org.tmapi.index.core
Interface AssociationsIndex

All Superinterfaces:
Index, TopicMapSystem.ConfigurableHelperObject

public interface AssociationsIndex
extends Index

An index of Association instances in a TopicMap. This index provides an index of Associations by their type and a method for retrieving all Topics which are used to specify the type of one or more Associations.

Since:
1.0

Method Summary
 java.util.Collection getAssociationsByType(Topic type)
          Retrieve the Associations which are typed by the Topic type.
 java.util.Collection getAssociationTypes()
          Retrieve the Topics which are used to type Associations in this TopicMap.
 
Methods inherited from interface org.tmapi.index.Index
close, getFlags, isOpen, open, reindex
 
Methods inherited from interface org.tmapi.core.TopicMapSystem.ConfigurableHelperObject
configure
 

Method Detail

getAssociationTypes

public java.util.Collection getAssociationTypes()
Retrieve the Topics which are used to type Associations in this TopicMap. The return value may be an empty Collection but must never be null.

Returns:
a Collection of Topic instances.

getAssociationsByType

public java.util.Collection getAssociationsByType(Topic type)
Retrieve the Associations which are typed by the Topic type. The return value may be an empty Collection but must never be null.

Parameters:
type - The type of Associations to be returned If type is null a collection containing all untyped Association will be returned
Returns:
a Collection of Association instances.