com.webobjects.foundation
Class NSPropertyListSerialization

java.lang.Object
  com.webobjects.foundation.NSPropertyListSerialization

public class NSPropertyListSerialization

extends Object

This class provides static methods that convert between property lists and their string representations, which can be either strings or NSData objects. A property list is a structure that represents organized data. It can be built from a combination of NSArray, NSDictionary, String, and NSData objects.

The string representation can be in XML or the ASCII plist format. To distinguish between the two formats, the parser that converts strings to property lists finds out whether the string starts with <?xml. A discussion of the ASCII plist format, A Primer on ASCII Property Lists, is available in the Mac OS X section of the Apple Developer Connection website. A discussion of XML property lists, Property List Services, is also available in the same area of the Apple Developer Connection website.

Some methods do not support XML property list representations, specifically booleanForString and intForString.

The NSPropertyListSerialization class cannot be instantiated.

See Also:

booleanForString(java.lang.String), intForString(java.lang.String)

Constructor Summary

NSPropertyListSerialization()

Method Summary

static NSArray	arrayForString(String string) Parses the property list representation string and returns the resulting property list as an NSArray.
static boolean	booleanForString(String string) Parses a given string for boolean value according to the table below.
static NSData	dataFromPropertyList(Object object) Deprecated. Use dataFromPropertyList(Object object, String encoding) instead.
static NSData	dataFromPropertyList(Object object, String encoding) Converts the property list object into a string using a character encoding and returns it as an NSData object.
static NSDictionary	dictionaryForString(String string) Parses the property list representation string and returns the resulting property list as an NSDictionary.
static int	intForString(String string) Parses a given string and returns the corresponding integer value.
static Object	propertyListFromData(NSData data) Deprecated. Use propertyListFromData(NSData data, String encoding)
static Object	propertyListFromData(NSData data, String encoding) Converts an NSData into a property list using a character encoding and returns it.
static Object	propertyListFromString(String string) Converts a string into a property list and returns it.
static Object	propertyListWithPathURL(URL url) Converts a java.net.URL into a property list and returns it.
static String	stringFromPropertyList(Object plist) Converts a property list object into a string and returns it.

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait

Constructor Detail

NSPropertyListSerialization

public NSPropertyListSerialization()

Method Detail

arrayForString

public static NSArray arrayForString(String string)

Parses the property list representation string and returns the resulting property list as an NSArray.

Parameters:

string - input property list representation string

Returns:

Returns resulting property list as an NSArray

Throws:

ClassCastException - if the root object is not an array

See Also:

dictionaryForString(String)

booleanForString

public static boolean booleanForString(String string)

Parses a given string for boolean value according to the table below.

String		Result
"YES"		true
"true"		true
any other value		false

The tests for "YES" and "true" are case insensitive.

Parameters:

string - the string to be parsed for boolean value

Returns:

the parsed boolean value

dataFromPropertyList

public static NSData dataFromPropertyList(Object object)

Deprecated. Use dataFromPropertyList(Object object, String encoding) instead.

Converts the property list object into a string and returns it as an NSData object. This method uses the platform's default character encoding to convert the result string to byte.

Parameters:

object - property list object

Returns:

object converted to an NSData

See Also:

propertyListFromData(NSData, java.lang.String)

dataFromPropertyList

public static NSData dataFromPropertyList(Object object,
                                          String encoding)

Converts the property list object into a string using a character encoding and returns it as an NSData object.

Parameters:

object - the property list object to convert

encoding - encoding used to convert the characters in the result string to byte

Returns:

object converted to an NSData

See Also:

propertyListFromData(NSData, java.lang.String)

dictionaryForString

public static NSDictionary dictionaryForString(String string)

Parses the property list representation string and returns the resulting property list as an NSDictionary.

Parameters:

string - property list representated as a string

Returns:

string as an NSDictionary

Throws:

ClassCastException - if the root object is not a dictionary

See Also:

arrayForString(String)

intForString

public static int intForString(String string)

Parses a given string and returns the corresponding integer value.

Parameters:

string - the string to be parsed for integer value

Returns:

integer value of string; 0 if it is null

propertyListFromData

public static Object propertyListFromData(NSData data)

Deprecated. Use propertyListFromData(NSData data, String encoding)

Converts an NSData into a property list and returns it.

This method uses the platform's default character encoding to convert the bytes in data byte array to characters in a string representation.

Parameters:

data - the byte array to be converted to a property list

Returns:

data as a property list

See Also:

dataFromPropertyList(Object, java.lang.String)

propertyListFromData

public static Object propertyListFromData(NSData data,
                                          String encoding)

Converts an NSData into a property list using a character encoding and returns it.

Parameters:

data - the byte array to be converted to a property list

encoding - encoding to use to convert the bytes in the data byte array to characters in a string representation

Returns:

data as a property list

See Also:

dataFromPropertyList(Object, java.lang.String)

propertyListFromString

public static Object propertyListFromString(String string)

Converts a string into a property list and returns it.

Parameters:

string - the string to convert to a property list

Returns:

string as a property list

See Also:

stringFromPropertyList(java.lang.Object)

propertyListWithPathURL

public static Object propertyListWithPathURL(URL url)

Converts a java.net.URL into a property list and returns it.

Parameters:

url - the java.net.URL to convert to a property list

Returns:

the content at url as a property list

Since:

5.2.2

See Also:

stringFromPropertyList(java.lang.Object)

stringFromPropertyList

public static String stringFromPropertyList(Object plist)

Converts a property list object into a string and returns it.

Parameters:

plist - the property list to convert

Returns:

plist as a string

See Also:

propertyListFromString(java.lang.String)