triana.types

Class Parameter

java.lang.Object

triana.types.TrianaType

triana.types.Parameter

All Implemented Interfaces:

java.io.Serializable, SequenceInterface

public class Parameter
extends TrianaType

Parameter is a type which encapsulates a String which stores the contents of a Parameter so that it can be exported from or imported into a OldUnit. Parameters can be of various type e.g. a string, a double value, an integer, or a color. All parameters are stored as a String representation internally and converted back and forth on input and output.

To extend this type to represent new kinds of parameters, the programmer simply needs to convert between the parameter type and a String and to provide relevant methods for doing this.

Parameter inherits directly from TrianaType. Do not confuse the Class Parameter with the term "parameter" used in TrianaType data types or in Triana units. In data types the term refers to data associated with types that is not stored in the dataContainer Hashtable. In Units the term refers to data controlling the operation of the OldUnit that the user can set using the user interface (parameter window) of the OldUnit. The Class is used to transfer OldUnit parameters (not data-type parameters) from one OldUnit to another.

See Also:

TrianaType, Serialized Form

Field Summary

Fields inherited from class triana.types.TrianaType

NOT_CONNECTED, NOT_READY, OUT_OF_RANGE

Constructor Summary

Constructors

Constructor and Description
Parameter() Creates a null Parameter.
Parameter(boolean param) Creates a new Parameter for a boolean.
Parameter(char param) Creates a new Parameter for a char.
Parameter(double param) Creates a new Parameter for a double.
Parameter(float param) Creates a new Parameter for a float.
Parameter(int param) Creates a new Parameter for an int.
Parameter(java.lang.Object param) Creates a new Parameter with the contents set to the specified String.
Parameter(short param) Creates a new Parameter for a short.

Method Summary

Methods

Modifier and Type	Method and Description
void	copyData(TrianaType source) Copies the Parameter by value from the given source, not by reference.
TrianaType	copyMe() This is one of the most important methods of Triana data.
void	copyParameters(TrianaType source) Copies modifiable parameters from the given source.
boolean	equals(java.lang.Object parameter) Returns true if the given Object is of Parameter type and has the same contents as this object.
java.lang.Object	getParameter() Returns a reference to the contents of this Parameter.
protected void	setParameter(java.lang.Object newParam) Sets the given Object to be the contents of the parameter object.
java.lang.String	toString()

Methods inherited from class triana.types.TrianaType

containerSize, dataExists, deleteFromContainer, getDataContainer, getFromContainer, getSequenceNumber, insertIntoContainer, inspectDataContainer, setDataContainer, setSequenceNumber, updateObsoletePointers

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

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

Constructor Detail

Parameter

public Parameter()

Creates a null Parameter.

Parameter

public Parameter(java.lang.Object param)

Creates a new Parameter with the contents set to the specified String.

Parameters:

param - the String containing the contents of the Parameter.

Parameter

public Parameter(short param)

Creates a new Parameter for a short.

Parameters:

param - the value

Parameter

public Parameter(int param)

Creates a new Parameter for an int.

Parameters:

param - the value

Parameter

public Parameter(float param)

Creates a new Parameter for a float.

Parameters:

param - the value

Parameter

public Parameter(double param)

Creates a new Parameter for a double.

Parameters:

param - the value

Parameter

public Parameter(char param)

Creates a new Parameter for a char.

Parameters:

param - the value

Parameter

public Parameter(boolean param)

Creates a new Parameter for a boolean.

Parameters:

param - the value

Method Detail

getParameter

public java.lang.Object getParameter()

Returns a reference to the contents of this Parameter.

Returns:

The contents of this parameter

setParameter

protected void setParameter(java.lang.Object newParam)

Sets the given Object to be the contents of the parameter object.

Parameters:

newParam - The new contents

equals

public boolean equals(java.lang.Object parameter)

Returns true if the given Object is of Parameter type and has the same contents as this object.

Overrides:

equals in class java.lang.Object

Parameters:

parameter - The object being compared to this one

Returns:

boolean True if given object has same contents as this one

copyMe

public TrianaType copyMe()

This is one of the most important methods of Triana data. types. It returns a copy of the type invoking it. This must be overridden for every derived data type derived. If not, the data cannot be copied to be given to other units. Copying must be done by value, not by reference.

To override, the programmer should not invoke the super.copyMe method. Instead, create an object of the current type and call methods copyData and copyParameters. If these have been written correctly, then they will do the copying. The code should createTool, for type YourType:

 YourType y = null; try { y =
 (YourType)getClass().newInstance(); y.copyData( this ); y.copyParameters( this ); y.setLegend( this.getLegend()
 ); } catch (IllegalAccessException ee) { System.out.println("Illegal Access: " + ee.getMessage()); } catch
 (InstantiationException ee) { System.out.println("Couldn't be instantiated: " + ee.getMessage()); } return y;
 

The copied object's data should be identical to the original. The method here modifies only one item: a String indicating that the object was created as a copy is added to the description StringVector.

Specified by:

copyMe in class TrianaType

Returns:

TrianaType Copy by value of the current Object except for an updated description

copyData

public void copyData(TrianaType source)

Copies the Parameter by value from the given source, not by reference.

Overrides:

copyData in class TrianaType

Parameters:

source - The Parameter object being copied

copyParameters

public void copyParameters(TrianaType source)

Copies modifiable parameters from the given source.

Overrides:

copyParameters in class TrianaType

Parameters:

source - The Parameter object being copied

toString

public java.lang.String toString()

Overrides:

toString in class java.lang.Object