com.ibm.able
Interface AbleBean

All Superinterfaces:

AbleDataBufferManager, AbleEventListener, AbleEventListenerManager, AbleEventQueueManager, AbleEventQueueProcessor, AblePropertyChangeManager, AbleSerializable, java.io.Serializable

All Known Subinterfaces:

AbleAgent, AbleDataSink, AbleDataSource

All Known Implementing Classes:

AbleAbstractImport, AbleDBExport, AbleDefaultAgent, AbleExport, AbleObject

public interface AbleBean

extends java.io.Serializable, AbleDataBufferManager, AbleEventListener, AbleEventListenerManager, AbleEventQueueManager, AbleEventQueueProcessor, AblePropertyChangeManager, AbleSerializable

The AbleBean interface represents the basic ABLE object, and is a composite of interfaces that defines the methods for passing data between beans with either databuffers or synchronous or asynchronous events. It also has specific methods for its name, comment, logging, tracing, parentage, and methods which result in state changes such as init(), suspendAll() and reset().

Method Summary

java.lang.String	getComment() Returns the comment associated with this bean.
AbleLogger	getLogger() Returns the current message logger.
java.lang.String	getName() Returns the name of this bean.
AbleBeanContainer	getParent() Returns the containing parent of this bean.
java.util.Map	getProperties() Returns a pointer to the entire current collection of properties.
java.lang.String	getProperty(java.lang.String theName) Gets the property associated with the specified name.
int	getState() Returns the current state of this bean.
AbleLogger	getTraceLogger() Returns the current trace logger.
void	init() Initializes and configures the bean.
void	init(java.lang.Object theArg) Initializes and configures the bean, using the specified Object.
boolean	isChanged() Indicates if the bean has been changed since the last serialization operation.
void	process() Performs the main, synchronous, standard processing function performed by this bean.
java.lang.Object	process(java.lang.Object theArg) Performs the main, standard processing function performed by this bean, using the argument Object, which usually would be passed via an AbleEvent.
void	quitAll() Quits all forms of processing for this bean.
void	removeAllConnections() Removes all Property, Buffer, and Event connections.
java.lang.String	removeProperty(java.lang.String theName) Removes the property and the specified name from the collection of properties.
void	reset() Resets this bean.
void	resumeAll() Resumes all of the bean's suspended asynchronous threads of control.
void	setChanged(boolean theChangedFlag) Sets the changed flag.
void	setComment(java.lang.String theComment) Sets (or changes) the comment associated with this bean.
void	setLogger(AbleLogger theLogger) Sets the logger to be used for message output.
void	setName(java.lang.String theName) Sets (or changes) the name of this bean.
void	setParent(AbleBeanContainer theAbleBeanContainer) Sets the containing parent of this bean.
void	setProperties(java.util.Map theProperties) Sets the entire collection of properties to the specified collection.
void	setProperty(java.lang.String theName, java.lang.String theValue) Sets the specified property to the specified value.
void	setState(int theState) Sets the state of this bean.
void	setTraceLogger(AbleLogger theLogger) Sets the logger to be used for tracing program-level output.
void	suspendAll() Temporarily suspends all of the bean's asynchronous threads of control.

Methods inherited from interface com.ibm.able.AbleDataBufferManager

addDestBufferConnection, addSourceBufferConnection, getDestBufferConnections, getInputBuffer, getInputBuffer, getInputBufferAsString, getInputBufferAsStringArray, getInputBufferContents, getOutputBuffer, getOutputBuffer, getOutputBufferAsString, getOutputBufferAsStringArray, getOutputBufferContents, getSourceBufferConnections, hasInputBuffer, hasOutputBuffer, isConnectable, isDataFlowEnabled, processBufferConnections, removeAllBufferConnections, removeDestBufferConnection, removeSourceBufferConnection, setDataFlowEnabled, setInputBuffer, setInputBuffer, setOutputBuffer, setOutputBuffer

Methods inherited from interface com.ibm.able.AbleEventListener

handleAbleEvent

Methods inherited from interface com.ibm.able.AbleEventListenerManager

addAbleEventListener, dataChanged, getAbleEventListeners, notifyAbleEventListeners, removeAbleEventListener

Methods inherited from interface com.ibm.able.AbleEventQueueManager

flushAbleEventQueue, getAbleEventProcessingEnabled, getAbleEventQueueSize, getSleepTime, isAbleEventPostingEnabled, isAbleEventProcessingEnabled, isTimerEventProcessingEnabled, quitEnabledEventProcessing, restartEnabledEventProcessing, resumeEnabledEventProcessing, setAbleEventProcessingEnabled, setSleepTime, setTimerEventProcessingEnabled, startEnabledEventProcessing, suspendEnabledEventProcessing

