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javax.naming.directory

public Interface Attribute

extends Cloneable, Serializable
Known Direct Implementers
javax.naming.directory.BasicAttribute
Imports
java.util.Vector, .Enumeration, .NoSuchElementException, javax.naming.NamingException, .NamingEnumeration, .OperationNotSupportedException
This interface represents an attribute associated with a named object.

In a directory, named objects can have associated with them attributes. The Attribute interface represents an attribute associated with a named object. An attribute contains 0 or more, possibly null, values. The attribute values can be ordered or unordered (see isOrdered()). If the values are unordered, no duplicates are allowed. If the values are ordered, duplicates are allowed.

The content and representation of an attribute and its values is defined by the attribute's schema. The schema contains information about the attribute's syntax and other properties about the attribute. See getAttributeDefinition() and getAttributeSyntaxDefinition() for details regarding how to get schema information about an attribute if the underlying directory service supports schemas.

Equality of two attributes is determined by the implementation class. A simple implementation can use Object.equals() to determine equality of attribute values, while a more sophisticated implementation might make use of schema information to determine equality. Similarly, one implementation might provide a static storage structure which simply returns the values passed to its constructor, while another implementation might define get() and getAll(). to get the values dynamically from the directory.

Note that updates to Attribute (such as adding or removing a value) do not affect the corresponding representation of the attribute in the directory. Updates to the directory can only be effected using operations in the DirContext interface.

Authors
Rosanna Lee, Scott Seligman
Since
1.3
See Also
BasicAttribute

Field Summary

Modifier and TypeField and Description
public static final long
serialVersionUID

Deprecated A serialVersionUID field in an interface is ineffectual. Do not use; no replacement.
Use serialVersionUID from JNDI 1.1.1 for interoperability.

Method Summary

Modifier and TypeMethod and Description
public boolean

Returns:

true if a value was added; false otherwise.
add(Object
The new possibly null value to add. If null, null is added as an attribute value.
attrVal)

Adds a new value to the attribute.

public void
add(int
The index in the ordered list of attribute values to add the new value. 0 <= ix <= size().
ix, Object
The possibly null attribute value to add; if null, null is the value added.
attrVal)

Adds an attribute value to the ordered list of attribute values.

public void
clear()

Removes all values from this attribute.

public Object

Returns:

A non-null copy of the attribute.
clone()

Makes a copy of the attribute.

public boolean

Returns:

true if attrVal is one of this attribute's values; false otherwise.
contains(Object
The possibly null value to check. If null, check whether the attribute has an attribute value whose value is null.
attrVal)

Determines whether a value is in the attribute.

public Object

Returns:

A possibly null object representing one of the attribute's value. It is null if the attribute's value is null.
get()

Retrieves one of this attribute's values.

public Object

Returns:

The possibly null attribute value at index ix; null if the attribute value is null.
get(int
The index of the value in the ordered list of attribute values. 0 <= ix < size().
ix)

Retrieves the attribute value from the ordered list of attribute values.

public NamingEnumeration<?>

Returns:

A non-null enumeration of the attribute's values. Each element of the enumeration is a possibly null Object. The object's class is the class of the attribute value. The element is null if the attribute's value is null. If the attribute has zero values, an empty enumeration is returned.
getAll()

Retrieves an enumeration of the attribute's values.

public DirContext

Returns:

This attribute's schema definition. Null if the implementation supports schemas but this particular attribute does not have any schema information.
getAttributeDefinition()

Retrieves the attribute's schema definition.

public DirContext

Returns:

The attribute's syntax definition. Null if the implementation supports schemas but this particular attribute does not have any schema information.
getAttributeSyntaxDefinition()

Retrieves the syntax definition associated with the attribute.

public String

Returns:

The id of this attribute. It cannot be null.
getID()

Retrieves the id of this attribute.

public boolean

Returns:

true if this attribute's values are ordered; false otherwise.
isOrdered()

Determines whether this attribute's values are ordered.

public boolean

Returns:

true if the value was removed; false otherwise.
remove(Object
The possibly null value to remove from this attribute. If null, remove the attribute value that is null.
attrval)

Removes a specified value from the attribute.

public Object

Returns:

The possibly null attribute value at index ix that was removed; null if the attribute value is null.
remove(int
The index of the value to remove. 0 <= ix < size().
ix)

Removes an attribute value from the ordered list of attribute values.

public Object

Returns:

The possibly null attribute value at index ix that was replaced. Null if the attribute value was null.
set(int
The index of the value in the ordered list of attribute values. 0 <= ix < size().
ix, Object
The possibly null attribute value to use. If null, 'null' replaces the old value.
attrVal)

Sets an attribute value in the ordered list of attribute values.

public int

Returns:

The nonnegative number of values in this attribute.
size()

Retrieves the number of values in this attribute.

