JavaTM 2 Platform
Std. Ed. v1.3.1

javax.accessibility
Class AccessibleContext

java.lang.Object
  |
  +--javax.accessibility.AccessibleContext
Direct Known Subclasses:
Component.AccessibleAWTComponent, ImageIcon.AccessibleImageIcon, JList.AccessibleJList.AccessibleJListChild, JTable.AccessibleJTable.AccessibleJTableCell, JTableHeader.AccessibleJTableHeader.AccessibleJTableHeaderEntry, JTree.AccessibleJTree.AccessibleJTreeNode, MenuComponent.AccessibleAWTMenuComponent

public abstract class AccessibleContext
extends Object

AccessibleContext represents the minimum information all accessible objects return. This information includes the accessible name, description, role, and state of the object, as well as information about its parent and children. AccessibleContext also contains methods for obtaining more specific accessibility information about a component. If the component supports them, these methods will return an object that implements one or more of the following interfaces:


Field Summary
static String ACCESSIBLE_ACTION_PROPERTY
          Constant used to indicate that the supported set of actions has changed.
static String ACCESSIBLE_ACTIVE_DESCENDANT_PROPERTY
          Constant used to determine when the active descendant of a component has changed.
static String ACCESSIBLE_CARET_PROPERTY
          Constant used to determine when the accessibleText caret has changed.
static String ACCESSIBLE_CHILD_PROPERTY
          Constant used to determine when Accessible children are added/removed from the object.
static String ACCESSIBLE_DESCRIPTION_PROPERTY
          Constant used to determine when the accessibleDescription property has changed.
static String ACCESSIBLE_NAME_PROPERTY
          Constant used to determine when the accessibleName property has changed.
static String ACCESSIBLE_SELECTION_PROPERTY
          Constant used to determine when the accessibleSelection has changed.
static String ACCESSIBLE_STATE_PROPERTY
          Constant used to determine when the accessibleStateSet property has changed.
static String ACCESSIBLE_TABLE_CAPTION_CHANGED
          Constant used to indicate that the table caption has changed The old value in the PropertyChangeEvent will be an Accessible representing the previous table caption and the new value will be an Accessible representing the new table caption.
static String ACCESSIBLE_TABLE_COLUMN_DESCRIPTION_CHANGED
          Constant used to indicate that the column description has changed The old value in the PropertyChangeEvent will be null and the new value will be an Integer representing the column index.
static String ACCESSIBLE_TABLE_COLUMN_HEADER_CHANGED
          Constant used to indicate that the column header has changed The old value in the PropertyChangeEvent will be null and the new value will be an AccessibleTableModelChange representing the header change.
static String ACCESSIBLE_TABLE_MODEL_CHANGED
          Constant used to indicate that table data has changed.
static String ACCESSIBLE_TABLE_ROW_DESCRIPTION_CHANGED
          Constant used to indicate that the row description has changed The old value in the PropertyChangeEvent will be null and the new value will be an Integer representing the row index.
static String ACCESSIBLE_TABLE_ROW_HEADER_CHANGED
          Constant used to indicate that the row header has changed The old value in the PropertyChangeEvent will be null and the new value will be an AccessibleTableModelChange representing the header change.
static String ACCESSIBLE_TABLE_SUMMARY_CHANGED
          Constant used to indicate that the table summary has changed The old value in the PropertyChangeEvent will be an Accessible representing the previous table summary and the new value will be an Accessible representing the new table summary.
static String ACCESSIBLE_TEXT_PROPERTY
          Constant used to determine when the accessibleText has changed.
static String ACCESSIBLE_VALUE_PROPERTY
          Constant used to determine when the accessibleValue property has changed.
static String ACCESSIBLE_VISIBLE_DATA_PROPERTY
          Constant used to determine when the visual appearance of the object has changed.
protected  String accessibleDescription
          A localized String containing the description of the object.
protected  String accessibleName
          A localized String containing the name of the object.
protected  Accessible accessibleParent
          The accessible parent of this object.
 
