public interface Elements
Compatibility Note: Methods may be added to this interface in future releases of the platform.
- Since:
- 1.6
- See Also:
ProcessingEnvironment.getElementUtils()
-
Nested Class Summary
Nested Classes Modifier and Type Interface Description static class
Elements.Origin
The origin of an element or other language model item. -
Method Summary
Modifier and Type Method Description List<? extends AnnotationMirror>
getAllAnnotationMirrors(Element e)
Returns all annotations present on an element, whether directly present or present via inheritance.List<? extends Element>
getAllMembers(TypeElement type)
Returns all members of a type element, whether inherited or declared directly.default Set<? extends ModuleElement>
getAllModuleElements()
Returns all module elements in the current environment.default Set<? extends PackageElement>
getAllPackageElements(CharSequence name)
Returns all package elements with the given canonical name.default Set<? extends TypeElement>
getAllTypeElements(CharSequence name)
Returns all type elements with the given canonical name.Name
getBinaryName(TypeElement type)
Returns the binary name of a type element.String
getConstantExpression(Object value)
Returns the text of a constant expression representing a primitive value or a string.String
getDocComment(Element e)
Returns the text of the documentation ("Javadoc") comment of an element.Map<? extends ExecutableElement,? extends AnnotationValue>
getElementValuesWithDefaults(AnnotationMirror a)
Returns the values of an annotation's elements, including defaults.default ModuleElement
getModuleElement(CharSequence name)
Returns a module element given its fully qualified name.default ModuleElement
getModuleOf(Element e)
Returns the module of an element.Name
getName(CharSequence cs)
Return a name with the same sequence of characters as the argument.default Elements.Origin
getOrigin(AnnotatedConstruct c, AnnotationMirror a)
Returns the origin of the given annotation mirror.default Elements.Origin
getOrigin(Element e)
Returns the origin of the given element.default Elements.Origin
getOrigin(ModuleElement m, ModuleElement.Directive directive)
Returns the origin of the given module directive.PackageElement
getPackageElement(CharSequence name)
Returns a package given its fully qualified name if the package is unique in the environment.default PackageElement
getPackageElement(ModuleElement module, CharSequence name)
Returns a package given its fully qualified name, as seen from the given module.PackageElement
getPackageOf(Element e)
Returns the package of an element.TypeElement
getTypeElement(CharSequence name)
Returns a type element given its canonical name if the type element is unique in the environment.default TypeElement
getTypeElement(ModuleElement module, CharSequence name)
Returns a type element given its canonical name, as seen from the given module.boolean
hides(Element hider, Element hidden)
Tests whether one type, method, or field hides another.default boolean
isBridge(ExecutableElement e)
Returnstrue
if the executable element is a bridge method,false
otherwise.boolean
isDeprecated(Element e)
Returnstrue
if the element is deprecated,false
otherwise.boolean
isFunctionalInterface(TypeElement type)
Returnstrue
if the type element is a functional interface,false
otherwise.boolean
overrides(ExecutableElement overrider, ExecutableElement overridden, TypeElement type)
Tests whether one method, as a member of a given type, overrides another method.void
printElements(Writer w, Element... elements)
Prints a representation of the elements to the given writer in the specified order.default RecordComponentElement
recordComponentFor(ExecutableElement accessor)
Associated with records, a preview feature of the Java language.
Returns the record component for the given accessor.