Field Detail

serialVersionUIDback to summary
public static final long serialVersionUID

Deprecated

A serialVersionUID field in an interface is ineffectual. Do not use; no replacement.

Use serialVersionUID from JNDI 1.1.1 for interoperability.

Annotations
@Deprecated

Method Detail

addback to summary
public boolean add(Object attrVal)

Adds a new value to the attribute. If the attribute values are unordered and attrVal is already in the attribute, this method does nothing. If the attribute values are ordered, attrVal is added to the end of the list of attribute values.

Equality is determined by the implementation, which may use Object.equals() or schema information to determine equality.

Parameters
attrVal:Object

The new possibly null value to add. If null, null is added as an attribute value.

Returns:boolean

true if a value was added; false otherwise.

addback to summary
public void add(int ix, Object attrVal)

Adds an attribute value to the ordered list of attribute values. This method adds attrVal to the list of attribute values at index ix. Values located at indices at or greater than ix are shifted down towards the end of the list (and their indices incremented by one). If the attribute values are unordered and already have attrVal, IllegalStateException is thrown.

Parameters
ix:int

The index in the ordered list of attribute values to add the new value. 0 <= ix <= size().

attrVal:Object

The possibly null attribute value to add; if null, null is the value added.

Exceptions
IndexOutOfBoundsException:
If ix is outside the specified range.
IllegalStateException:
If the attribute values are unordered and attrVal is one of those values.
clearback to summary
public void clear()

Removes all values from this attribute.

cloneback to summary
public Object clone()

Makes a copy of the attribute. The copy contains the same attribute values as the original attribute: the attribute values are not themselves cloned. Changes to the copy will not affect the original and vice versa.

Returns:Object

A non-null copy of the attribute.

containsback to summary
public boolean contains(Object attrVal)

Determines whether a value is in the attribute. Equality is determined by the implementation, which may use Object.equals() or schema information to determine equality.

Parameters
attrVal:Object

The possibly null value to check. If null, check whether the attribute has an attribute value whose value is null.

Returns:boolean

true if attrVal is one of this attribute's values; false otherwise.

See Also
java.lang.Object#equals, BasicAttribute#equals
getback to summary
public Object get() throws NamingException

Retrieves one of this attribute's values. If the attribute has more than one value and is unordered, any one of the values is returned. If the attribute has more than one value and is ordered, the first value is returned.

Returns:Object

A possibly null object representing one of the attribute's value. It is null if the attribute's value is null.

Exceptions
NamingException:
If a naming exception was encountered while retrieving the value.
NoSuchElementException:
If this attribute has no values.
getback to summary
public Object get(int ix) throws NamingException

Retrieves the attribute value from the ordered list of attribute values. This method returns the value at the ix index of the list of attribute values. If the attribute values are unordered, this method returns the value that happens to be at that index.

Parameters
ix:int

The index of the value in the ordered list of attribute values. 0 <= ix < size().

Returns:Object

The possibly null attribute value at index ix; null if the attribute value is null.

Exceptions
NamingException:
If a naming exception was encountered while retrieving the value.
IndexOutOfBoundsException:
If ix is outside the specified range.
getAllback to summary
public NamingEnumeration<?> getAll() throws NamingException

Retrieves an enumeration of the attribute's values. The behaviour of this enumeration is unspecified if the attribute's values are added, changed, or removed while the enumeration is in progress. If the attribute values are ordered, the enumeration's items will be ordered.

Returns:NamingEnumeration<?>

A non-null enumeration of the attribute's values. Each element of the enumeration is a possibly null Object. The object's class is the class of the attribute value. The element is null if the attribute's value is null. If the attribute has zero values, an empty enumeration is returned.