Constructor Summary
AccessibleContext()
           
 
Method Summary
 void addPropertyChangeListener(PropertyChangeListener listener)
          Adds a PropertyChangeListener to the listener list.
 void firePropertyChange(String propertyName, Object oldValue, Object newValue)
          Support for reporting bound property changes.
 AccessibleAction getAccessibleAction()
          Gets the AccessibleAction associated with this object that supports one or more actions.
abstract  Accessible getAccessibleChild(int i)
          Returns the specified Accessible child of the object.
abstract  int getAccessibleChildrenCount()
          Returns the number of accessible children of the object.
 AccessibleComponent getAccessibleComponent()
          Gets the AccessibleComponent associated with this object that has a graphical representation.
 String getAccessibleDescription()
          Gets the accessibleDescription property of this object.
 AccessibleIcon[] getAccessibleIcon()
          Gets the AccessibleIcons associated with an object that has one or more associated icons
abstract  int getAccessibleIndexInParent()
          Gets the 0-based index of this object in its accessible parent.
 String getAccessibleName()
          Gets the accessibleName property of this object.
 Accessible getAccessibleParent()
          Gets the Accessible parent of this object.
 AccessibleRelationSet getAccessibleRelationSet()
          Gets the AccessibleRelationSet associated with an object
abstract  AccessibleRole getAccessibleRole()
          Gets the role of this object.
 AccessibleSelection getAccessibleSelection()
          Gets the AccessibleSelection associated with this object which allows its Accessible children to be selected.
abstract  AccessibleStateSet getAccessibleStateSet()
          Gets the state set of this object.
 AccessibleTable getAccessibleTable()
          Gets the AccessibleTable associated with an object
 AccessibleText getAccessibleText()
          Gets the AccessibleText associated with this object presently editable text on the display.
 AccessibleValue getAccessibleValue()
          Gets the AccessibleValue associated with this object that supports a Numerical value.
abstract  Locale getLocale()
          Gets the locale of the component.
 void removePropertyChangeListener(PropertyChangeListener listener)
          Removes a PropertyChangeListener from the listener list.
 void setAccessibleDescription(String s)
          Sets the accessible description of this object.
 void setAccessibleName(String s)
          Sets the localized accessible name of this object.
 void setAccessibleParent(Accessible a)
          Sets the Accessible parent of this object.
 
Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait
 

Field Detail

ACCESSIBLE_NAME_PROPERTY

public static final String ACCESSIBLE_NAME_PROPERTY
Constant used to determine when the accessibleName property has changed. The old value in the PropertyChangeEvent will be the old accessibleName and the new value will be the new accessibleName.
See Also:
getAccessibleName(), addPropertyChangeListener(java.beans.PropertyChangeListener)

ACCESSIBLE_DESCRIPTION_PROPERTY

public static final String ACCESSIBLE_DESCRIPTION_PROPERTY
Constant used to determine when the accessibleDescription property has changed. The old value in the PropertyChangeEvent will be the old accessibleDescription and the new value will be the new accessibleDescription.
See Also:
getAccessibleDescription(), addPropertyChangeListener(java.beans.PropertyChangeListener)

ACCESSIBLE_STATE_PROPERTY

public static final String ACCESSIBLE_STATE_PROPERTY
Constant used to determine when the accessibleStateSet property has changed. The old value will be the old AccessibleState and the new value will be the new AccessibleState in the accessibleStateSet. For example, if a component that supports the vertical and horizontal states changes its orientation from vertical to horizontal, the old value will be AccessibleState.VERTICAL and the new value will be AccessibleState.HORIZONTAL. Please note that either value can also be null. For example, when a component changes from being enabled to disabled, the old value will be AccessibleState.ENABLED and the new value will be null.
See Also:
getAccessibleStateSet(), AccessibleState, AccessibleStateSet, addPropertyChangeListener(java.beans.PropertyChangeListener)

ACCESSIBLE_VALUE_PROPERTY

public static final String ACCESSIBLE_VALUE_PROPERTY
Constant used to determine when the accessibleValue property has changed. The old value in the PropertyChangeEvent will be a Number representing the old value and the new value will be a Number representing the new value
See Also:
getAccessibleValue(), addPropertyChangeListener(java.beans.PropertyChangeListener)

ACCESSIBLE_SELECTION_PROPERTY

public static final String ACCESSIBLE_SELECTION_PROPERTY
Constant used to determine when the accessibleSelection has changed. The old and new values in the PropertyChangeEvent are currently reserved for future use.
See Also:
getAccessibleSelection(), addPropertyChangeListener(java.beans.PropertyChangeListener)

ACCESSIBLE_TEXT_PROPERTY

public static final String ACCESSIBLE_TEXT_PROPERTY
Constant used to determine when the accessibleText has changed. The old and new values in the PropertyChangeEvent are currently reserved for future use.
See Also:
getAccessibleText(), addPropertyChangeListener(java.beans.PropertyChangeListener)

ACCESSIBLE_CARET_PROPERTY

public static final String ACCESSIBLE_CARET_PROPERTY
Constant used to determine when the accessibleText caret has changed. The old value in the PropertyChangeEvent will be an integer representing the old caret position, and the new value will be an integer representing the new/current caret position.
See Also:
addPropertyChangeListener(java.beans.PropertyChangeListener)