Methods inherited from interface com.ibm.able.AbleEventQueueProcessor

processAbleEvent, processNoEventProcessingEnabledSituation, processTimerEvent

Methods inherited from interface com.ibm.able.AblePropertyChangeManager

addPropertyChangeListener, addPropertyConnection, getPropertyChangeListeners, getPropertyConnectionManager, removeAllPropertyConnections, removePropertyChangeListener, removePropertyConnection

Methods inherited from interface com.ibm.able.AbleSerializable

getFileName, restoreFromFile, restoreFromFile, saveToFile, saveToFile, setFileName

Method Detail

setName

public void setName(java.lang.String theName)

Sets (or changes) the name of this bean. This value may be used as a key when beans are included in containers or used as listeners, so once a bean is initialized, it is up to the implementation to restrict when this method is used.

Parameters:

theName - The new name of this bean. This name replaces the current name.

getName

public java.lang.String getName()

Returns the name of this bean.

Returns:

The current name of this AbleBean object or the empty string if no name has been set. The value is never expected to be null.

setComment

public void setComment(java.lang.String theComment)

Sets (or changes) the comment associated with this bean.

Parameters:

theComment - The new comment for this bean. This comment replaces the current comment.

getComment

public java.lang.String getComment()

Returns the comment associated with this bean.

Returns:

The current comment associated with this bean or the empty string if no comment has been set. The value is never expected to be null.

setChanged

public void setChanged(boolean theChangedFlag)

Sets the changed flag.

Parameters:

theChangedFlag - The value indicating whether this bean is to be marked as modified. If true, the bean will be marked as modified; otherwise, the bean will be marked as unmodified. Saving or serializing the bean should reset the change flag to unmodified.

isChanged

public boolean isChanged()

Indicates if the bean has been changed since the last serialization operation.

Returns:

true if the bean has been changed since the last save; false otherwise.

setLogger

public void setLogger(AbleLogger theLogger)

Sets the logger to be used for message output.

If a logger is available and is active, it will be used to log translated messages.

Parameters:

theLogger - A logger that can be used to record translated messages. The value cannot be null.

getLogger

public AbleLogger getLogger()

Returns the current message logger.

Specified by:

getLogger in interface AbleEventQueueProcessor

Returns:

the current message logger.

setTraceLogger

public void setTraceLogger(AbleLogger theLogger)

Sets the logger to be used for tracing program-level output.

If a logger is available and is active, base ABLE code will use it to log trace messages.

Parameters:

theLogger - A logger that can be used to trace base ABLE code. The value cannot be null.

getTraceLogger

public AbleLogger getTraceLogger()

Returns the current trace logger.

Returns:

The current trace logger.

setParent

public void setParent(AbleBeanContainer theAbleBeanContainer)

Sets the containing parent of this bean. Typically this method is called from the parent container's addBean method. It is not expected to be called from the bean itself.

Parameters:

theAbleBeanContainer - An ABLE bean container object in which this bean currently resides. Note that a bean may only have one parent at any given time, so this new parent completely replaces the current parent.

getParent

public AbleBeanContainer getParent()

Returns the containing parent of this bean.

Returns:

An AbleBeanContainer object in which this bean resides or null if no parent has been set.

setState

public void setState(int theState)

Sets the state of this bean.

Specified by:

setState in interface AbleEventQueueProcessor

Parameters:

theState - An AbleState value.

getState

public int getState()

Returns the current state of this bean.

Specified by:

getState in interface AbleEventQueueProcessor

Returns:

An AbleState value.

removeAllConnections

public void removeAllConnections()
                          throws AbleException

Removes all Property, Buffer, and Event connections.

Throws:

AbleException - If an error occurs.

init

public void init()
          throws AbleException

Initializes and configures the bean. The bean's state changes to AbleState.Initiated or AbleState.Waiting.

If the implementation provides property change notification, decide whether to send only one property change event or an event for each property.

A bean implementing AbleBeanContainer may choose to call this method on each bean it contains and accumulate errors from each contained bean.

Throws:

AbleException - If an error occurs.

init

public void init(java.lang.Object theArg)
          throws AbleException

Initializes and configures the bean, using the specified Object. If needed, this method calls AbleEventQueueManager.startEnabledEventProcessing() The bean's state changes to AbleState.Initiated or AbleState.Waiting.

A bean implementing AbleBeanContainer may choose to call this method on each bean it contains and accumulate errors from each contained bean.

Parameters:

theArg - An Object used to initialize the bean, typically by getting parameters of interest.

