ExtensionInterface.java

/*******************************************************************************
 * Copyright (c) 2007, 2014 compeople AG and others.
 * All rights reserved. This program and the accompanying materials
 * are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Public License v1.0
 * which accompanies this distribution, and is available at
 * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-v10.html
 *
 * Contributors:
 *    compeople AG - initial API and implementation
 *******************************************************************************/
package org.eclipse.riena.core.injector.extension;

import java.lang.annotation.Documented;
import java.lang.annotation.ElementType;
import java.lang.annotation.Retention;
import java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy;
import java.lang.annotation.Target;

/**
 * This annotation marks an <i>interface bean</i>. It is <b>highly</b>
 * recommended to use this annotation to avoid ambiguities., e.g.
 * 
 * <pre>
 * 
 * @ExtensionInterface()
 * public interface ISubElement {
 * 	@MapName("validation-policy")
 * 	String getValidationPolicy();
 * }
 * </pre>
 * 
 * or with a provided extension point id
 * 
 * <pre>
 * @ExtensionInterface("org.eclipse.core.someId")
 * public interface ISubElement {
 * 	@MapName("validation-policy")
 * 	String getValidationPolicy();
 * }
 * </pre>
 */
@Documented
@Retention(RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME)
@Target(ElementType.TYPE)
public @interface ExtensionInterface {

	/**
	 * The id of the extension point this {@code ExtensionInterface} is used
	 * for.
	 * <p>
	 * <b>Note:</b>The id may consist of several compatible ids separated by a
	 * comma without any white space.
	 * 
	 * @return the extension point id
	 */
	String id() default "";
}