org.eclipse.wst.jsdt.core.dom
Interface IBinding

All Known Subinterfaces:
IFunctionBinding, IMemberValuePairBinding, IPackageBinding, ITypeBinding, IVariableBinding

public interface IBinding

A binding represents a named entity in the JavaScript language. The world of bindings provides an integrated picture of the structure of the program as seen from the compiler's point of view. This interface declare protocol common to the various different kinds of named entities in the JavaScript language: packages, types, fields, methods, constructors, and local variables.

This interface is not intended to be implemented by clients.

See Also:
IPackageBinding, ITypeBinding, IVariableBinding, Provisional API: This class/interface is part of an interim API that is still under development and expected to change significantly before reaching stability. It is being made available at this early stage to solicit feedback from pioneering adopters on the understanding that any code that uses this API will almost certainly be broken (repeatedly) as the API evolves.

Field Summary
static int METHOD
          Kind constant (value 4) indicating a method or constructor binding.
static int PACKAGE
          Kind constant (value 1) indicating a package binding.
static int TYPE
          Kind constant (value 2) indicating a type binding.
static int VARIABLE
          Kind constant (value 3) indicating a field or local variable binding.
 
Method Summary
 boolean equals(java.lang.Object obj)
          There is no special definition of equality for bindings; equality is simply object identity.
 IJavaScriptElement getJavaElement()
          Returns the JavaScript element that corresponds to this binding.
 java.lang.String getKey()
          Returns the key for this binding.
 int getKind()
          Returns the kind of bindings this is.
 int getModifiers()
          Returns the modifiers for this binding.
 java.lang.String getName()
          Returns the name of this binding.
 boolean isDeprecated()
          Return whether this binding is for something that is deprecated.
 boolean isEqualTo(IBinding binding)
          Returns whether this binding has the same key as that of the given binding.
 boolean isRecovered()
          Return whether this binding is created because the bindings recovery is enabled.
 boolean isSynthetic()
          Returns whether this binding is synthetic.
 java.lang.String toString()
          Returns a string representation of this binding suitable for debugging purposes only.
 

Field Detail

PACKAGE

static final int PACKAGE
Kind constant (value 1) indicating a package binding. Bindings of this kind can be safely cast to IPackageBinding.

See Also:
getKind(), IPackageBinding, Constant Field Values

TYPE

static final int TYPE
Kind constant (value 2) indicating a type binding. Bindings of this kind can be safely cast to ITypeBinding.

See Also:
getKind(), ITypeBinding, Constant Field Values

VARIABLE

static final int VARIABLE
Kind constant (value 3) indicating a field or local variable binding. Bindings of this kind can be safely cast to IVariableBinding.

See Also:
getKind(), IVariableBinding, Constant Field Values

METHOD

static final int METHOD
Kind constant (value 4) indicating a method or constructor binding. Bindings of this kind can be safely cast to IFunctionBinding.

See Also:
getKind(), IFunctionBinding, Constant Field Values
Method Detail

getKind

int getKind()
Returns the kind of bindings this is. That is one of the kind constants: PACKAGE, TYPE, VARIABLE, METHOD, ANNOTATION, or MEMBER_VALUE_PAIR.

Note that additional kinds might be added in the future, so clients should not assume this list is exhaustive and should program defensively, e.g. by having a reasonable default in a switch statement.

Returns:
one of the kind constants

getName

java.lang.String getName()
Returns the name of this binding. Details of the name are specified with each specific kind of binding.

Returns:
the name of this binding

getModifiers

int getModifiers()
Returns the modifiers for this binding.

Note that deprecated is not included among the modifiers. Use isDeprecated to find out whether a binding is deprecated.

Returns:
the bit-wise or of Modifier constants
See Also:
Modifier

isDeprecated

boolean isDeprecated()
Return whether this binding is for something that is deprecated. A deprecated class, interface, field, method, or constructor is one that is marked with the 'deprecated' tag in its jsdoc comment.

Returns:
true if this binding is deprecated, and false otherwise

isRecovered

boolean isRecovered()
Return whether this binding is created because the bindings recovery is enabled. This binding is considered to be incomplete. Its internal state might be incomplete.

Returns:
true if this binding is a recovered binding, and false otherwise

isSynthetic

boolean isSynthetic()
Returns whether this binding is synthetic. A synthetic binding is one that was made up by the compiler, rather than something declared in the source code. Note that default constructors (the 0-argument constructor that the validator generates for class declarations with no explicit constructors declarations) are not generally considered synthetic (although they may be if the class itself is synthetic). But see IFunctionBinding.isDefaultConstructor for cases where the compiled-generated default constructor can be recognized instead.

Returns:
true if this binding is synthetic, and false otherwise
See Also:
IFunctionBinding.isDefaultConstructor()

getJavaElement

IJavaScriptElement getJavaElement()
Returns the JavaScript element that corresponds to this binding. Returns null if this binding has no corresponding JavaScript element.

For array types, this method returns the JavaScript element that corresponds to the array's element type. For raw and parameterized types, this method returns the JavaScript element of the erasure. For annotations, this methods returns the JavaScript element of the annotation type.

Here are the cases where a null should be expected:

For all other kind of type, method, variable, annotation and package bindings, this method returns non-null.

Returns:
the JavaScript element that corresponds to this binding, or null if none

getKey

java.lang.String getKey()
Returns the key for this binding.

Within a connected cluster of bindings (for example, all bindings reachable from a given AST), each binding will have a distinct keys. The keys are generated in a manner that is predictable and as stable as possible. This last property makes these keys useful for comparing bindings between disconnected clusters of bindings (for example, the bindings between the "before" and "after" ASTs of the same javaScript unit).

The exact details of how the keys are generated is unspecified. However, it is a function of the following information:

Note that the key for annotation bindings and member value pair bindings is not yet implemented. This returns null for these 2 kinds of bindings.
Recovered bindings have a unique key.

Returns:
the key for this binding

equals

boolean equals(java.lang.Object obj)
There is no special definition of equality for bindings; equality is simply object identity. Within the context of a single cluster of bindings, each binding is represented by a distinct object. However, between different clusters of bindings, the binding objects may or may not be different; in these cases, the client should compare bindings using isEqualTo(IBinding), which checks their keys.

Overrides:
equals in class java.lang.Object
Parameters:
obj -
Returns:

isEqualTo

boolean isEqualTo(IBinding binding)
Returns whether this binding has the same key as that of the given binding. Within the context of a single cluster of bindings, each binding is represented by a distinct object. However, between different clusters of bindings, the binding objects may or may not be different objects; in these cases, the binding keys are used where available.

Parameters:
binding - the other binding, or null
Returns:
true if the given binding is the identical object as this binding, or if the keys of both bindings are the same string; false if the given binding is null, or if the bindings do not have the same key, or if one or both of the bindings have no key
See Also:
getKey()

toString

java.lang.String toString()
Returns a string representation of this binding suitable for debugging purposes only.

Overrides:
toString in class java.lang.Object
Returns:
a debug string