Interface IConfigurationElement


  • public interface IConfigurationElement
    A configuration element, with its attributes and children, directly reflects the content and structure of the extension section within the declaring plug-in's manifest (plugin.xml) file.

    This interface also provides a way to create executable extension objects.

    These registry objects are intended for relatively short-term use. Clients that deal with these objects must be aware that they may become invalid if the declaring plug-in is updated or uninstalled. If this happens, all methods except isValid() will throw InvalidRegistryObjectException. For configuration element objects, the most common case is code in a plug-in dealing with extensions contributed to one of the extension points it declares. Code in a plug-in that has declared that it is not dynamic aware (or not declared anything) can safely ignore this issue, since the registry would not be modified while it is active. However, code in a plug-in that declares that it is dynamic aware must be careful when accessing the extension and configuration element objects because they become invalid if the contributing plug-in is removed. Similarly, tools that analyze or display the extension registry are vulnerable. Client code can pre-test for invalid objects by calling isValid(), which never throws this exception. However, pre-tests are usually not sufficient because of the possibility of the extension or configuration element object becoming invalid as a result of a concurrent activity. At-risk clients must treat InvalidRegistryObjectException as if it were a checked exception. Also, such clients should probably register a listener with the extension registry so that they receive notification of any changes to the registry.

    This interface can be used without OSGi running.

    This interface is not intended to be implemented by clients.

    Restriction:
    This interface is not intended to be implemented by clients.
    • Method Detail

      • getAttribute

        String getAttribute​(String name)
                     throws InvalidRegistryObjectException
        Returns the named attribute of this configuration element, or null if none.

        The names of configuration element attributes are the same as the attribute names of the corresponding XML element. For example, the configuration markup

         <bg pattern="stripes"/>
         

        corresponds to a configuration element named "bg" with an attribute named "pattern" with attribute value "stripes".

        Note that any translation specified in the plug-in manifest file is automatically applied.

        Parameters:
        name - the name of the attribute
        Returns:
        attribute value, or null if none
        Throws:
        InvalidRegistryObjectException - if this configuration element is no longer valid
      • getAttribute

        String getAttribute​(String attrName,
                            String locale)
                     throws InvalidRegistryObjectException
        When multi-language support is enabled, this method returns the named attribute of this configuration element in the specified locale, or null if none.

        The locale matching tries to find the best match between available translations and the requested locale, falling back to a more generic locale ("en") when the specific locale ("en_US") is not available.

        If multi-language support is not enabled, this method is equivalent to the method getAttribute(String).

        Parameters:
        attrName - the name of the attribute
        locale - the requested locale
        Returns:
        attribute value, or null if none
        Throws:
        InvalidRegistryObjectException - if this configuration element is no longer valid
        Since:
        org.eclipse.equinox.registry 3.5
        See Also:
        getAttribute(String), IExtensionRegistry.isMultiLanguage()
      • getAttributeAsIs

        @Deprecated
        String getAttributeAsIs​(String name)
                         throws InvalidRegistryObjectException
        Deprecated.
        The method is equivalent to the getAttribute(String). Contrary to its description, this method returns a translated value. Use the getAttribute(String) method instead.
        Returns the named attribute of this configuration element, or null if none.

        The names of configuration element attributes are the same as the attribute names of the corresponding XML element. For example, the configuration markup

         <bg pattern="stripes"/>
         

        corresponds to a configuration element named "bg" with an attribute named "pattern" with attribute value "stripes".

        Note that any translation specified in the plug-in manifest file for this attribute is not automatically applied.

        Parameters:
        name - the name of the attribute
        Returns:
        attribute value, or null if none
        Throws:
        InvalidRegistryObjectException - if this configuration element is no longer valid
      • getAttributeNames

        String[] getAttributeNames()
                            throws InvalidRegistryObjectException
        Returns the names of the attributes of this configuration element. Returns an empty array if this configuration element has no attributes.

        The names of configuration element attributes are the same as the attribute names of the corresponding XML element. For example, the configuration markup

         <bg color="blue" pattern="stripes"/>
         

        corresponds to a configuration element named "bg" with attributes named "color" and "pattern".

        Returns:
        the names of the attributes
        Throws:
        InvalidRegistryObjectException - if this configuration element is no longer valid
      • getChildren

        IConfigurationElement[] getChildren()
                                     throws InvalidRegistryObjectException
        Returns all configuration elements that are children of this configuration element. Returns an empty array if this configuration element has no children.

        Each child corresponds to a nested XML element in the configuration markup. For example, the configuration markup

         <view>
                <verticalHint>top</verticalHint>
                <horizontalHint>left</horizontalHint>
         </view>
         

        corresponds to a configuration element, named "view", with two children.

