javax.lang.model.element
interface Element

All Known Subinterfaces:

ExecutableElement, PackageElement, TypeElement, TypeParameterElement, VariableElement

public interface Element

Represents a program element such as a package, class, or method. Each element represents a static, language-level construct (and not, for example, a runtime construct of the virtual machine).

Elements should be compared using the {@link #equals(Object)} method. There is no guarantee that any particular element will always be represented by the same object.

To implement operations based on the class of an {@code Element} object, either use a {@linkplain ElementVisitor visitor} or use the result of the {@link #getKind} method. Using {@code instanceof} is not necessarily a reliable idiom for determining the effective class of an object in this modeling hierarchy since an implementation may choose to have a single object implement multiple {@code Element} subinterfaces.

accept

public Object accept(ElementVisitor v,
                     Object p)

Applies a visitor to this element.

Parameters:

v - the visitor operating on this element

p - additional parameter to the visitor

Returns:

a visitor-specified result

asType

public TypeMirror asType()

Returns the type defined by this element.

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

Returns:

the type defined by this element

equals

public boolean equals(Object obj)

Returns {@code true} if the argument represents the same element as {@code this}, or {@code false} otherwise.

Note that the identity of an element involves implicit state not directly accessible from the element's methods, including state about the presence of unrelated types. Element objects created by different implementations of these interfaces should not be expected to be equal even if "the same" element is being modeled; this is analogous to the inequality of {@code Class} objects for the same class file loaded through different class loaders.

Overrides:

equals in class Object

Parameters:

obj - the object to be compared with this element

Returns:

{@code true} if the specified object represents the same element as this

getAnnotation

public Annotation getAnnotation(Class annotationType)

Returns this element's annotation for the specified type if such an annotation is present, else {@code null}. The annotation may be either inherited or directly present on this element.

The annotation returned by this method could contain an element whose value is of type {@code Class}. This value cannot be returned directly: information necessary to locate and load a class (such as the class loader to use) is not available, and the class might not be loadable at all. Attempting to read a {@code Class} object by invoking the relevant method on the returned annotation will result in a {@link MirroredTypeException}, from which the corresponding {@link TypeMirror} may be extracted. Similarly, attempting to read a {@code Class[]}-valued element will result in a {@link MirroredTypesException}.

Note: This method is unlike others in this and related interfaces. It operates on runtime reflective information — representations of annotation types currently loaded into the VM — rather than on the representations defined by and used throughout these interfaces. Consequently, calling methods on the returned annotation object can throw many of the exceptions that can be thrown when calling methods on an annotation object returned by core reflection. This method is intended for callers that are written to operate on a known, fixed set of annotation types.

Parameters:

annotationType - the {@code Class} object corresponding to the annotation type

Returns:

this element's annotation for the specified annotation type if present on this element, else {@code null}

getAnnotationMirrors

public List getAnnotationMirrors()

Returns the annotations that are directly present on this element.

To get inherited annotations as well, use {@link Elements#getAllAnnotationMirrors(Element) getAllAnnotationMirrors}.

Returns:

the annotations directly present on this element; an empty list if there are none

getEnclosedElements

public List getEnclosedElements()

Returns the elements that are, loosely speaking, directly enclosed by this element. A class or interface is considered to enclose the fields, methods, constructors, and member types that it directly declares. This includes any (implicit) default constructor and the implicit {@code values} and {@code valueOf} methods of an enum type. A package encloses the top-level classes and interfaces within it, but is not considered to enclose subpackages. Other kinds of elements are not currently considered to enclose any elements; however, that may change as this API or the programming language evolves.

Note that elements of certain kinds can be isolated using methods in {@link ElementFilter}.

Returns:

the enclosed elements, or an empty list if none

getEnclosingElement

public Element getEnclosingElement()

Returns the innermost element within which this element is, loosely speaking, enclosed.

• If this element is one whose declaration is lexically enclosed immediately within the declaration of another element, that other element is returned.
• If this is a top-level type, its package is returned.
• If this is a package, {@code null} is returned.
• If this is a type parameter, {@code null} is returned.

Returns:

the enclosing element, or {@code null} if there is none

getKind

public ElementKind getKind()

Returns the {@code kind} of this element.

Returns:

the kind of this element

getModifiers

public Set getModifiers()

Returns the modifiers of this element, excluding annotations. Implicit modifiers, such as the {@code public} and {@code static} modifiers of interface members, are included.

Returns:

the modifiers of this element, or an empty set if there are none

getSimpleName

public Name getSimpleName()

Returns the simple (unqualified) name of this element. The name of a generic type does not include any reference to its formal type parameters. For example, the simple name of the type element {@code java.util.Set} is {@code "Set"}. If this element represents an unnamed package, an empty name is returned. If it represents a constructor, the name "{@code }" is returned. If it represents a static initializer, the name "{@code }" is returned. If it represents an anonymous class or instance initializer, an empty name is returned.

Returns:

the simple name of this element

hashCode

public int hashCode()

Obeys the general contract of {@link Object#hashCode Object.hashCode}.

Overrides:

hashCode in class Object