src/javax/persistence/criteria/ListJoin.java

/*******************************************************************************
 * Copyright (c) 2008, 2009 Sun Microsystems. 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.
 * 
 * Contributors:
 *     Linda DeMichiel - Java Persistence 2.0 - Version 2.0 (October 1, 2009)
 *     Specification available from http://jcp.org/en/jsr/detail?id=317
 *
 ******************************************************************************/
package javax.persistence.criteria;

import java.util.List;
import javax.persistence.metamodel.ListAttribute;

/**
 * The <code>ListJoin</code> interface is the type of the result of
 * joining to a collection over an association or element 
 * collection that has been specified as a <code>java.util.List</code>.
 *
 * @param <Z> the source type of the join
 * @param <E> the element type of the target List
 *
 * @since Java Persistence 2.0
 */
public interface ListJoin<Z, E> 
		extends PluralJoin<Z, List<E>, E> {

    /**
     * Return the metamodel representation for the list attribute.
     * @return metamodel type representing the <code>List</code> that is
     *         the target of the join
     */
    ListAttribute<? super Z, E> getModel();

    /**
     * Create an expression that corresponds to the index of
     * the object in the referenced association or element
     * collection.
     * This method must only be invoked upon an object that
     * represents an association or element collection for
     * which an order column has been defined.
     * @return expression denoting the index
     */
    Expression<Integer> index();
}