/* * This is public domain software - that is, you can do whatever you want * with it, and include it software that is licensed under the GNU or the * BSD license, or whatever other licence you choose, including proprietary * closed source licenses. I do ask that you leave this header in tact. * * If you make modifications to this code that you think would benefit the * wider community, please send me a copy and I'll post it on my site. * * If you make use of this code, I'd appreciate hearing about it. * drew@drewnoakes.com * Latest version of this software kept at * http://drewnoakes.com/ */ package com.drew.metadata; import java.io.Serializable; /** * Abstract base class for all tag descriptor classes. Implementations are responsible for * providing the human-readable string represenation of tag values stored in a directory. * The directory is provided to the tag descriptor via its constructor. */ public abstract class TagDescriptor implements Serializable { protected final Directory _directory; public TagDescriptor(Directory directory) { _directory = directory; } /** * Returns a descriptive value of the the specified tag for this image. * Where possible, known values will be substituted here in place of the raw * tokens actually kept in the Exif segment. If no substitution is * available, the value provided by getString(int) will be returned. *
* This and getString(int) are the only 'get' methods that won't throw an
* exception.
* @param tagType the tag to find a description for
* @return a description of the image's value for the specified tag, or
* null
if the tag hasn't been defined.
*/
public abstract String getDescription(int tagType) throws MetadataException;
}