/* * Copyright (c) 2003, 2005, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. * ORACLE PROPRIETARY/CONFIDENTIAL. Use is subject to license terms. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * */ package javax.xml.xpath; import org.xml.sax.InputSource; import javax.xml.namespace.QName; import javax.xml.namespace.NamespaceContext; /** *
XPath provides access to the XPath evaluation environment and expressions.
| Evaluation of XPath Expressions. | *|
|---|---|
| context | ** If a request is made to evaluate the expression in the absence * of a context item, an empty document node will be used for the context. * For the purposes of evaluating XPath expressions, a DocumentFragment * is treated like a Document node. * | *
| variables | *
* If the expression contains a variable reference, its value will be found through the {@link XPathVariableResolver}
* set with {@link #setXPathVariableResolver(XPathVariableResolver resolver)}.
* An {@link XPathExpressionException} is raised if the variable resolver is undefined or
* the resolver returns null for the variable.
* The value of a variable must be immutable through the course of any single evaluation.
* |
*
| functions | *
* If the expression contains a function reference, the function will be found through the {@link XPathFunctionResolver}
* set with {@link #setXPathFunctionResolver(XPathFunctionResolver resolver)}.
* An {@link XPathExpressionException} is raised if the function resolver is undefined or
* the function resolver returns null for the function.
* |
*
| QNames | ** QNames in the expression are resolved against the XPath namespace context * set with {@link #setNamespaceContext(NamespaceContext nsContext)}. * | *
| result | ** This result of evaluating an expression is converted to an instance of the desired return type. * Valid return types are defined in {@link XPathConstants}. * Conversion to the return type follows XPath conversion rules. * | *
An XPath object is not thread-safe and not reentrant.
* In other words, it is the application's responsibility to make
* sure that one {@link XPath} object is not used from
* more than one thread at any given time, and while the evaluate
* method is invoked, applications may not recursively call
* the evaluate method.
*
* * @author Norman Walsh * @author Jeff Suttor * @see XML Path Language (XPath) Version 1.0 * @since 1.5 */ public interface XPath { /** *
Reset this XPath to its original configuration.
XPath is reset to the same state as when it was created with
* {@link XPathFactory#newXPath()}.
* reset() is designed to allow the reuse of existing XPaths
* thus saving resources associated with the creation of new XPaths.
The reset XPath is not guaranteed to have the same {@link XPathFunctionResolver}, {@link XPathVariableResolver}
* or {@link NamespaceContext} Objects, e.g. {@link Object#equals(Object obj)}.
* It is guaranteed to have a functionally equal XPathFunctionResolver, XPathVariableResolver
* and NamespaceContext.
Establish a variable resolver.
* *A NullPointerException is thrown if resolver is null.
resolver is null.
*/
public void setXPathVariableResolver(XPathVariableResolver resolver);
/**
* Return the current variable resolver.
* *null is returned in no variable resolver is in effect.
Establish a function resolver.
* *A NullPointerException is thrown if resolver is null.
resolver is null.
*/
public void setXPathFunctionResolver(XPathFunctionResolver resolver);
/**
* Return the current function resolver.
* *null is returned in no function resolver is in effect.
Establish a namespace context.
* *A NullPointerException is thrown if nsContext is null.
nsContext is null.
*/
public void setNamespaceContext(NamespaceContext nsContext);
/**
* Return the current namespace context.
* *null is returned in no namespace context is in effect.
Compile an XPath expression for later evaluation.
* *If expression contains any {@link XPathFunction}s,
* they must be available via the {@link XPathFunctionResolver}.
* An {@link XPathExpressionException} will be thrown if the
* XPathFunction
* cannot be resovled with the XPathFunctionResolver.
If expression contains any variables, the
* {@link XPathVariableResolver} in effect
* at compile time will be used to resolve them.
If expression is null, a NullPointerException is thrown.
expression cannot be compiled.
* @throws NullPointerException If expression is null.
*/
public XPathExpression compile(String expression)
throws XPathExpressionException;
/**
* Evaluate an XPath expression in the specified context and return the result as the specified type.
See Evaluation of XPath Expressions for context item evaluation,
* variable, function and QName resolution and return type conversion.
If returnType is not one of the types defined in {@link XPathConstants} (
* {@link XPathConstants#NUMBER NUMBER},
* {@link XPathConstants#STRING STRING},
* {@link XPathConstants#BOOLEAN BOOLEAN},
* {@link XPathConstants#NODE NODE} or
* {@link XPathConstants#NODESET NODESET})
* then an IllegalArgumentException is thrown.
If a null value is provided for
* item, an empty document will be used for the
* context.
* If expression or returnType is null, then a
* NullPointerException is thrown.
Object of returnType.
*
* @throws XPathExpressionException If expression cannot be evaluated.
* @throws IllegalArgumentException If returnType is not one of the types defined in {@link XPathConstants}.
* @throws NullPointerException If expression or returnType is null.
*/
public Object evaluate(String expression, Object item, QName returnType)
throws XPathExpressionException;
/**
* Evaluate an XPath expression in the specified context and return the result as a String.
This method calls {@link #evaluate(String expression, Object item, QName returnType)} with a returnType of
* {@link XPathConstants#STRING}.
See Evaluation of XPath Expressions for context item evaluation, * variable, function and QName resolution and return type conversion.
* *If a null value is provided for
* item, an empty document will be used for the
* context.
* If expression is null, then a NullPointerException is thrown.
String that is the result of evaluating the expression and
* converting the result to a String.
*
* @throws XPathExpressionException If expression cannot be evaluated.
* @throws NullPointerException If expression is null.
*/
public String evaluate(String expression, Object item)
throws XPathExpressionException;
/**
* Evaluate an XPath expression in the context of the specified InputSource
* and return the result as the specified type.
This method builds a data model for the {@link InputSource} and calls * {@link #evaluate(String expression, Object item, QName returnType)} on the resulting document object.
* *See Evaluation of XPath Expressions for context item evaluation, * variable, function and QName resolution and return type conversion.
* *If returnType is not one of the types defined in {@link XPathConstants},
* then an IllegalArgumentException is thrown.
If expression, source or returnType is null,
* then a NullPointerException is thrown.
Object that encapsulates the result of evaluating the expression.
*
* @throws XPathExpressionException If expression cannot be evaluated.
* @throws IllegalArgumentException If returnType is not one of the types defined in {@link XPathConstants}.
* @throws NullPointerException If expression, source or returnType
* is null.
*/
public Object evaluate(
String expression,
InputSource source,
QName returnType)
throws XPathExpressionException;
/**
* Evaluate an XPath expression in the context of the specified InputSource
* and return the result as a String.
This method calls {@link #evaluate(String expression, InputSource source, QName returnType)} with a
* returnType of {@link XPathConstants#STRING}.
See Evaluation of XPath Expressions for context item evaluation, * variable, function and QName resolution and return type conversion.
* *If expression or source is null,
* then a NullPointerException is thrown.
InputSource of the document to evaluate over.
*
* @return The String that is the result of evaluating the expression and
* converting the result to a String.
*
* @throws XPathExpressionException If expression cannot be evaluated.
* @throws NullPointerException If expression or source is null.
*/
public String evaluate(String expression, InputSource source)
throws XPathExpressionException;
}