        Returns:
        the child configuration elements
        Throws:
        InvalidRegistryObjectException - if this configuration element is no longer valid
        See Also:
        getChildren(String)
      • getName

        String getName()
                throws InvalidRegistryObjectException
        Returns the name of this configuration element. The name of a configuration element is the same as the XML tag of the corresponding XML element. For example, the configuration markup
         <wizard name="Create Project"/>
         
        corresponds to a configuration element named "wizard".
        Returns:
        the name of this configuration element
        Throws:
        InvalidRegistryObjectException - if this configuration element is no longer valid
      • getParent

        Object getParent()
                  throws InvalidRegistryObjectException
        Returns the element which contains this element. If this element is an immediate child of an extension, the returned value can be downcast to IExtension. Otherwise the returned value can be downcast to IConfigurationElement.
        Returns:
        the parent of this configuration element or null
        Throws:
        InvalidRegistryObjectException - if this configuration element is no longer valid
        Since:
        3.0
      • getValue

        String getValue()
                 throws InvalidRegistryObjectException
        Returns the text value of this configuration element. For example, the configuration markup
         <script lang="javascript">.\scripts\cp.js</script>
         
        corresponds to a configuration element "script" with value ".\scripts\cp.js".

        Values may span multiple lines (i.e., contain carriage returns and/or line feeds).

        Note that any translation specified in the plug-in manifest file is automatically applied.

        Returns:
        the text value of this configuration element or null
        Throws:
        InvalidRegistryObjectException - if this configuration element is no longer valid
      • getValue

        String getValue​(String locale)
                 throws InvalidRegistryObjectException
        When multi-language support is enabled, this method returns the text value of this configuration element in the specified locale, or null if none.

        The locale matching tries to find the best match between available translations and the requested locale, falling back to a more generic locale ("en") when the specific locale ("en_US") is not available.

        If multi-language support is not enabled, this method is equivalent to the method getValue().

        Parameters:
        locale - the requested locale
        Returns:
        the text value of this configuration element in the specified locale, or null
        Throws:
        InvalidRegistryObjectException - if this configuration element is no longer valid
        Since:
        org.eclipse.equinox.registry 3.5
        See Also:
        getValue(String), IExtensionRegistry.isMultiLanguage()
      • getValueAsIs

        @Deprecated
        String getValueAsIs()
                     throws InvalidRegistryObjectException
        Deprecated.
        The method is equivalent to the getValue(). Contrary to its description, this method returns a translated value. Use the getValue() method instead.
        Returns the untranslated text value of this configuration element. For example, the configuration markup
         <script lang="javascript">.\scripts\cp.js</script>
         
        corresponds to a configuration element "script" with value ".\scripts\cp.js".

        Values may span multiple lines (i.e., contain carriage returns and/or line feeds).

        Note that translation specified in the plug-in manifest file is not automatically applied. For example, the configuration markup

         <tooltip>#hattip</tooltip>
         

        corresponds to a configuration element, named "tooltip", with value "#hattip".

        Returns:
        the untranslated text value of this configuration element or null
        Throws:
        InvalidRegistryObjectException - if this configuration element is no longer valid
      • getNamespace

        @Deprecated
        String getNamespace()
                     throws InvalidRegistryObjectException
        Deprecated.
        As namespace is no longer restricted to the contributor name, use getNamespaceIdentifier() to obtain namespace name or getContributor() to get the name of the contributor of this registry element.

        In the past namespace was dictated by the name of the bundle. If bundle org.abc contributed registry element with Id of MyId, the namespace of the element was always set to org.abc, producing the qualified name of org.abc.MyId.

        The namespace used to be the same as the bundle name. As a result, the getNamespace() method was used both to obtain the name of the bundle and to obtain the namespace of a registry element.

        Since 3.2, the extension registry allows elements to specify qualified name. The extension point of the plug-in org.abc could specify org.zzz.MyExtPoint as an Id. In this case, namespace name is org.zzz, but the contributor name is org.abc.

        (The use of a simple Id is still a preferred way. Whenever possible, specify only the simple Id and let runtime take care of the rest.)

        If your code used the getNamespace() to obtain the name of the contributing bundle, use getContributor(). The typical usage pattern here is to find a bundle name to obtain some information from the corresponding OSGi bundle. For example, deducing the file location specified as a relative path to the bundle install location would fall into this group.

        If your code used the getNamespace() to obtain the namespace of the registry element, use getNamespaceIdentifier(). Typically, this is the case when code is trying to process registry elements belonging to some logical group. For example, processing notifications for all elements belonging to the org.abc namespace would fall into this category.

        Returns the namespace for this configuration element. This value can be used in various global facilities to discover this configuration element's contributor.
        Returns:
        the namespace for this configuration element
        Throws:
        InvalidRegistryObjectException - if this configuration element is no longer valid
        Since:
        3.1
        See Also:
        IExtensionRegistry
      • getNamespaceIdentifier

        String getNamespaceIdentifier()
                               throws InvalidRegistryObjectException
        Returns the namespace name for this configuration element.
        Returns:
        the namespace name for this configuration element
        Throws:
        InvalidRegistryObjectException - if this configuration element is no longer valid
        Since:
        org.eclipse.equinox.registry 3.2
      • isValid

        boolean isValid()
        Returns whether this configuration element object is valid.
        Returns:
        true if the object is valid, and false if it is no longer valid
        Since:
        3.1
      • getHandleId

        int getHandleId()
        Returns unique identifier of the registry object from which this element was created. Two configuration element instances are considered to be equal if their handle id's are same.
        Returns:
        The handle id of the registry object from which this configuration element was created.
        Since:
        3.8
        See Also:
        equals(Object)