org.apache.uima.analysis_engine.metadata

## Interface FlowConstraints

- All Superinterfaces:
    Cloneable, MetaDataObject, Serializable, XMLizable
  All Known Subinterfaces:
    CapabilityLanguageFlow, FixedFlow

      public interface FlowConstraints
      extends MetaDataObject

  A `FlowConstraints` object represents constraints on the order of execution of delegate Analysis Engines within an aggregate Analysis Engine. In the most constrained case, this is a fixed flow.

  This interface implements no methods for flow constraint specification. It serves as a common superclass for different ways of specifying flow constraints.

  Flow constraints must refer to delegate AnalysisEngines; the `FlowConstraints` object refers to these AEs using String identifiers. The `FlowConstraints` object does not assign any particular meaning to these Strings - it is the user of the `FlowConstraints` object that must understand how to map them to the AnalysisEngines themselves. It may be desirable to remap these identifiers; FlowConstraints implementations must support this via the `remapIDs(Map)` method.

- - ### Method Summary

    All Methods Instance Methods Abstract Methods
    Modifier and Type | Method and Description
    --- | ---
    `String` | `getFlowConstraintsType()` Gets the type of this `FlowConstraints` object.
    `void` | `remapIDs(Map<String,String> aIDMap)` Remaps the AE identifier Strings used in this FlowConstraints object.

    - ### Methods inherited from interface org.apache.uima.resource.metadata.MetaDataObject

      `clone, equals, getAttributeValue, getSourceUrl, getSourceUrlString, isModifiable, listAttributes, setAttributeValue, setSourceUrl`

    - ### Methods inherited from interface org.apache.uima.util.XMLizable

      `buildFromXMLElement, buildFromXMLElement, toXML, toXML, toXML, toXML`

- - ### Method Detail

    - #### getFlowConstraintsType

          String getFlowConstraintsType()

      Gets the type of this `FlowConstraints` object. Each sub-interface of `FlowConstraints` has its own standard type identifier String. These identifier Strings are used instead of Java class names in order to ease portability of metadata to other languages.
      Returns:
        the type identifier String for this `FlowConstraints` object

    - #### remapIDs

          void remapIDs(Map<String,String> aIDMap)

      Remaps the AE identifier Strings used in this FlowConstraints object. This method is destructive.
      Parameters:
        `aIDMap` - a Map with String keys (the AE identifiers currently used by this object) and String values (the new IDs). Any identifiers that do not appear in this Map will not be remapped.

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