/ 
Bio-MAGE-20030502.3
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/ Bio::MAGE::Association

Bio::MAGE::Association

SYNOPSIS

use Bio::MAGE::Association qw(:CARD);

# creating an empty instance
my $association = Bio::MAGE::Association->new();

# populating the instance in the constructor
my $association = Bio::MAGE::Association->new(self=>$assoc_end1,
                                                     other=>$assoc_end2);

# setting and retrieving the association ends
my $self_end = $association->self();
$association->self($value);

my $other_end = $association->other();
$association->other($value);

DESCRIPTION

This class holds the two association ends for each UML association. self is the end nearest the class of interest, while other is the end furthest away. The ends are of type Bio::MAGE::Association::End.

CARDINALITY

Associations in UML have a cardinality that determines how many objects can be associated. In the Bio::MAGE::Association modulte, cardinality has two primary dimensions: optional or required, and single or list. So there are four combinations of the two dimensions:

  • 0..1

    This is an optional single association, meaning it can have one object associated, but it is optional.

  • 1

    This is a required single association, meaning it must have exactly one object associated.

  • 0..N

    This is an optional list association, meaning it can have many objects associated.

  • 1..N

    This is an required list association, meaning it must have at least one object, but it may have many.

There are four constants defined in this module for handling the cardinalities, and they can be imported into an application using the CARD import tag:

use Bio::MAGE::Association qw(:CARD);

The four constants are: CARD_0_OR_1, CARD_1, CARD_0_TO_N, and CARD_1_TO_N.

Bio::MAGE::Association::End

SYNOPSIS

  use Bio::MAGE::Association qw(:CARD);

  # creating an empty instance
  my $assoc_end = Bio::MAGE::Association::End->new();

  # populating the instance in the constructor
  my $assoc_end = Bio::MAGE::Association::End->new(
						name=>$name,
						is_ref=>$bool,
						cardinality=>CARD_0_TO_N,
						class_name=>$class_name,
						documentation=>$doc_string,
						rank=>$rank,
						ordered=>$bool,
					       );

  # setting and retrieving object attributes
  my $name = $assoc_end->name();
  $assoc_end->name($value);

  my $is_ref = $assoc_end->is_ref();
  $assoc_end->is_ref($value);

  my $cardinality = $assoc_end->cardinality();
  $assoc_end->cardinality($value);

  my $class_name = $assoc_end->class_name();
  $assoc_end->class_name($value);

  my $documentation = $assoc_end->documentation();
  $assoc_end->documentation($value);

  my $rank = $assoc_end->rank();
  $assoc_end->rank($value);

  my $ordered = $assoc_end->ordered();
  $assoc_end->ordered($value);

  #
  # Utility methods
  #

  # does this end of list cardinality (0..N or 1..N)
  my $bool = $assoc_end->is_list();

DESCRIPTION

This class stores the information in a single UML association end.