Throws:

AbleException - If an error occurs.

reset

public void reset()
           throws AbleException

Resets this bean. The implementation is highly bean-dependent. Issues for implementors to consider are:

1. Should reset return the bean to a state as if the bean was just constructed?
2. Should reset require init() to be called next? Should reset itself call init()?
3. Should reset change the bean AbleState?
4. Should a container construct new contained beans or reset each contained bean?
5. Which of the bean's data members should be reset?

For example, after a reset:

• An initialized AbleDataSource would reopen the file or create a new database connection, and on the next call to process read * the first data record. Whether or not initialized, the number of * records read is set to zero.
• An AbleNeuralClassifier, or an agent which contains beans, would reset each bean.
• An AbleBackpropagationNetwork, a learning bean, would reset the network weights so training would start anew.

A bean implementing AbleBeanContainer should reset each bean it contains and accumulate errors from each contained bean.

Throws:

AbleException - If an error occurs.

process

public void process()
             throws AbleException

Performs the main, synchronous, standard processing function performed by this bean. Typically, this function involves taking data from the input buffer, processing the data, creating an output buffer, and placing the processed data into it. An AbleEvent.DATACHANGED event should be propagated to registered listeners.

bean implementing AbleBeanContainer may choose to call process on each bean it contains and accumulate errors from each contained bean.

Throws:

AbleException - If an error occurs.

process

public java.lang.Object process(java.lang.Object theArg)
                         throws AbleException

Performs the main, standard processing function performed by this bean, using the argument Object, which usually would be passed via an AbleEvent. Typically, this function involves taking data from the argument object, processing the data, and placing the processed data into an AbleEvent.

A bean implementing AbleBeanContainer may choose to call process on each bean it contains and accumulate errors from each contained bean.

Parameters:

theArg - An Object used to provide data for the bean derive a result.

Returns:

The results of the process() computation, usually a clone of the bean's OutputBuffer.

Throws:

AbleException - If an error occurs.

quitAll

public void quitAll()
             throws AbleException

Quits all forms of processing for this bean. Stop all of the bean's asynchronous threads of control. The bean's state changes to AbleState.Unknown, and it should be considered unusable for further processing.

A simple AbleBean may just call AbleEventQueueManager.quitEnabledEventProcessing(). A more complex bean may also clear itself of references so that garbage collection can occur.

A bean implementing AbleBeanContainer should call quitAll on each bean it contains and accumulate errors from each contained bean.

Throws:

AbleException - If an error occurs.

See Also:

suspendAll(), resumeAll()

suspendAll

public void suspendAll()
                throws AbleException

Temporarily suspends all of the bean's asynchronous threads of control. The bean's state changes to AbleState.Suspended.

If the bean is a simple AbleBean, this method just calls its AbleEventQueueManager.suspendEnabledEventProcessing() method.

A bean implementing AbleBeanContainer should call this method on each bean it contains and accumulate errors from each contained bean.

Throws:

AbleException - If an error occurs.

See Also:

resumeAll(), quitAll()

resumeAll

public void resumeAll()
               throws AbleException

Resumes all of the bean's suspended asynchronous threads of control. The bean's state changes from AbleState.Suspended to AbleState.Waiting.

If the bean is a simple AbleBean, this method just calls its AbleEventQueueManager.resumeEnabledEventProcessing() method.

A bean implementing AbleBeanContainer should call this method on each bean it contains and accumulate errors from each contained bean.

Throws:

AbleException - If an error occurs.

See Also:

suspendAll(), quitAll()

setProperty

public void setProperty(java.lang.String theName,
                        java.lang.String theValue)

Sets the specified property to the specified value.

Parameters:

theName - The name of the property to be placed into the collection of properties.

theValue - The value associated with the specified property.

Since:

2.2.0

getProperty

public java.lang.String getProperty(java.lang.String theName)

Gets the property associated with the specified name.

Parameters:

theName - The name of the property to be returned.

Returns:

The value associated with the specified name, or null if no property has been set for the specified name.

Since:

2.2.0

removeProperty

public java.lang.String removeProperty(java.lang.String theName)

Removes the property and the specified name from the collection of properties.

Parameters:

theName - The name of the property to be removed.

Returns:

The value associated with the specified name, or null if no property has been set for the specified name.

Since:

2.2.0

setProperties

public void setProperties(java.util.Map theProperties)

Sets the entire collection of properties to the specified collection.

Parameters:

theProperties - The set of properties that will replace the current collection of properties. If this parameter is specified as null, the call is ignored; that is, the underlying data member is not changed. Otherwise, the underlying data member is changed to point to the specified collection.

Keys and values of the properties collection must be confined to the String data type.

Since:

2.2.0

getProperties

public java.util.Map getProperties()

Returns a pointer to the entire current collection of properties.

Returns:

The entire current collection of properties.

Since:

2.2.0