org.semanticweb.owl.model
Interface OWLEntity

All Superinterfaces:

java.lang.Comparable<OWLObject>, OWLNamedObject, OWLObject

All Known Subinterfaces:

OWLAnonymousIndividual, OWLClass, OWLDataProperty, OWLDataType, OWLIndividual, OWLObjectProperty, OWLProperty<P,R>

All Known Implementing Classes:

OWLClassImpl, OWLDataPropertyImpl, OWLDataTypeImpl, OWLIndividualImpl, OWLObjectPropertyImpl

public interface OWLEntity
extends OWLObject, OWLNamedObject

Author: Matthew Horridge
The University Of Manchester
Bio-Health Informatics Group Date: 24-Oct-2006

A marker interface for classes, properties, individuals (including anonymous individuals) and datatypes. Entities are the fundamental building blocks of ontologies, and all entities are identified by a URI. Note that OWL 1.1 supports punning, which means that an OWLClass may have the same URI as an OWLIndividual (or other entity) but will still be considered to be a separate object.

Method Summary

void	accept(OWLEntityVisitor visitor)
<O> O	accept(OWLEntityVisitorEx<O> visitor)
OWLClass	asOWLClass() A convenience method that obtains this entity as an OWLClass (in order to avoid explicit casting).
OWLDataProperty	asOWLDataProperty() A convenience method that obtains this entity as an OWLDataProperty (in order to avoid explicit casting).
OWLDataType	asOWLDataType() A convenience method that obtains this entity as an OWLDataType (in order to avoid explicit casting).
OWLIndividual	asOWLIndividual() A convenience method that obtains this entity as an OWLIndividual (in order to avoid explicit casting).
OWLObjectProperty	asOWLObjectProperty() A convenience method that obtains this entity as an OWLObjectProperty (in order to avoid explicit casting).
java.util.Set<OWLAnnotationAxiom>	getAnnotationAxioms(OWLOntology ontology)
java.util.Set<OWLAnnotation>	getAnnotations(OWLOntology ontology) Obtains annotations on this entity where the annotation have been asserted on the specified entity.
java.util.Set<OWLAnnotation>	getAnnotations(OWLOntology ontology, java.net.URI annotationURI) Obtains the annotations on this entity where the annotation has the specified URI.
boolean	isOWLClass() A convenience method that determines if this entity is an OWLClass
boolean	isOWLDataProperty() A convenience method that determines if this entity is an OWLDataProperty
boolean	isOWLDataType() A convenience method that determines if this entity is an OWLDataType
boolean	isOWLIndividual() A convenience method that determines if this entity is an OWLIndividual
boolean	isOWLObjectProperty() A convenience method that determines if this entity is an OWLObjectProperty

Methods inherited from interface org.semanticweb.owl.model.OWLNamedObject

accept, getURI

Methods inherited from interface org.semanticweb.owl.model.OWLObject

accept, accept, getSignature

Methods inherited from interface java.lang.Comparable

compareTo

Method Detail

getAnnotations

java.util.Set<OWLAnnotation> getAnnotations(OWLOntology ontology)

Obtains annotations on this entity where the annotation have been asserted on the specified entity.

getAnnotations

java.util.Set<OWLAnnotation> getAnnotations(OWLOntology ontology,
                                            java.net.URI annotationURI)

Obtains the annotations on this entity where the annotation has the specified URI.

Parameters:

ontology - The ontology to examine for annotation axioms

annotationURI - The annotation URI

Returns:

A set of OWLAnnotation objects that have the specified URI.

getAnnotationAxioms

java.util.Set<OWLAnnotationAxiom> getAnnotationAxioms(OWLOntology ontology)

isOWLClass

boolean isOWLClass()

A convenience method that determines if this entity is an OWLClass

Returns:

true if this entity is an OWLClass, otherwise false

asOWLClass

OWLClass asOWLClass()

A convenience method that obtains this entity as an OWLClass (in order to avoid explicit casting).

Returns:

The entity as an OWLClass.

Throws:

OWLRuntimeException - if this entity is not an OWLClass (check with the isOWLClass method first).

isOWLObjectProperty

boolean isOWLObjectProperty()

A convenience method that determines if this entity is an OWLObjectProperty

Returns:

true if this entity is an OWLObjectProperty, otherwise false

asOWLObjectProperty

OWLObjectProperty asOWLObjectProperty()

A convenience method that obtains this entity as an OWLObjectProperty (in order to avoid explicit casting).

Returns:

The entity as an OWLObjectProperty.

Throws:

OWLRuntimeException - if this entity is not an OWLObjectProperty (check with the isOWLObjectProperty method first).

isOWLDataProperty

boolean isOWLDataProperty()

A convenience method that determines if this entity is an OWLDataProperty

Returns:

true if this entity is an OWLDataProperty, otherwise false

asOWLDataProperty

OWLDataProperty asOWLDataProperty()

A convenience method that obtains this entity as an OWLDataProperty (in order to avoid explicit casting).

Returns:

The entity as an OWLDataProperty.

Throws:

OWLRuntimeException - if this entity is not an OWLDataProperty (check with the isOWLDataProperty method first).

isOWLIndividual

boolean isOWLIndividual()

A convenience method that determines if this entity is an OWLIndividual

Returns:

true if this entity is an OWLIndividual, otherwise false

asOWLIndividual

OWLIndividual asOWLIndividual()

A convenience method that obtains this entity as an OWLIndividual (in order to avoid explicit casting).

Returns:

The entity as an OWLIndividual.

Throws:

OWLRuntimeException - if this entity is not an OWLIndividual (check with the isOWLIndividual method first).

isOWLDataType

boolean isOWLDataType()

A convenience method that determines if this entity is an OWLDataType

Returns:

true if this entity is an OWLDataType, otherwise false

asOWLDataType

OWLDataType asOWLDataType()

A convenience method that obtains this entity as an OWLDataType (in order to avoid explicit casting).

Returns:

The entity as an OWLDataType.

Throws:

OWLRuntimeException - if this entity is not an OWLDataType (check with the isOWLDataType method first).

accept

void accept(OWLEntityVisitor visitor)

accept

<O> O accept(OWLEntityVisitorEx<O> visitor)