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>

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

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)