uk.ac.starlink.table

Interface DomainMapper

All Known Implementing Classes:

TimeMapper

public interface DomainMapper

Marker interface for objects that can map input values to a particular common value domain. Abstract sub-types of this interface will reference a particular target Domain and provide abstract methods for conversions to that domain. A concrete implementation of one of those sub-types will provide the actual conversion methods for a particular type of input data.

Table input handlers can provide typed DomainMapper instances as part of the table metadata they construct (see the ValueInfo.getDomainMappers() method), as a way to communicate format-specific information about the intended semantics and conversion mechanisms of columns or parameters to users of the table.

Since:

15 Aug 2013

See Also:

Domain

Method Summary

Modifier and Type	Method and Description
java.lang.Class<?>	getSourceClass() Returns the type of values from which this mapper instance can convert.
java.lang.String	getSourceDescription() Returns a description of the type of source values which this mapper can convert from.
java.lang.String	getSourceName() Returns a short name for the type of source values which this mapper can convert from.
Domain<?>	getTargetDomain() Returns the target domain of this mapper.

Method Detail

getTargetDomain

Domain<?> getTargetDomain()

Returns the target domain of this mapper. An abstract DomainMapper sub-type should normally implement this as a final method with a fixed return value.

Returns:

domain identifier

getSourceClass

java.lang.Class<?> getSourceClass()

Returns the type of values from which this mapper instance can convert. This should be as specific as possible to cover all the possible options, but in some cases that may mean it has simply to return Object.class.

Returns:

class of mappable source objects to which this mapper can be applied

getSourceName

java.lang.String getSourceName()

Returns a short name for the type of source values which this mapper can convert from.

Returns:

mapper source type name

getSourceDescription

java.lang.String getSourceDescription()

Returns a description of the type of source values which this mapper can convert from.

Returns:

mapper source type description