• NAME
• SYNOPSIS
• DESCRIPTION
• Methods
• new($xmldom_element, %options)
• get_ID
• set_ID($id)
• get_name
• set_name($name)
• get_ref
• set_ref($ref)
• get_description
• set_description($votable_description)
• get_field
• set_field(@votable_field)
• get_link
• set_link(@votable_link)
• get_data
• set_data($votable_data)
• Notes on class internals
• WARNINGS
• SEE ALSO
• AUTHOR
• VERSION

NAME

VOTABLE::TABLE - VOTABLE TABLE XML element class

SYNOPSIS

use VOTABLE::TABLE;

DESCRIPTION

This class implements the TABLE element from the VOTABLE DTD. This is the primary element used for storing tables of data.

The TABLE element is a Tier 4 element, and is described by the following excerpt from the VOTABLE 1.0 DTD:

 <!ELEMENT TABLE (DESCRIPTION?, FIELD*, LINK*, DATA?)>
 <!ATTLIST TABLE
         ID ID #IMPLIED
         name CDATA #IMPLIED
         ref IDREF #IMPLIED
 >

Methods

new($xmldom_element, %options)

Create and return a new VOTABLE::TABLE object, based on the supplied XML::DOM::Element object, using %options to set the attributes of the new object. If no XML::DOM::Element object is specified, or is undefined, create and return an empty VOTABLE::TABLE object. Return undef if an error occurs.

get_ID

Return the value of the ID attribute. Return undef if the attribute has not been set, or an error occurs.

set_ID($id)

Set the value of the ID attribute to the specified value. Return the new value of the attribute on success, or undef if an error occurs.

get_name

Return the value of the name attribute. Return undef if the attribute has not been set, or an error occurs.

set_name($name)

Set the value of the name attribute to the specified value. Return the new value of the attribute on success, or undef if an error occurs.

get_ref

Return the value of the ref attribute. Return undef if the attribute has not been set, or an error occurs.

set_ref($ref)

Set the value of the ref attribute to the specified value. Return the new value of the attribute on success,or undef if an error occurs.

get_description

Return the VOTABLE::DESCRIPTION object for the DESCRIPTION element child of this TABLE object. Return undef if no DESCRIPTION element is found, or if an error occurs.

set_description($votable_description)

Set the VOTABLE::DESCRIPTION object for the DESCRIPTION child element of this TABLE element to the specified object. Any existing DESCRIPTION child element is first removed. Return the new DESCRIPTION object on success, or undef if an error occurs.

get_field

Return a list of the VOTABLE::FIELD objects for the FIELD elements which are the children of this TABLE element. Return an empty list if no FIELD elements are found, or if an error occurs.

set_field(@votable_field)

Set the FIELD elements for this TABLE element using the supplied list of VOTABLE::FIELD objects. Any previously existing FIELD elements are first removed. Return the input list on success, or an empty list if an error occurs.

get_link

Return a list of the VOTABLE::LINK objects for the LINK elements which are the children of this TABLE element. Return an empty list if no LINK elements are found, or if an error occurs.

set_link(@votable_link)

Set the LINK elements for this TABLE element using the supplied list of VOTABLE::LINK objects. Any previously existing LINK elements are first removed. Return the input list on success, or an empty list if an error occurs.

get_data

Return the VOTABLE::DATA object for the DATA element child of this TABLE object. Return undef if no DATA element is found, or if an error occurs.

set_data($votable_data)

Set the VOTABLE::DATA object for the DATA child element of this TABLE element to the specified object. Any existing DATA child element is first removed. Return the new DATA object on success, or undef if an error occurs.

Notes on class internals

• Method names that begin with a leading underscore ('_') are for internal use only, and should not be used outside of the VOTABLE class hierarchy.

• The names of the get_XXX and set_XXX accessors for attributes and elements are derived directly from the names of the attributes or elements. Attribute and element names containing embedded hyphens ('-') use accessors where the hyphen is mapped to an underscore ('_') in the name of the accessor method. This is a necessity, since the hyphen is not a valid name character in Perl.

WARNINGS

• This code (perhaps unwisely) assumes that object internal structure is always maintained. For example, this code assumes that every VOTABLE::TABLEDATA object always has an underlying XML::DOM::Element object. As long as the internal structure is manipulated only by the publicly-available methods, this should be an adequate assumption. If a method detects an aberrant case, a warning message is printed (using the Carp::carp subroutine), and the method fails.

• Similarly, this code assumes that XML::DOM methods always succeed. If a method detects an aberrant case, a warning message is printed (using the Carp::carp subroutine), and the method fails.

• Most attribute set_XXX accessors do not perform validation of the new attribute values. The exceptions are the accessors for attributes with enumerated values; the new value is checked against the list of acceptable values, as defined in the DTD.

SEE ALSO

VOTABLE, VOTABLE::DATA, VOTABLE::DESCRIPTION, VOTABLE::FIELD, VOTABLE::LINK, VOTABLE::RESOURCE

AUTHOR

Eric Winter, NASA GSFC (elwinter@milkyway.gsfc.nasa.gov)

VERSION

$Id: TABLE.pm,v 1.1.1.9 2002/05/21 14:13:20 elwinter Exp $