Package org.eclipse.jdt.core

Interface IClasspathContainer

public interface IClasspathContainer
Interface of a classpath container. A classpath container provides a way to indirectly reference a set of classpath entries through a classpath entry of kind CPE_CONTAINER. Typically, a classpath container can be used to describe a complex library composed of multiple JARs or projects, considering also that containers can map to different set of entries on each project, in other words, several projects can reference the same generic container path, but have each of them actually bound to a different container object.

The set of entries associated with a classpath container may contain any of the following:

  • library entries (CPE_LIBRARY)
  • project entries (CPE_PROJECT)
In particular, a classpath container can neither reference further classpath containers or classpath variables.

A library entry can reference other libraries through the Class-Path section of the JAR's MANIFEST.MF file. If the container wants such referenced entries to be part of the classpath, the container must explicitly add them to the array returned from getClasspathEntries().

Classpath container values are persisted locally to the workspace, but are not preserved from a session to another. It is thus highly recommended to register a ClasspathContainerInitializer for each referenced container (through the extension point "org.eclipse.jdt.core.ClasspathContainerInitializer").

Since:
2.0
See Also:

  • Field Summary

    Fields
    Modifier and Type
    Field
    Description
    static final int
    K_APPLICATION
    Kind for a container mapping to an application library
    static final int
    K_DEFAULT_SYSTEM
    Kind for a container mapping to a default system library, implicitly contributed by the runtime
    static final int
    K_SYSTEM
    Kind for a container mapping to a system library

  • Method Summary

    Modifier and Type
    Method
    Description
    IClasspathEntry[]
    getClasspathEntries()
    Answers the set of classpath entries this container is mapping to.
    String
    getDescription()
    Answers a readable description of this container
    int
    getKind()
    Answers the kind of this container.
    org.eclipse.core.runtime.IPath
    getPath()
    Answers the container path identifying this container.
    static String[]
    getRegisteredContainerIds()
    Answer the IDs of all registered classpath containers (extensions at extension point JavaModelManager.CPCONTAINER_INITIALIZER_EXTPOINT_ID).

  • Field Details

    • K_APPLICATION

      static final int K_APPLICATION
      Kind for a container mapping to an application library
      See Also:

    • K_SYSTEM

      static final int K_SYSTEM
      Kind for a container mapping to a system library
      See Also:

    • K_DEFAULT_SYSTEM

      static final int K_DEFAULT_SYSTEM
      Kind for a container mapping to a default system library, implicitly contributed by the runtime
      See Also:

  • Method Details

    • getClasspathEntries

      IClasspathEntry[] getClasspathEntries()
      Answers the set of classpath entries this container is mapping to.

      The set of entries associated with a classpath container may contain any of the following:

      • library entries (CPE_LIBRARY)
      • project entries (CPE_PROJECT)
      A classpath container can neither reference further classpath containers or classpath variables.

      A library entry can reference other libraries through the Class-Path section of the JAR's MANIFEST.MF file. If the container wants such referenced entries to be part of the classpath, the container must explicitly add them to the result.

      This method is called by the Java model when it needs to resolve this classpath container entry into a list of library and project entries. The method is typically called exactly once for a given Java project, and the resulting list of entries cached internally by the Java model. This method must not be called by other clients.

      There are a wide variety of conditions under which this method may be invoked. To ensure that the implementation does not interfere with correct functioning of the Java model, the implementation should use only the following Java model APIs:

      The effects of using other Java model APIs are unspecified.

      Returns:
      IClasspathEntry[] - the classpath entries this container represents
      See Also:

    • getDescription

      String getDescription()
      Answers a readable description of this container
      Returns:
      String - a string description of the container

    • getKind

      int getKind()
      Answers the kind of this container. Can be either:
      • K_APPLICATION if this container maps to an application library
      • K_SYSTEM if this container maps to a system library
      • K_DEFAULT_SYSTEM if this container maps to a default system library (library implicitly contributed by the runtime).
      Typically, system containers should be placed first on a build path.
      Returns:
      the kind of this container

    • getPath

      org.eclipse.core.runtime.IPath getPath()
      Answers the container path identifying this container. A container path is formed by a first ID segment followed with extra segments, which can be used as additional hints for resolving to this container.

      The container ID is also used to identify aClasspathContainerInitializer registered on the extension point "org.eclipse.jdt.core.classpathContainerInitializer", which can be invoked if needing to resolve the container before it is explicitly set.

      Returns:
      IPath - the container path that is associated with this container

    • getRegisteredContainerIds

      static String[] getRegisteredContainerIds()
      Answer the IDs of all registered classpath containers (extensions at extension point JavaModelManager.CPCONTAINER_INITIALIZER_EXTPOINT_ID).
      Returns:
      array of strings as extracted from the "id" attribute from all registered classpath containers.
      Since:
      3.32