Java tutorial
/******************************************************************************* * Copyright (c) 2008 - 2013 Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved. * * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the * terms of the Eclipse Public License v1.0 and Eclipse Distribution License v. 1.0 * which accompanies this distribution. * The Eclipse Public License is available at http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-v10.html * and the Eclipse Distribution License is available at * http://www.eclipse.org/org/documents/edl-v10.php. * * Contributors: * Linda DeMichiel - Java Persistence 2.1 * Linda DeMichiel - Java Persistence 2.0 * ******************************************************************************/ package javax.persistence; import java.lang.annotation.Target; import java.lang.annotation.Retention; import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.FIELD; import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.METHOD; import static java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME; /** * Specifies the type of the map key for associations of type * <code>java.util.Map</code>. The map key can be a basic type, an * embeddable class, or an entity. If the map is specified using Java * generics, the <code>MapKeyClass</code> annotation and associated * type need not be specified; otherwise they must be specified. * * <p> The <code>MapKeyClass</code> annotation is used in conjunction * with <code>ElementCollection</code> or one of the collection-valued * relationship annotations (<code>OneToMany</code> or <code>ManyToMany</code>). * The <code>MapKey</code> annotation is not used when * <code>MapKeyClass</code> is specified and vice versa. * * <pre> * * Example 1: * * @Entity * public class Item { * @Id int id; * ... * @ElementCollection(targetClass=String.class) * @MapKeyClass(String.class) * Map images; // map from image name to image filename * ... * } * * Example 2: * * // MapKeyClass and target type of relationship can be defaulted * * @Entity * public class Item { * @Id int id; * ... * @ElementCollection * Map<String, String> images; * ... * } * * Example 3: * * @Entity * public class Company { * @Id int id; * ... * @OneToMany(targetEntity=com.example.VicePresident.class) * @MapKeyClass(com.example.Division.class) * Map organization; * } * * Example 4: * * // MapKeyClass and target type of relationship are defaulted * * @Entity * public class Company { * @Id int id; * ... * @OneToMany * Map<Division, VicePresident> organization; * } * * </pre> * @see ElementCollection * @see OneToMany * @see ManyToMany * @since Java Persistence 2.0 */ @Target({ METHOD, FIELD }) @Retention(RUNTIME) public @interface MapKeyClass { /**(Required) The type of the map key.*/ Class value(); }