ucar.netcdf
Class Attribute

java.lang.Object
  ucar.netcdf.Attribute

All Implemented Interfaces:

Cloneable, Named, Serializable

public class Attribute

extends Object

implements Named, Serializable, Cloneable

Attributes are similar to "IndexedProperties" in the lingo of java beans. They have a name, type and an array of values. The array is often of length 1, degenerating into a simple property. The array should never be length 0. An Attribute object is used to contain netcdf "metadata", like units of a measurable quantity or its valid range.

These attributes have fixed values over their lifetime; no setValue() methods are provided.

Instances which have same name and same value elements are equal. We override hashCode() and equals() to be consistent with this semantic.

See Also:

Serialized Form

Constructor Summary

Attribute(String name, double value)
Construct simple numeric attribute.

Attribute(String name, Number value)
Construct simple numeric attribute.

Attribute(String name, Object theValue)
Construct an array valued Attribute.

Attribute(String name, String theValue)
Construct a string valued attribute.

Method Summary

(package private) static Object	arrayClone(Object src) Why isn't this in java.lang.reflect.Array as native?
boolean	equals(Object oo) Instances which have same name and same value elements are equal.
Object	get(int index) Retrieve indexed value.
Class	getComponentType() If the value represents an array type, returns the Class object representing the component type of the array; otherwise returns null.
int	getLength() If the value represents an array type, returns the length of the value array; otherwise return String.length of the String value.
String	getName() Returns the name of this Attribute.
Number	getNumericValue() Retrieve simple numeric value.
Number	getNumericValue(int index) Retrieve indexed numeric value.
String	getStringValue() Retrieve String value.
Object	getValue() Retrieve the value in its most general form.
int	hashCode() Instances which have same name and same value elements are equal.
boolean	isString() If the value is an instance of String, return true otherwise returns false
(package private) static Class	primitiveClass(Number nn) Use reflection to find out the TYPE (primitive class) corresponding to a Number.
void	toCdl(StringBuffer buf) Format as CDL.
String	toString()

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

clone, finalize, getClass, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait

Constructor Detail

Attribute

public Attribute(String name,
                 Number value)

Construct simple numeric attribute.

Parameters:

name - String which is to be the name of this Attribute

value - A Number to be the Attribute value

Attribute

public Attribute(String name,
                 double value)

Construct simple numeric attribute.

Parameters:

name - String which is to be the name of this Attribute

value - A double to be the Attribute value

Attribute

public Attribute(String name,
                 String theValue)

Construct a string valued attribute. This will be seen to have component type Character.TYPE

Parameters:

name - String which is to be the name of this Attribute

theValue - The value

Attribute

public Attribute(String name,
                 Object theValue)

Construct an array valued Attribute. Not often used.

Parameters:

name - String which is to be the name of this Attribute

theValue - The value, an array of primitives. The primitive type must be netcdf encodeable.

Method Detail

hashCode

public int hashCode()

Instances which have same name and same value elements are equal. Overrides Object.equals() to be consistent with this semantic.

Returns:

the hash code value for this Attribute

equals

public boolean equals(Object oo)

Instances which have same name and same value elements are equal. Overrides Object.equals() to be consistent with this semantic. TODO: test me.

toString

public String toString()

Returns:

a string representation of this

getName

public final String getName()

Returns the name of this Attribute.

Specified by:

getName in interface Named

Returns:

String which identifies this Attribute.

getValue

public Object getValue()

Retrieve the value in its most general form.

Returns:

Object which is either a java.lang.String or a 1-dimensional array of primitives.

See Also:

isString()

getStringValue

public String getStringValue()

Retrieve String value.

Returns:

String if this is a String valued attribute.

Throws:

ClassCastException - if this is not String valued.

See Also:

isString()

get

public Object get(int index)

Retrieve indexed value.

Parameters:

index - int which is the index into the value array.

Returns:

Number value[index]

getNumericValue

public Number getNumericValue(int index)

Retrieve indexed numeric value.

Parameters:

index - int which is the index into the value array.

Returns:

Number value[index]

getNumericValue

public Number getNumericValue()

Retrieve simple numeric value. Equivalent to getNumericValue(0)

Returns:

Number the first element of the value array

isString

public boolean isString()

If the value is an instance of String, return true otherwise returns false

Returns:

boolean value instanceof String

getComponentType

public Class getComponentType()

If the value represents an array type, returns the Class object representing the component type of the array; otherwise returns null.

Returns:

Class the component type

See Also:

Class.getComponentType()

getLength

public int getLength()

If the value represents an array type, returns the length of the value array; otherwise return String.length of the String value.

Returns:

int length of the value

toCdl

public void toCdl(StringBuffer buf)

Format as CDL.

Parameters:

buf - StringBuffer into which to write

arrayClone

static Object arrayClone(Object src)

Why isn't this in java.lang.reflect.Array as native?

primitiveClass

static Class primitiveClass(Number nn)

Use reflection to find out the TYPE (primitive class) corresponding to a Number.