ACCESSIBLE_VISIBLE_DATA_PROPERTY

public static final String ACCESSIBLE_VISIBLE_DATA_PROPERTY
Constant used to determine when the visual appearance of the object has changed. The old and new values in the PropertyChangeEvent are currently reserved for future use.
See Also:
addPropertyChangeListener(java.beans.PropertyChangeListener)

ACCESSIBLE_CHILD_PROPERTY

public static final String ACCESSIBLE_CHILD_PROPERTY
Constant used to determine when Accessible children are added/removed from the object. If an Accessible child is being added, the old value will be null and the new value will be the Accessible child. If an Accessible child is being removed, the old value will be the Accessible child, and the new value will be null.
See Also:
addPropertyChangeListener(java.beans.PropertyChangeListener)

ACCESSIBLE_ACTIVE_DESCENDANT_PROPERTY

public static final String ACCESSIBLE_ACTIVE_DESCENDANT_PROPERTY
Constant used to determine when the active descendant of a component has changed. The active descendant is used for objects such as list, tree, and table, which may have transient children. When the active descendant has changed, the old value of the property change event will be the Accessible representing the previous active child, and the new value will be the Accessible representing the current active child.
See Also:
addPropertyChangeListener(java.beans.PropertyChangeListener)

ACCESSIBLE_TABLE_CAPTION_CHANGED

public static final String ACCESSIBLE_TABLE_CAPTION_CHANGED
Constant used to indicate that the table caption has changed The old value in the PropertyChangeEvent will be an Accessible representing the previous table caption and the new value will be an Accessible representing the new table caption.
See Also:
Accessible, AccessibleTable

ACCESSIBLE_TABLE_SUMMARY_CHANGED

public static final String ACCESSIBLE_TABLE_SUMMARY_CHANGED
Constant used to indicate that the table summary has changed The old value in the PropertyChangeEvent will be an Accessible representing the previous table summary and the new value will be an Accessible representing the new table summary.
See Also:
Accessible, AccessibleTable

ACCESSIBLE_TABLE_MODEL_CHANGED

public static final String ACCESSIBLE_TABLE_MODEL_CHANGED
Constant used to indicate that table data has changed. The old value in the PropertyChangeEvent will be null and the new value will be an AccessibleTableModelChange representing the table change.
See Also:
AccessibleTable, AccessibleTableModelChange

ACCESSIBLE_TABLE_ROW_HEADER_CHANGED

public static final String ACCESSIBLE_TABLE_ROW_HEADER_CHANGED
Constant used to indicate that the row header has changed The old value in the PropertyChangeEvent will be null and the new value will be an AccessibleTableModelChange representing the header change.
See Also:
AccessibleTable, AccessibleTableModelChange

ACCESSIBLE_TABLE_ROW_DESCRIPTION_CHANGED

public static final String ACCESSIBLE_TABLE_ROW_DESCRIPTION_CHANGED
Constant used to indicate that the row description has changed The old value in the PropertyChangeEvent will be null and the new value will be an Integer representing the row index.
See Also:
AccessibleTable

ACCESSIBLE_TABLE_COLUMN_HEADER_CHANGED

public static final String ACCESSIBLE_TABLE_COLUMN_HEADER_CHANGED
Constant used to indicate that the column header has changed The old value in the PropertyChangeEvent will be null and the new value will be an AccessibleTableModelChange representing the header change.
See Also:
AccessibleTable, AccessibleTableModelChange

ACCESSIBLE_TABLE_COLUMN_DESCRIPTION_CHANGED

public static final String ACCESSIBLE_TABLE_COLUMN_DESCRIPTION_CHANGED
Constant used to indicate that the column description has changed The old value in the PropertyChangeEvent will be null and the new value will be an Integer representing the column index.
See Also:
AccessibleTable

ACCESSIBLE_ACTION_PROPERTY

public static final String ACCESSIBLE_ACTION_PROPERTY
Constant used to indicate that the supported set of actions has changed. The old value in the PropertyChangeEvent will be an Integer representing the old number of actions supported and the new value will be an Integer representing the new number of actions supported.
See Also:
AccessibleAction

accessibleParent

protected Accessible accessibleParent
The accessible parent of this object.
See Also:
getAccessibleParent(), setAccessibleParent(javax.accessibility.Accessible)

accessibleName

protected String accessibleName
A localized String containing the name of the object.
See Also:
getAccessibleName(), setAccessibleName(java.lang.String)

accessibleDescription

protected String accessibleDescription
A localized String containing the description of the object.
See Also:
getAccessibleDescription(), setAccessibleDescription(java.lang.String)
Constructor Detail

