Annotations, a new feature in J2SE 5.0 (Tiger), brings a much-needed metadata facility to the core Java language. In this first of a two-part series, author Brett McLaughlin explains why metadata is so useful, introduces you to annotations in the Java lan
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One of the latest trends in programming, particularly in Java programming, is the use of metadata. Metadata, simply put, is data about data. Metadata can be used to create documentation, to track down dependencies in code, and even to perform rudimentary compile-time checking. A rash of tools for metadata, such as XDoclet (see Resources), add these features to the core Java language and have been part of the Java programming landscape for a while.
The value of metadata
In general, metadata's benefits fall into three categories: documentation, compiler checking, and code analysis. Code-level documentation is the most-often-cited use. Metadata provides a helpful way to indicate if methods are dependent on other methods, if they are incomplete, if a certain class must reference another class, and so on. This is indeed useful, but documentation is probably the least relevant reason for adding metadata to the Java language. Javadoc already provides a fairly easy-to-understand and robust way to document code. Besides, who wants to write a documentation tool when one already exists and works fine for the most part?
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