com.reqdesign.reqif

Class AttributeDefinition<T extends AttributeValue>

java.lang.Object

com.reqdesign.reqif.Identifiable<AttributeDefinition<T>>

com.reqdesign.reqif.AttributeDefinition<T>

Direct Known Subclasses:

AttributeDefinitionBoolean, AttributeDefinitionDate, AttributeDefinitionEnumeration, AttributeDefinitionInteger, AttributeDefinitionReal, AttributeDefinitionString, AttributeDefinitionXHTML

public abstract class AttributeDefinition<T extends AttributeValue>
extends Identifiable<AttributeDefinition<T>>

The base class for attribute definitions and must be specialized for concrete attributes. The attribute longName inherited from Identifiable is mandatory for all sub classes of AttributeDefinition. However, this is not reported by the ReqIF xsd validation.

If the isEditable attribute is set to false or left out, no modification of the default value by tool users is allowed.

Multiple instances of sub classes of this class are maintained in a sub class of the SpecType collection.

The following is the full list of superclasses:

• AttributeDefinitionBoolean representing the ATTRIBUTE-DEFINITION-BOOLEAN XML element
• AttributeDefinitionDate representing the ATTRIBUTE-DEFINITION-DATE XML element
• AttributeDefinitionEnumeration representing the ATTRIBUTE-DEFINITION-ENUMERATION XML element
• AttributeDefinitionInteger representing the ATTRIBUTE-DEFINITION-INTEGER XML element
• AttributeDefinitionReal representing the ATTRIBUTE-DEFINITION-REAL XML element
• AttributeDefinitionString representing the ATTRIBUTE-DEFINITION-STRING XML element
• AttributeDefinitionXHTML representing the ATTRIBUTE-DEFINITION-XHTML XML element

The general form of an AttributeDefinition in a ReqIF file is as follows:

<ATTRIBUTE-DEFINITION-XXXX DESC="desc" IS-EDITABLE="isEditable" IDENTIFIER="identifier" LAST-CHANGE="lastChange" LONG-NAME="longName">

The following is the common list of XML attributes:

• @DESC optional xsd:string description
• @IS-EDITABLE optional xsd:boolean, if not specified, false is assumed
• @IDENTIFIER required xsd:ID
• @LAST-CHANGE required xsd:dateTime
• @LONG-NAME required xsd:string (Note: currently the reqif.xsd does not enforce this)

Refer to each individual superclass for more information about specific extensions to the general form.

Method Summary

Modifier and Type	Method and Description
DatatypeDefinition	getDatatypeDefinition() Returns the DatatypeDefinition base class instance associated with this AttributeDefinition.
abstract T	getDefaultValue() The default value which can be assigned by the exporting tool if one is specified.
SpecType	getSpecType() Returns the SpecType base class instance owning this AttributeDefinition
boolean	hasDefaultValue()
boolean	isEditable() Returns the value of the @IS-EDITABLE attribute for this AttributeDefinition.
void	removeDefaultValue() Removes the default value if one is set.
void	setIsEditable(boolean isEditable) Sets the @IS-EDITABLE attribute for this AttributeDefinition subclass.
java.lang.String	toString() Returns the string representation for this AttributeDefinition.

Methods inherited from class com.reqdesign.reqif.Identifiable

equals, getAlternativeID, getChildren, getDesc, getIdentifier, getLastChange, getLastChangeText, getLongName, getPathToRoot, getReqIFContent, hashCode, isUsed, isValidIdentifier, setAlternativeID, setDesc, setLastChange, setLongName, whereUsed

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

clone, finalize, getClass, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait

Method Detail

getDefaultValue

public abstract T getDefaultValue()

The default value which can be assigned by the exporting tool if one is specified.

If, during import, an AttributeValue is not specified for a particular SpecElementWithAttributes, and corresponding AttributeDefinition on the associated SpecType, then the default value if one exists will be the substitute for the missing value otherwise the value null is assumed meaning 'unset'.

Returns:

the default value for this AttributeDefinition

hasDefaultValue

public boolean hasDefaultValue()

Returns:

true or false depending on whether this AttributeDefinition has a default value assigned

getSpecType

public SpecType getSpecType()

Returns the SpecType base class instance owning this AttributeDefinition

Returns:

the owning SpecType of this AttributeDefinition

getDatatypeDefinition

public DatatypeDefinition getDatatypeDefinition()

Returns the DatatypeDefinition base class instance associated with this AttributeDefinition.

Each AttributeDefinition subclass will contain a specialized version of this method returning the appropriate subclass of DatatypeDefinition.

Returns:

the DatatypeDefinition associated with this AttributeDefinition

isEditable

public boolean isEditable()

Returns the value of the @IS-EDITABLE attribute for this AttributeDefinition. If the @IS-EDITABLE attribute is not specified in the ReqIF, the value false is assumed.

Returns:

the value of the @IS-EDITABLE attribute for this AttributeDefinition.

toString

public java.lang.String toString()

Returns the string representation for this AttributeDefinition.

Overrides:

toString in class java.lang.Object

Returns:

the string representation for this AttributeDefinition

setIsEditable

public void setIsEditable(boolean isEditable)

Sets the @IS-EDITABLE attribute for this AttributeDefinition subclass.

Parameters:

isEditable - true to enable editing or false to disable editing

removeDefaultValue

public void removeDefaultValue()
                        throws NotFoundException

Removes the default value if one is set.

Throws:

NotFoundException - if this AttributeDefinition has been removed from its SpecType SpecAttributes collection