This section will describe in detail the mechanism via which tasks are configured. Configuration is the name given to the stage in tasks lifecycle via which the XML representation is mapped onto the task object.

When mapping the XML representation on to the task object you need to be able map the names as they appear in the XML to the names as they appear in the Java code. The process is for generating a java name from the xml name is as follows.

1. Capitalize the first character of name.
2. Find any '-' characters in XML name and remove character and capitalize the following letter. (And there must be a following letter)

Some example mappings;

	my-name ===> MyName aString ===> AString Basedir ===> Basedir baseDir ===> BaseDir url ===> Url

Note that the above transformation is lossy and as such the following XML names all map to the same Java name. The ant1.x mapping is similarly lossy and in practice this has not been an issue.

	base-dir ===> BaseDir Base-dir ===> BaseDir baseDir ===> BaseDir BaseDir ===> BaseDir

NOTE: We should really resolve this and either disallow '-' characters or disallow uppercase or something. (PD)

The first stage of mapping the XML representation to the task is resolving all text data. The text data that needs to be resolved include the values of attributes and the content.

Resolution consists of expanding any property references in the text data. Property references are identified as starting with the token "${" and finishing with another "}" token. The text in between is the name of a property. The value of the property replaces the sequence of text starting with the "${" token and finishing with the "}" token.

Note that the value of the property may not be a string. If the text data contains text (or other property references) to either side of the property reference then it must be converted to a String.

Currently the representation of object are stored in a hierarchial tree of org.apache.myrmidon.api.metadata.ModelElement objects. Each ModelElement has a number of attributes and can have either content or sub-elements.

In most cases it is the responsibility of the runtime to map the ModelElement onto an object. However in some cases it may be useful for the object to get access to it's own model and for it to explicitly manage it's own configuration. In this case the object should implement the org.apache.myrmidon.api.metadata.Modeller interface which will provide the mechanism for the object to receive its own representation and configure itself.

Note that the Modeller mechanism should be avoided if possible as it adds considerable complexity to the implementing object.

To map an XML attribute on to a Java object, the name of the attribute is mapped to a java name and prefixed with the string "set". The resulting string is then used to look up a method with a single parameter.

For example, for the attribute "world" would result in a lookup of a method named "setWorld" with a single parameter.

If multiple methods were matched during the lookup then an exception is thrown indicating ambiguity. Theres is an exception to this rule that allows 2 methods to be matched if one of the methods takes a java.lang.String parameter. The method that has the java.lang.String parameter is ignored and the other method would be chosen. This exception is allowed as it is common practice for a task to evolve from String parameters to more strongly typed parameters.

The resolved text data of the attribute must be converted to the type of the matched methods parameter. For example, if the "setWorld" method took a parameter of type java.io.File then the resolved text data must be converted into a java.io.File. The conversion is done by the Converter architecture that is more fully described in the Converter HOWTO.

After the value is converted to the correct type the method is invoked with the converted value.

The XML representation of object can have either have nested elements or nested text (content) but not both. To add the content to an object a method named "content" with one parameter is looked up. The resolved text data for content is then converted to the type of the parameter and passed in via the method.

Mapping an ModelElement onto a java object is a series of steps. If the ModelElement name ends with the string "-ref" then it is treated as a reference element - see the Referrenced Elements section. Otherwise, the element is first attempted to be mapped as a Named Element and if no match is found via that method it tries to treat the element as a Typed Element.

Named Elements

To map a named ModelElement on to a Java object, the name of the element is mapped to a java name and prefixed with the string "add". The resulting string is then used to look up a method with a single parameter. For example, for the attribute "geometry" would result in a lookup of a method named "addGeometry" with a single parameter. If multiple methods were matched during the lookup then an exception is thrown indicating ambiguity. If no methods were found that match name then skip down to configuring "typed" elements. The type of the methods single parameter is then examined to determine what happens next. There are two valid situations, if neither of these are satisfied, then an exception is thrown. The parameters type is org.apache.myrmidon.api.metadata.ModelElement The parameters type is a concrete class 1. If the parameter has a type of org.apache.myrmidon.api.metadata.ModelElement then the un-modified model representation of element is passed to object by invoking the adder method. 2. If the parameters type is concrete then an instance of the parameter is instantiated using the default constructor. This created object is then configured in the same manner as task using the elements representation as the model. After the object is configured it is passed into object by invoking the adder method.

Referrenced Elements

A referenced element is one that has a name ending in "-ref" and has a single attribute "name" and no content or child elements. The value of the "name" attribute is the name of a property. The value of this property is retrieved from the TaskContext. Like with Named Elements the name of the element (minus the "-ref" part) is mapped to a java name and prefixed with the string "add". The resulting string is then used to look up a method with a single parameter. If multiple methods were matched during the lookup then an exception is thrown indicating ambiguity. The value retrieved from the TaskContext is then converted to the type of the methods parameter and the add method is invoked with the converted value. An example usage is the following; <my-task ...> <classpath-ref name="project.class.path"/> </my-task>

Typed Elements

"Typed" elements can also be added to an object. A typed element is one in which the name of the element actually refers to a type rather than the name of the adder to call. For example, you may wish to allow a task to add arbitrary instances of the Condition role to a task. So instead of adding methods such as addAnd(AndCondition), addOr(OrCondition) and addXor(XorCondition) you can instead add a single method add(Condition). This vastly simplifies the amount of work required to write tasks that take conditions. More importantly it allows end-users to extend the number of elements selected by task. For instance if the user wanted a "nand" condition they could write the Nand type use it in their build file. For a discussion on roles and types see the Types HOWTO. To use a Typed adder there must be a single method named "add" that has a single parameter. The parameter MUST be an abstract interface and must be registered as a role. The name of the element is then used to lookup the a type in the TypeManager with a role matching the interface name. For example if an element named "nand" was added to an object that had an adder with the signature void add( Condition condition ) then the type named "nand" in the role "Condition" would be looked up. An instance of the type would then be created using the default constructor and the created object would be configured and then adder to object using adder.