-
Method Details
-
getPackageElement
Returns a package given its fully qualified name if the package is unique in the environment. If running with modules, all modules in the modules graph are searched for matching packages.- Parameters:
name
- fully qualified package name, or an empty string for an unnamed package- Returns:
- the specified package, or
null
if it cannot be uniquely found
-
getPackageElement
Returns a package given its fully qualified name, as seen from the given module.- Implementation Requirements:
- The default implementation of this method returns
null
. - Parameters:
name
- fully qualified package name, or an empty string for an unnamed packagemodule
- module relative to which the lookup should happen- Returns:
- the specified package, or
null
if it cannot be found - Since:
- 9
- See Also:
getAllPackageElements(java.lang.CharSequence)
-
getAllPackageElements
Returns all package elements with the given canonical name. There may be more than one package element with the same canonical name if the package elements are in different modules.- Implementation Requirements:
- The default implementation of this method calls
getAllModuleElements
and stores the result. If the set of modules is empty,getPackageElement(name)
is called passing through the name argument. IfgetPackageElement(name)
isnull
, an empty set of package elements is returned; otherwise, a single-element set with the found package element is returned. If the set of modules is nonempty, the modules are iterated over and any non-null
results ofgetPackageElement(module, name)
are accumulated into a set. The set is then returned. - Parameters:
name
- the canonical name- Returns:
- the package elements, or an empty set if no package with the name can be found
- Since:
- 9
- See Also:
getPackageElement(ModuleElement, CharSequence)
-
getTypeElement
Returns a type element given its canonical name if the type element is unique in the environment. If running with modules, all modules in the modules graph are searched for matching type elements.- Parameters:
name
- the canonical name- Returns:
- the named type element, or
null
if it cannot be uniquely found
-
getTypeElement
Returns a type element given its canonical name, as seen from the given module.- Implementation Requirements:
- The default implementation of this method returns
null
. - Parameters:
name
- the canonical namemodule
- module relative to which the lookup should happen- Returns:
- the named type element, or
null
if it cannot be found - Since:
- 9
- See Also:
getAllTypeElements(java.lang.CharSequence)
-
getAllTypeElements
Returns all type elements with the given canonical name. There may be more than one type element with the same canonical name if the type elements are in different modules.- Implementation Requirements:
- The default implementation of this method calls
getAllModuleElements
and stores the result. If the set of modules is empty,getTypeElement(name)
is called passing through the name argument. IfgetTypeElement(name)
isnull
, an empty set of type elements is returned; otherwise, a single-element set with the found type element is returned. If the set of modules is nonempty, the modules are iterated over and any non-null
results ofgetTypeElement(module, name)
are accumulated into a set. The set is then returned. - Parameters:
name
- the canonical name- Returns:
- the type elements, or an empty set if no type with the name can be found
- Since:
- 9
- See Also:
getTypeElement(ModuleElement, CharSequence)
-
getModuleElement
Returns a module element given its fully qualified name. If the requested module cannot be found,null
is returned. One situation where a module cannot be found is if the environment does not include modules, such as an annotation processing environment configured for a source version without modules.- Implementation Requirements:
- The default implementation of this method returns
null
. - Parameters:
name
- the name, or an empty string for an unnamed module- Returns:
- the named module element, or
null
if it cannot be found - Since:
- 9
- See Also:
getAllModuleElements()
-
getAllModuleElements
Returns all module elements in the current environment. If no modules are present, an empty set is returned. One situation where no modules are present occurs when the environment does not include modules, such as an annotation processing environment configured for a source version without modules.- Implementation Requirements:
- The default implementation of this method returns an empty set.
