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26 package java.lang.reflect;
28 import java.lang.annotation.Annotation;
31 * Represents an annotated element of the program currently running in this
32 * VM. This interface allows annotations to be read reflectively. All
33 * annotations returned by methods in this interface are immutable and
34 * serializable. It is permissible for the caller to modify the
35 * arrays returned by accessors for array-valued enum members; it will
36 * have no affect on the arrays returned to other callers.
38 * <p>If an annotation returned by a method in this interface contains
39 * (directly or indirectly) a {@link Class}-valued member referring to
40 * a class that is not accessible in this VM, attempting to read the class
41 * by calling the relevant Class-returning method on the returned annotation
42 * will result in a {@link TypeNotPresentException}.
44 * <p>Similarly, attempting to read an enum-valued member will result in
45 * a {@link EnumConstantNotPresentException} if the enum constant in the
46 * annotation is no longer present in the enum type.
48 * <p>Finally, Attempting to read a member whose definition has evolved
49 * incompatibly will result in a {@link
50 * java.lang.annotation.AnnotationTypeMismatchException} or an
51 * {@link java.lang.annotation.IncompleteAnnotationException}.
53 * @see java.lang.EnumConstantNotPresentException
54 * @see java.lang.TypeNotPresentException
55 * @see java.lang.annotation.AnnotationFormatError
56 * @see java.lang.annotation.AnnotationTypeMismatchException
57 * @see java.lang.annotation.IncompleteAnnotationException
61 public interface AnnotatedElement {
63 * Returns true if an annotation for the specified type
64 * is present on this element, else false. This method
65 * is designed primarily for convenient access to marker annotations.
67 * @param annotationClass the Class object corresponding to the
69 * @return true if an annotation for the specified annotation
70 * type is present on this element, else false
71 * @throws NullPointerException if the given annotation class is null
74 boolean isAnnotationPresent(Class<? extends Annotation> annotationClass);
77 * Returns this element's annotation for the specified type if
78 * such an annotation is present, else null.
80 * @param annotationClass the Class object corresponding to the
82 * @return this element's annotation for the specified annotation type if
83 * present on this element, else null
84 * @throws NullPointerException if the given annotation class is null
87 <T extends Annotation> T getAnnotation(Class<T> annotationClass);
90 * Returns all annotations present on this element. (Returns an array
91 * of length zero if this element has no annotations.) The caller of
92 * this method is free to modify the returned array; it will have no
93 * effect on the arrays returned to other callers.
95 * @return all annotations present on this element
98 Annotation[] getAnnotations();
101 * Returns all annotations that are directly present on this
102 * element. Unlike the other methods in this interface, this method
103 * ignores inherited annotations. (Returns an array of length zero if
104 * no annotations are directly present on this element.) The caller of
105 * this method is free to modify the returned array; it will have no
106 * effect on the arrays returned to other callers.
108 * @return All annotations directly present on this element
111 Annotation[] getDeclaredAnnotations();