simple.xml
Annotation Type ElementArray


@Retention(value=RUNTIME)
public @interface ElementArray

The ElementArray annotation represents a method or field that is an array of elements. The array deserialized is the same type as the field or method, all entries within the array must be a compatible type. However, a class attribute can be used to override an entry, this must be an assignable type.


    <array length="2">
       <entry>
          <value>example text value</value>
       </entry>
       <entry>
          <value>some other value</value>
       </entry>
       <entry/>
    </array>
 
 
All null objects within the array are represented as an empty XML element so that they can be deserialized accurately. This ensures that the length attribute of the array is respected, as well as the index position of all serialized entries. The length of the array must be specified for deserialization to instantiate the array before the array values are instantiated. This is required to account for cyclical references in the object graph.

Author:
Niall Gallagher

Optional Element Summary
 boolean data
          This is used to determine whether the element data is written in a CDATA block or not.
 java.lang.String name
          This represents the name of the XML element.
 java.lang.String parent
          This is used to provide a parent XML element for each of the values within the array.
 boolean required
          Determines whether the element is required within the XML document.
 

name

public abstract java.lang.String name
This represents the name of the XML element. Annotated fields or methods can optionally provide the name of the element. If no name is provided then the name of the annotated field or method will be used in its place. The name is provided if the field or method name is not suitable as an XML element name.

Returns:
the name of the XML element this represents
Default:
""

parent

public abstract java.lang.String parent
This is used to provide a parent XML element for each of the values within the array. This esentially wraps the entity to be serialized such that there is an extra XML element present. This is used to ensure that null values can be represented.

Returns:
this returns the parent XML element for each value
Default:
""

data

public abstract boolean data
This is used to determine whether the element data is written in a CDATA block or not. If this is set to true then the text is written within a CDATA block, by default the text is output as escaped XML. Typically this is useful when this annotation is applied to an array of primitives, such as strings.

Returns:
true if entries are to be wrapped in a CDATA block
Default:
false

required

public abstract boolean required
Determines whether the element is required within the XML document. Any field marked as not required will not have its value set when the object is deserialized. If an object is to be serialized only a null attribute will not appear as XML.

Returns:
true if the element is required, false otherwise
Default:
true