AccessibleContext

public AccessibleContext()
Method Detail

getAccessibleName

public String getAccessibleName()
Gets the accessibleName property of this object. The accessibleName property of an object is a localized String that designates the purpose of the object. For example, the accessibleName property of a label or button might be the text of the label or button itself. In the case of an object that doesn't display its name, the accessibleName should still be set. For example, in the case of a text field used to enter the name of a city, the accessibleName for the en_US locale could be 'city.'
Returns:
the localized name of the object; null if this object does not have a name
See Also:
setAccessibleName(java.lang.String)

setAccessibleName

public void setAccessibleName(String s)
Sets the localized accessible name of this object. Changing the name will cause a PropertyChangeEvent to be fired for the ACCESSIBLE_NAME_PROPERTY property.
Parameters:
s - the new localized name of the object.
See Also:
getAccessibleName(), addPropertyChangeListener(java.beans.PropertyChangeListener)

getAccessibleDescription

public String getAccessibleDescription()
Gets the accessibleDescription property of this object. The accessibleDescription property of this object is a short localized phrase describing the purpose of the object. For example, in the case of a 'Cancel' button, the accessibleDescription could be 'Ignore changes and close dialog box.'
Returns:
the localized description of the object; null if this object does not have a description
See Also:
setAccessibleDescription(java.lang.String)

setAccessibleDescription

public void setAccessibleDescription(String s)
Sets the accessible description of this object. Changing the name will cause a PropertyChangeEvent to be fired for the ACCESSIBLE_DESCRIPTION_PROPERTY property.
Parameters:
s - the new localized description of the object
See Also:
setAccessibleName(java.lang.String), addPropertyChangeListener(java.beans.PropertyChangeListener)

getAccessibleRole

public abstract AccessibleRole getAccessibleRole()
Gets the role of this object. The role of the object is the generic purpose or use of the class of this object. For example, the role of a push button is AccessibleRole.PUSH_BUTTON. The roles in AccessibleRole are provided so component developers can pick from a set of predefined roles. This enables assistive technologies to provide a consistent interface to various tweaked subclasses of components (e.g., use AccessibleRole.PUSH_BUTTON for all components that act like a push button) as well as distinguish between sublasses that behave differently (e.g., AccessibleRole.CHECK_BOX for check boxes and AccessibleRole.RADIO_BUTTON for radio buttons).

Note that the AccessibleRole class is also extensible, so custom component developers can define their own AccessibleRole's if the set of predefined roles is inadequate.

Returns:
an instance of AccessibleRole describing the role of the object
See Also:
AccessibleRole

getAccessibleStateSet

public abstract AccessibleStateSet getAccessibleStateSet()
Gets the state set of this object. The AccessibleStateSet of an object is composed of a set of unique AccessibleStates. A change in the AccessibleStateSet of an object will cause a PropertyChangeEvent to be fired for the ACCESSIBLE_STATE_PROPERTY property.
Returns:
an instance of AccessibleStateSet containing the current state set of the object
See Also:
AccessibleStateSet, AccessibleState, addPropertyChangeListener(java.beans.PropertyChangeListener)

getAccessibleParent

public Accessible getAccessibleParent()
Gets the Accessible parent of this object.
Returns:
the Accessible parent of this object; null if this object does not have an Accessible parent

setAccessibleParent

public void setAccessibleParent(Accessible a)
Sets the Accessible parent of this object. This is meant to be used only in the situations where the actual component's parent should not be treated as the component's accessible parent and is a method that should only be called by the parent of the accessible child.
Parameters:
a - - Accessible to be set as the parent

getAccessibleIndexInParent

public abstract int getAccessibleIndexInParent()
Gets the 0-based index of this object in its accessible parent.
Returns:
the 0-based index of this object in its parent; -1 if this object does not have an accessible parent.
See Also:
getAccessibleParent(), getAccessibleChildrenCount(), getAccessibleChild(int)

getAccessibleChildrenCount

public abstract int getAccessibleChildrenCount()
Returns the number of accessible children of the object.
Returns:
the number of accessible children of the object.

getAccessibleChild

public abstract Accessible getAccessibleChild(int i)
Returns the specified Accessible child of the object. The Accessible children of an Accessible object are zero-based, so the first child of an Accessible child is at index 0, the second child is at index 1, and so on.
Parameters:
i - zero-based index of child
Returns:
the Accessible child of the object
See Also:
getAccessibleChildrenCount()

getLocale

public abstract Locale getLocale()
                          throws IllegalComponentStateException
Gets the locale of the component. If the component does not have a locale, then the locale of its parent is returned.
Returns:
this component's locale. If this component does not have a locale, the locale of its parent is returned.
Throws:
IllegalComponentStateException - If the Component does not have its own locale and has not yet been added to a containment hierarchy such that the locale can be determined from the containing parent.

