/*
 * Bytecode Analysis Framework
 * Copyright (C) 2003-2005, University of Maryland
 *
 * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
 * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
 * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
 * version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
 *
 * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
 * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
 * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
 * Lesser General Public License for more details.
 *
 * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
 * License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
 * Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
 */

package edu.umd.cs.findbugs.ba;

import edu.umd.cs.findbugs.classfile.FieldDescriptor;
import edu.umd.cs.findbugs.classfile.analysis.AnnotatedObject;

/**
 * Abstract representation of a field. Note that this is called "XField" to
 * distinguish it from BCEL's Field class. Also, you can think of the "X" as
 * expanding to "Instance" or "Static".
 * 
 * <p>
 * This interface and its implementations exist because Field objects in BCEL
 * are awkward to deal with. They are not Comparable, it is difficult to find
 * out what class they belong to, etc.
 * </p>
 * 
 * <p>
 * If the resolved() method returns true, then any information queried from this
 * object can be assumed to be accurate. If the resolved() method returns false,
 * then FindBugs can't find the field and any information other than
 * name/signature/etc. cannot be trusted.
 * </p>
 */
public interface XField extends ClassMember, AnnotatedObject {
    /**
     * Is the type of the field a reference type?
     */
    public boolean isReferenceType();

    /**
     * Is this a volatile field?
     */
    public boolean isVolatile();

    /**
     * @return FieldDescriptor referring to this field
     */
    public FieldDescriptor getFieldDescriptor();
}

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