- Returns:
- the known module elements, or an empty set if there are no modules
- Since:
- 9
- See Also:
getModuleElement(CharSequence)
-
getElementValuesWithDefaults
Map<? extends ExecutableElement,? extends AnnotationValue> getElementValuesWithDefaults(AnnotationMirror a)Returns the values of an annotation's elements, including defaults.- Parameters:
a
- annotation to examine- Returns:
- the values of the annotation's elements, including defaults
- See Also:
AnnotationMirror.getElementValues()
-
getDocComment
Returns the text of the documentation ("Javadoc") comment of an element.A documentation comment of an element is a comment that begins with "
/**
", ends with a separate "*/
", and immediately precedes the element, ignoring white space. Therefore, a documentation comment contains at least three "*
" characters. The text returned for the documentation comment is a processed form of the comment as it appears in source code. The leading "/**
" and trailing "*/
" are removed. For lines of the comment starting after the initial "/**
", leading white space characters are discarded as are any consecutive "*
" characters appearing after the white space or starting the line. The processed lines are then concatenated together (including line terminators) and returned.- Parameters:
e
- the element being examined- Returns:
- the documentation comment of the element, or
null
if there is none - See Java Language Specification:
-
3.6 White Space
-
isDeprecated
Returnstrue
if the element is deprecated,false
otherwise.- Parameters:
e
- the element being examined- Returns:
true
if the element is deprecated,false
otherwise
-
getOrigin
Returns the origin of the given element.Note that if this method returns
EXPLICIT
and the element was created from a class file, then the element may not, in fact, correspond to an explicitly declared construct in source code. This is due to limitations of the fidelity of the class file format in preserving information from source code. For example, at least some versions of the class file format do not preserve whether a constructor was explicitly declared by the programmer or was implicitly declared as the default constructor.- Implementation Requirements:
- The default implementation of this method returns
EXPLICIT
. - Parameters:
e
- the element being examined- Returns:
- the origin of the given element
- Since:
- 9
-
getOrigin
Returns the origin of the given annotation mirror. An annotation mirror is mandated if it is an implicitly declared container annotation used to hold repeated annotations of a repeatable annotation type.Note that if this method returns
EXPLICIT
and the annotation mirror was created from a class file, then the element may not, in fact, correspond to an explicitly declared construct in source code. This is due to limitations of the fidelity of the class file format in preserving information from source code. For example, at least some versions of the class file format do not preserve whether an annotation was explicitly declared by the programmer or was implicitly declared as a container annotation.- Implementation Requirements:
- The default implementation of this method returns
EXPLICIT
. - Parameters:
c
- the construct the annotation mirror modifiesa
- the annotation mirror being examined- Returns:
- the origin of the given annotation mirror
- See Java Language Specification:
-
9.6.3 Repeatable Annotation Types
9.7.5 Multiple Annotations of the Same Type - Since:
- 9
-
getOrigin
Returns the origin of the given module directive.Note that if this method returns
EXPLICIT
and the module directive was created from a class file, then the module directive may not, in fact, correspond to an explicitly declared construct in source code. This is due to limitations of the fidelity of the class file format in preserving information from source code. For example, at least some versions of the class file format do not preserve whether auses
directive was explicitly declared by the programmer or was added as a synthetic construct.Note that an implementation may not be able to reliably determine the origin status of the directive if the directive is created from a class file due to limitations of the fidelity of the class file format in preserving information from source code.
- Implementation Requirements:
- The default implementation of this method returns
EXPLICIT
. - Parameters:
m
- the module of the directivedirective
- the module directive being examined- Returns:
- the origin of the given directive
- Since:
- 9
-
isBridge
Returnstrue
if the executable element is a bridge method,false
otherwise.- Implementation Requirements:
- The default implementation of this method returns
false
. - Parameters:
e
- the executable being examined- Returns:
true
if the executable element is a bridge method,false
otherwise- Since:
- 9
-
getBinaryName
Returns the binary name of a type element.- Parameters:
type
- the type element being examined- Returns:
- the binary name
- See Java Language Specification:
-
13.1 The Form of a Binary
- See Also:
TypeElement.getQualifiedName()
-
getPackageOf
Returns the package of an element. The package of a package is itself. The package of a module isnull
. The package of a top-level type is its enclosing package. Otherwise, the package of an element is equal to the package of the enclosing element.- Parameters:
e
- the element being examined- Returns:
- the package of an element
-
getModuleOf
Returns the module of an element. The module of a module is itself. If a package has a module as its enclosing element, that module is the module of the package. If the enclosing element of a package isnull
,null
is returned for the package's module. (One situation where a package may have anull
module is if the environment does not include modules, such as an annotation processing environment configured for a source version without modules.) Otherwise, the module of an element is equal to the module of the package of the element.- Implementation Requirements:
- The default implementation of this method returns
null
. - Parameters:
e
- the element being examined- Returns:
- the module of an element
- Since:
- 9
-
getAllMembers
Returns all members of a type element, whether inherited or declared directly. For a class the result also includes its constructors, but not local or anonymous classes.- API Note:
- Elements of certain kinds can be isolated using
methods in
ElementFilter
. - Parameters:
type
- the type being examined- Returns:
- all members of the type
- See Also:
Element.getEnclosedElements()
-
getAllAnnotationMirrors
Returns all annotations present on an element, whether directly present or present via inheritance.Note that any annotations returned by this method are declaration annotations.
