org.dspace.content.authority
Interface ChoiceAuthority

All Known Implementing Classes:

DCInputAuthority, DSpaceControlledVocabulary, LCNameAuthority, SampleAuthority, SHERPARoMEOJournalTitle, SHERPARoMEOProtocol, SHERPARoMEOPublisher, TestAuthority

public interface ChoiceAuthority

Plugin interface that supplies an authority control mechanism for one metadata field.

Author:

Larry Stone

See Also:

ChoiceAuthorityManager, MetadataAuthorityManager

Method Summary

Choices	getBestMatch(String field, String text, int collection, String locale) Get the single "best" match (if any) of a value in the authority to the given user value.
String	getLabel(String field, String key, String locale) Get the canonical user-visible "label" (i.e.
Choices	getMatches(String field, String text, int collection, int start, int limit, String locale) Get all values from the authority that match the preferred value.

Method Detail

getMatches

Choices getMatches(String field,
                   String text,
                   int collection,
                   int start,
                   int limit,
                   String locale)

Get all values from the authority that match the preferred value. Note that the offering was entered by the user and may contain mixed/incorrect case, whitespace, etc so the plugin should be careful to clean up user data before making comparisons. Value of a "Name" field will be in canonical DSpace person name format, which is "Lastname, Firstname(s)", e.g. "Smith, John Q.". Some authorities with a small set of values may simply return the whole set for any sample value, although it's a good idea to set the defaultSelected index in the Choices instance to the choice, if any, that matches the value.

Parameters:

field - being matched for

text - user's value to match

collection - database ID of Collection for context (owner of Item)

start - choice at which to start, 0 is first.

limit - maximum number of choices to return, 0 for no limit.

locale - explicit localization key if available, or null

Returns:

a Choices object (never null).

getBestMatch

Choices getBestMatch(String field,
                     String text,
                     int collection,
                     String locale)

Get the single "best" match (if any) of a value in the authority to the given user value. The "confidence" element of Choices is expected to be set to a meaningful value about the circumstances of this match. This call is typically used in non-interactive metadata ingest where there is no interactive agent to choose from among options.

Parameters:

field - being matched for

text - user's value to match

collection - database ID of Collection for context (owner of Item)

locale - explicit localization key if available, or null

Returns:

a Choices object (never null) with 1 or 0 values.

getLabel

String getLabel(String field,
                String key,
                String locale)

Get the canonical user-visible "label" (i.e. short descriptive text) for a key in the authority. Can be localized given the implicit or explicit locale specification. This may get called many times while populating a Web page so it should be implemented as efficiently as possible.

Parameters:

field - being matched for

key - authority key known to this authority.

locale - explicit localization key if available, or null

Returns:

descriptive label - should always return something, never null.