean.
* @return Index of default event in the EventSetDescriptor array
* returned by getEventSetDescriptors.
* <P> Returns -1 if there is no default event.
*/
int getDefaultEventIndex();
/**
* Returns descriptors for all properties of the bean.
* May return {@code null} if the information
* should be obtained by automatic analysis.
* <p>
* If a property is indexed, then its entry in the result array
* will belong to the {@link IndexedPropertyDescriptor} subclass
* of the {@link PropertyDescriptor} class.
* A client of the {@code getPropertyDescriptors} method
* can use "{@code instanceof}" to check
* whether a given {@code PropertyDescriptor}
* is an {@code IndexedPropertyDescriptor}.
*
* @return an array of {@code PropertyDescriptor}s
* describing all properties supported by the bean
* or {@code null}
*/
PropertyDescriptor[] getPropertyDescriptors();
/**
* A bean may have a "default" property that is the property that will
* mostly commonly be initially chosen for update by human's who are
* customizing the bean.
* @return Index of default property in the PropertyDescriptor array
* returned by getPropertyDescriptors.
* <P> Returns -1 if there is no default property.
*/
int getDefaultPropertyIndex();
/**
* Gets the beans <code>MethodDescriptor</code>s.
*
* @return An array of MethodDescriptors describing the externally
* visible methods supported by this bean. May return null if
* the information should be obtained by automatic analysis.
*/
MethodDescriptor[] getMethodDescriptors();
/**
* This method allows a BeanInfo object to return an arbitrary collection
* of other BeanInfo objects that provide additional information on the
* current bean.
* <P>
* If there are conflicts or overlaps between the information provided
* by different BeanInfo objects, then the current BeanInfo takes precedence
* over the getAdditionalBeanInfo objects, and later elements in the array
* take precedence over earlier ones.
*
* @return an array of BeanInfo objects. May return null.
*/
BeanInfo[] getAdditionalBeanInfo();
/**
* This method returns an image object that can be used to
* represent the bean in toolboxes, toolbars, etc. Icon images
* will typically be GIFs, but may in future include other formats.
* <p>
* Beans aren't required to provide icons and may return null from
* this method.
* <p>
* There are four possible flavors of icons (16x16 color,
* 32x32 color, 16x16 mono, 32x32 mono). If a bean choses to only
* support a single icon we recommend supporting 16x16 color.
* <p>
* We recommend that icons have a "transparent" background
* so they can be rendered onto an existing background.
*
* @param iconKind The kind of icon requested. This should be
* one of the constant values ICON_COLOR_16x16, ICON_COLOR_32x32,
* ICON_MONO_16x16, or ICON_MONO_32x32.
* @return An image object representing the requested icon. May
* return null if no suitable icon is available.
*/
java.awt.Image getIcon(int iconKind);
/**
* Constant to indicate a 16 x 16 color icon.
*/
final static int ICON_COLOR_16x16 = 1;
/**
* Constant to indicate a 32 x 32 color icon.
*/
final static int ICON_COLOR_32x32 = 2;
/**
* Constant to indicate a 16 x 16 monochrome icon.
*/
final static int ICON_MONO_16x16 = 3;
/**
* Constant to indicate a 32 x 32 monochrome icon.
*/
final static int ICON_MONO_32x32 = 4;
}