org.simpleframework.xml

Annotation Type Attribute

@Retention(value=RUNTIME)
public @interface Attribute

The Attribute annotation represents a serializable XML attribute within an XML element. An object annotated with this is typically a primitive or enumerated type. Conversion from the attribute to primitive type is done with a Transform object. If a suitable transform can be found then this will convert the attribute string value to an object instance, which can be assigned to the annotated field, or passed to the annotated method.

See Also:

Transformer

Optional Element Summary

Optional Elements

Modifier and Type	Optional Element and Description
String	empty This is used to provide a default value for the attribute if the annotated field or method is null.
String	name This represents the name of the XML attribute.
boolean	required Determines whether the attribute is required within an XML element.

Element Detail

name

public abstract String name

This represents the name of the XML attribute. Annotated fields or methods can optionally provide the name of the XML attribute they represent. If a name is not provided then the field or method name is used in its place. A name can be specified if the field or method name is not suitable for the XML attribute.

Returns:

the name of the XML attribute this represents

Default:

""

empty

public abstract String empty

This is used to provide a default value for the attribute if the annotated field or method is null. This ensures the the serialization process writes the attribute with a value even if the value is null, and allows deserialization to determine whether the value within the object was null or not.

Returns:

this returns the default attribute value to use

Default:

""

required

public abstract boolean required

Determines whether the attribute is required within an XML element. Any field marked as not required will not have its value set when the object is deserialized. If an object is to be serialized only a null attribute will not appear as XML.

Returns:

true if the attribute is required, false otherwise

Default:

true