Interface TypeElement

All Superinterfaces:
AnnotatedConstruct, Element, Parameterizable, QualifiedNameable

public interface TypeElement
extends Element, Parameterizable, QualifiedNameable
Represents a class or interface program element. Provides access to information about the type and its members. Note that an enum type and a record type are kinds of classes and an annotation type is a kind of interface.

While a TypeElement represents a class or interface element, a DeclaredType represents a class or interface type, the latter being a use (or invocation) of the former. The distinction is most apparent with generic types, for which a single element can define a whole family of types. For example, the element java.util.Set corresponds to the parameterized types java.util.Set<String> and java.util.Set<Number> (and many others), and to the raw type java.util.Set.

Each method of this interface that returns a list of elements will return them in the order that is natural for the underlying source of program information. For example, if the underlying source of information is Java source code, then the elements will be returned in source code order.

Since:
1.6
See Also:
DeclaredType
  • Method Details

    • asType

      TypeMirror asType()
      Returns the type defined by this type element, returning the prototypical type for an element representing a generic type.

      A generic element defines a family of types, not just one. If this is a generic element, a prototypical type is returned which has the element's invocation on the type variables corresponding to its own formal type parameters. For example, for the generic class element C<N extends Number>, the parameterized type C<N> is returned. The Types utility interface has more general methods for obtaining the full range of types defined by an element.

      Specified by:
      asType in interface Element
      Returns:
      the type defined by this type element
      See Also:
      Types.asMemberOf(DeclaredType, Element), Types.getDeclaredType(TypeElement, TypeMirror...)
    • getEnclosedElements

      List<? extends Element> getEnclosedElements()
      Returns the fields, methods, constructors, record components, and member types that are directly declared in this class or interface. This includes any mandated elements such as the (implicit) default constructor and the implicit values and valueOf methods of an enum type.
      Specified by:
      getEnclosedElements in interface Element
      API Note:
      As a particular instance of the general accuracy requirements and the ordering behavior required of this interface, the list of enclosed elements will be returned in the natural order for the originating source of information about the type. For example, if the information about the type is originating from a source file, the elements will be returned in source code order. (However, in that case the the ordering of implicitly declared elements, such as default constructors, is not specified.)
      Returns:
      the enclosed elements in proper order, or an empty list if none
      See Java Language Specification:
      8.8.9 Default Constructor
      8.9.3 Enum Members
      See Also:
      getEnclosedElements(), PackageElement.getEnclosedElements(), ModuleElement.getEnclosedElements(), Elements.getAllMembers(javax.lang.model.element.TypeElement)
    • getNestingKind

      NestingKind getNestingKind()
      Returns the nesting kind of this type element.
      Returns:
      the nesting kind of this type element
    • getQualifiedName

      Name getQualifiedName()
      Returns the fully qualified name of this type element. More precisely, it returns the canonical name. For local and anonymous classes, which do not have canonical names, an empty name is returned.

      The name of a generic type does not include any reference to its formal type parameters. For example, the fully qualified name of the interface java.util.Set<E> is "java.util.Set". Nested types use "." as a separator, as in "java.util.Map.Entry".

      Specified by:
      getQualifiedName in interface QualifiedNameable
      Returns:
      the fully qualified name of this class or interface, or an empty name if none
      See Java Language Specification:
      6.7 Fully Qualified Names and Canonical Names
      See Also:
      Elements.getBinaryName(javax.lang.model.element.TypeElement)
    • getSimpleName

      Name getSimpleName()
      Returns the simple name of this type element. For an anonymous class, an empty name is returned.
      Specified by:
      getSimpleName in interface Element
      Returns:
      the simple name of this class or interface, an empty name for an anonymous class
      See Also:
      PackageElement.getSimpleName(), ExecutableElement.getSimpleName(), getSimpleName(), VariableElement.getSimpleName(), ModuleElement.getSimpleName(), RecordComponentElement.getSimpleName()
    • getSuperclass

      TypeMirror getSuperclass()
      Returns the direct superclass of this type element. If this type element represents an interface or the class java.lang.Object, then a NoType with kind NONE is returned.
      Returns:
      the direct superclass, or a NoType if there is none
    • getInterfaces

      List<? extends TypeMirror> getInterfaces()
      Returns the interface types directly implemented by this class or extended by this interface.
      Returns:
      the interface types directly implemented by this class or extended by this interface, or an empty list if there are none
    • getTypeParameters

      List<? extends TypeParameterElement> getTypeParameters()
      Returns the formal type parameters of this type element in declaration order.
      Specified by:
      getTypeParameters in interface Parameterizable
      Returns:
      the formal type parameters, or an empty list if there are none
    • getRecordComponents

      default List<? extends RecordComponentElement> getRecordComponents()
      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 components of this type element in declaration order.
      Implementation Requirements:
      The default implementations of this method returns an empty and unmodifiable list.
      Returns:
      the record components, or an empty list if there are none
      Since:
      14
    • getEnclosingElement

      Element getEnclosingElement()
      Returns the package of a top-level type and returns the immediately lexically enclosing element for a nested type.
      Specified by:
      getEnclosingElement in interface Element
      Returns:
      the package of a top-level type, the immediately lexically enclosing element for a nested type
      See Also:
      Elements.getPackageOf(javax.lang.model.element.Element)