- Parameters:
e
- the element being examined- Returns:
- all annotations of the element
- See Also:
Element.getAnnotationMirrors()
,AnnotatedConstruct
-
hides
Tests whether one type, method, or field hides another.- Parameters:
hider
- the first elementhidden
- the second element- Returns:
true
if and only if the first element hides the second- See Java Language Specification:
-
8.4.8 Inheritance, Overriding, and Hiding
-
overrides
Tests whether one method, as a member of a given type, overrides another method. When a non-abstract method overrides an abstract one, the former is also said to implement the latter.In the simplest and most typical usage, the value of the
type
parameter will simply be the class or interface directly enclosingoverrider
(the possibly-overriding method). For example, supposem1
represents the methodString.hashCode
andm2
representsObject.hashCode
. We can then ask whetherm1
overridesm2
within the classString
(it does):assert elements.overrides(m1, m2, elements.getTypeElement("java.lang.String"));
A
does not override a like-named method in typeB
:class A { public void m() {} }
interface B { void m(); }
...
m1 = ...; // A.m
m2 = ...; // B.m
assert ! elements.overrides(m1, m2, elements.getTypeElement("A"));
C
, however, the method inA
does override the one inB
:class C extends A implements B {}
...
assert elements.overrides(m1, m2, elements.getTypeElement("C"));
- Parameters:
overrider
- the first method, possible overrideroverridden
- the second method, possibly being overriddentype
- the type of which the first method is a member- Returns:
true
if and only if the first method overrides the second- See Java Language Specification:
-
8.4.8 Inheritance, Overriding, and Hiding
9.4.1 Inheritance and Overriding
-
getConstantExpression
Returns the text of a constant expression representing a primitive value or a string. The text returned is in a form suitable for representing the value in source code.- Parameters:
value
- a primitive value or string- Returns:
- the text of a constant expression
- Throws:
IllegalArgumentException
- if the argument is not a primitive value or string- See Also:
VariableElement.getConstantValue()
-
printElements
Prints a representation of the elements to the given writer in the specified order. The main purpose of this method is for diagnostics. The exact format of the output is not specified and is subject to change.- Parameters:
w
- the writer to print the output toelements
- the elements to print
-
getName
Return a name with the same sequence of characters as the argument.- Parameters:
cs
- the character sequence to return as a name- Returns:
- a name with the same sequence of characters as the argument
-
isFunctionalInterface
Returnstrue
if the type element is a functional interface,false
otherwise.- Parameters:
type
- the type element being examined- Returns:
true
if the element is a functional interface,false
otherwise- See Java Language Specification:
-
9.8 Functional Interfaces
- Since:
- 1.8
-
recordComponentFor
This method is associated with records, a preview feature of the Java language. Preview features may be removed in a future release, or upgraded to permanent features of the Java language.
Returns the record component for the given accessor. Returns null if the given method is not a record component accessor.- Implementation Requirements:
- The default implementation of this method checks if the element
enclosing the accessor has kind
RECORD
if that is the case, then all the record components on the accessor's enclosing element are retrieved by invokingElementFilter.recordComponentsIn(Iterable)
. If the accessor of at least one of the record components retrieved happen to be equal to the accessor passed as a parameter to this method, then that record component is returned, in any other casenull
is returned. - Parameters:
accessor
- the method for which the record component should be found.- Returns:
- the record component, or null if the given method is not an record component accessor
- Since:
- 14
-