Exceptions
NamingException:
If a naming exception was encountered while retrieving the values.
See Also
isOrdered
getAttributeDefinitionback to summary
public DirContext getAttributeDefinition() throws NamingException

Retrieves the attribute's schema definition. An attribute's schema definition contains information such as whether the attribute is multivalued or single-valued, the matching rules to use when comparing the attribute's values. The information that you can retrieve from an attribute definition is directory-dependent.

If an implementation does not support schemas, it should throw OperationNotSupportedException. If an implementation does support schemas, it should define this method to return the appropriate information.

Returns:DirContext

This attribute's schema definition. Null if the implementation supports schemas but this particular attribute does not have any schema information.

Exceptions
NamingException:
If a naming exception occurs while getting the schema.
OperationNotSupportedException:
If getting the schema is not supported.
getAttributeSyntaxDefinitionback to summary
public DirContext getAttributeSyntaxDefinition() throws NamingException

Retrieves the syntax definition associated with the attribute. An attribute's syntax definition specifies the format of the attribute's value(s). Note that this is different from the attribute value's representation as a Java object. Syntax definition refers to the directory's notion of syntax.

For example, even though a value might be a Java String object, its directory syntax might be "Printable String" or "Telephone Number". Or a value might be a byte array, and its directory syntax is "JPEG" or "Certificate". For example, if this attribute's syntax is "JPEG", this method would return the syntax definition for "JPEG".

The information that you can retrieve from a syntax definition is directory-dependent.

If an implementation does not support schemas, it should throw OperationNotSupportedException. If an implementation does support schemas, it should define this method to return the appropriate information.

Returns:DirContext

The attribute's syntax definition. Null if the implementation supports schemas but this particular attribute does not have any schema information.

Exceptions
NamingException:
If a naming exception occurs while getting the schema.
OperationNotSupportedException:
If getting the schema is not supported.
getIDback to summary
public String getID()

Retrieves the id of this attribute.

Returns:String

The id of this attribute. It cannot be null.

isOrderedback to summary
public boolean isOrdered()

Determines whether this attribute's values are ordered. If an attribute's values are ordered, duplicate values are allowed. If an attribute's values are unordered, they are presented in any order and there are no duplicate values.

Returns:boolean

true if this attribute's values are ordered; false otherwise.

See Also
get(int), remove(int), add(int, java.lang.Object), set(int, java.lang.Object)
removeback to summary
public boolean remove(Object attrval)

Removes a specified value from the attribute. If attrval is not in the attribute, this method does nothing. If the attribute values are ordered, the first occurrence of attrVal is removed and attribute values at indices greater than the removed value are shifted up towards the head of the list (and their indices decremented by one).

Equality is determined by the implementation, which may use Object.equals() or schema information to determine equality.

Parameters
attrval:Object

The possibly null value to remove from this attribute. If null, remove the attribute value that is null.

Returns:boolean

true if the value was removed; false otherwise.

removeback to summary
public Object remove(int ix)

Removes an attribute value from the ordered list of attribute values. This method removes the value at the ix index of the list of attribute values. If the attribute values are unordered, this method removes the value that happens to be at that index. Values located at indices greater than ix are shifted up towards the front of the list (and their indices decremented by one).

Parameters
ix:int

The index of the value to remove. 0 <= ix < size().

Returns:Object

The possibly null attribute value at index ix that was removed; null if the attribute value is null.

Exceptions
IndexOutOfBoundsException:
If ix is outside the specified range.
setback to summary
public Object set(int ix, Object attrVal)

Sets an attribute value in the ordered list of attribute values. This method sets the value at the ix index of the list of attribute values to be attrVal. The old value is removed. If the attribute values are unordered, this method sets the value that happens to be at that index to attrVal, unless attrVal is already one of the values. In that case, IllegalStateException is thrown.

Parameters
ix:int

The index of the value in the ordered list of attribute values. 0 <= ix < size().

attrVal:Object

The possibly null attribute value to use. If null, 'null' replaces the old value.

Returns:Object

The possibly null attribute value at index ix that was replaced. Null if the attribute value was null.

Exceptions
IndexOutOfBoundsException:
If ix is outside the specified range.
IllegalStateException:
If attrVal already exists and the attribute values are unordered.
sizeback to summary
public int size()

Retrieves the number of values in this attribute.

Returns:int

The nonnegative number of values in this attribute.