addPropertyChangeListener

public void addPropertyChangeListener(PropertyChangeListener listener)
Adds a PropertyChangeListener to the listener list. The listener is registered for all Accessible properties and will be called when those properties change.
Parameters:
listener - The PropertyChangeListener to be added
See Also:
ACCESSIBLE_NAME_PROPERTY, ACCESSIBLE_DESCRIPTION_PROPERTY, ACCESSIBLE_STATE_PROPERTY, ACCESSIBLE_VALUE_PROPERTY, ACCESSIBLE_SELECTION_PROPERTY, ACCESSIBLE_TEXT_PROPERTY, ACCESSIBLE_VISIBLE_DATA_PROPERTY

removePropertyChangeListener

public void removePropertyChangeListener(PropertyChangeListener listener)
Removes a PropertyChangeListener from the listener list. This removes a PropertyChangeListener that was registered for all properties.
Parameters:
listener - The PropertyChangeListener to be removed

getAccessibleAction

public AccessibleAction getAccessibleAction()
Gets the AccessibleAction associated with this object that supports one or more actions.
Returns:
AccessibleAction if supported by object; else return null
See Also:
AccessibleAction

getAccessibleComponent

public AccessibleComponent getAccessibleComponent()
Gets the AccessibleComponent associated with this object that has a graphical representation.
Returns:
AccessibleComponent if supported by object; else return null
See Also:
AccessibleComponent

getAccessibleSelection

public AccessibleSelection getAccessibleSelection()
Gets the AccessibleSelection associated with this object which allows its Accessible children to be selected.
Returns:
AccessibleSelection if supported by object; else return null
See Also:
AccessibleSelection

getAccessibleText

public AccessibleText getAccessibleText()
Gets the AccessibleText associated with this object presently editable text on the display.
Returns:
AccessibleText if supported by object; else return null
See Also:
AccessibleText

getAccessibleValue

public AccessibleValue getAccessibleValue()
Gets the AccessibleValue associated with this object that supports a Numerical value.
Returns:
AccessibleValue if supported by object; else return null
See Also:
AccessibleValue

getAccessibleIcon

public AccessibleIcon[] getAccessibleIcon()
Gets the AccessibleIcons associated with an object that has one or more associated icons
Returns:
an array of AccessibleIcon if supported by object; otherwise return null
See Also:
AccessibleIcon

getAccessibleRelationSet

public AccessibleRelationSet getAccessibleRelationSet()
Gets the AccessibleRelationSet associated with an object
Returns:
an AccessibleRelationSet if supported by object; otherwise return null
See Also:
AccessibleRelationSet

getAccessibleTable

public AccessibleTable getAccessibleTable()
Gets the AccessibleTable associated with an object
Returns:
an AccessibleTable if supported by object; otherwise return null
See Also:
AccessibleTable

firePropertyChange

public void firePropertyChange(String propertyName,
                               Object oldValue,
                               Object newValue)
Support for reporting bound property changes. If oldValue and newValue are not equal and the PropertyChangeEvent listener list is not empty, then fire a PropertyChange event to each listener. In general, this is for use by the Accessible objects themselves and should not be called by an application program.
Parameters:
propertyName - The programmatic name of the property that was changed.
oldValue - The old value of the property.
newValue - The new value of the property.
See Also:
PropertyChangeSupport, addPropertyChangeListener(java.beans.PropertyChangeListener), removePropertyChangeListener(java.beans.PropertyChangeListener), ACCESSIBLE_NAME_PROPERTY, ACCESSIBLE_DESCRIPTION_PROPERTY, ACCESSIBLE_STATE_PROPERTY, ACCESSIBLE_VALUE_PROPERTY, ACCESSIBLE_SELECTION_PROPERTY, ACCESSIBLE_TEXT_PROPERTY, ACCESSIBLE_VISIBLE_DATA_PROPERTY

JavaTM 2 Platform
Std. Ed. v1.3.1

Submit a bug or feature
For further API reference and developer documentation, see Java 2 SDK SE Developer Documentation. That documentation contains more detailed, developer-targeted descriptions, with conceptual overviews, definitions of terms, workarounds, and working code examples.

Java, Java 2D, and JDBC are trademarks or registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates, in the US and other countries.
Copyright © 1995, 2010 Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.