src/javax/persistence/metamodel/Bindable.java

/*******************************************************************************
 * Copyright (c) 1998, 2009 Oracle. All rights reserved. 
 * 
 * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the 
 * terms of the Eclipse Public License v1.0 and Eclipse Distribution License v. 1.0 
 * which accompanies this distribution. 
 * The Eclipse Public License is available at http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-v10.html
 * and the Eclipse Distribution License is available at 
 * http://www.eclipse.org/org/documents/edl-v10.php.
 * 
 * The API for this class and its comments are derived from the JPA 2.0 specification 
 * which is developed under the Java Community Process (JSR 317) and is copyright 
 * Sun Microsystems, Inc. 
 *
 * Contributors:
 *     dclarke - Java Persistence 2.0 - Proposed Final Draft (March 13, 2009)
 *               Specification and licensing terms available from
 *               http://jcp.org/en/jsr/detail?id=317
 *     gyorke  - Post PFD updates
 *
 * EARLY ACCESS - PUBLIC DRAFT
 * This is an implementation of an early-draft specification developed under the 
 * Java Community Process (JCP) and is made available for testing and evaluation 
 * purposes only. The code is not compatible with any specification of the JCP.
 ******************************************************************************/
package javax.persistence.metamodel;

/**
 * Instances of the type Bindable represent object or attribute types 
 * that can be bound into a Path.
 *
 * @param <T>  The type of the represented object or attribute
 */
public interface Bindable<T> {
	
	public static enum BindableType { 
		SINGULAR_ATTRIBUTE, PLURAL_ATTRIBUTE, ENTITY_TYPE
	}

    /**
     *  Return the bindable type of the represented object.
     *  @return bindable type
     */	
    BindableType getBindableType();
	
    /**
     * Return the Java type of the represented object.
     * If the bindable type of the object is COLLECTION_ATTRIBUTE,
     * the Java element type is returned. If the bindable type is
     * SINGLE_ATTRIBUTE or ENTITY_TYPE, the Java type of the
     * represented entity or attribute is returned.
     * @return Java type
     */
    Class<T> getBindableJavaType();
}