1 /*
   2  * Copyright (c) 2012, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
   3  * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER.
   4  *
   5  * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
   6  * under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 only, as
   7  * published by the Free Software Foundation.  Oracle designates this
   8  * particular file as subject to the "Classpath" exception as provided
   9  * by Oracle in the LICENSE file that accompanied this code.
  10  *
  11  * This code is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
  12  * ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
  13  * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License
  14  * version 2 for more details (a copy is included in the LICENSE file that
  15  * accompanied this code).
  16  *
  17  * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License version
  18  * 2 along with this work; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
  19  * Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
  20  *
  21  * Please contact Oracle, 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood Shores, CA 94065 USA
  22  * or visit www.oracle.com if you need additional information or have any
  23  * questions.
  24  */
  25 
  26 package java.lang.annotation;
  27 
  28 /**
  29  * The annotation type {@code java.lang.annotation.ContainedBy} is
  30  * used to indicate that the annotation type whose declaration it
  31  * (meta-)annotates is <em>repeatable</em>. The value of
  32  * {@code @ContainedBy} indicates the <em>containing annotation
  33  * type</em> for the repeatable annotation type.
  34  *
  35  * <p>The pair of annotation types {@code @ContainedBy} and
  36  * {@link java.lang.annotation.ContainerFor @ContainerFor} are used to
  37  * indicate that annotation types are repeatable. Specifically:
  38  *
  39  * <ul>
  40  * <li>The annotation type {@code @ContainedBy} is used on the
  41  * declaration of a repeatable annotation type (JLS 9.6) to indicate
  42  * its containing annotation type.
  43  *
  44  * <li>The annotation type {@code @ContainerFor} is used on the
  45  * declaration of a containing annotation type (JLS 9.6) to indicate
  46  * the repeatable annotation type for which it serves as the
  47  * containing annotation type.
  48  * </ul>
  49  *
  50  * <p>
  51  * An inconsistent pair of {@code @ContainedBy} and
  52  * {@code @ContainerFor} annotations on a repeatable annotation type
  53  * and its containing annotation type (JLS 9.6) will lead to
  54  * compile-time errors and runtime exceptions when using reflection to
  55  * read annotations of a repeatable type.
  56  *
  57  * @see java.lang.annotation.ContainerFor
  58  * @since 1.8
  59  * @jls 9.6 Annotation Types
  60  * @jls 9.7 Annotations
  61  */
  62 @Documented
  63 @Retention(RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME)
  64 @Target(ElementType.ANNOTATION_TYPE)
  65 public @interface ContainedBy {
  66     /**
  67      * Indicates the <em>containing annotation type</em> for the
  68      * repeatable annotation type.
  69      */
  70     Class<? extends Annotation> value();
  71 }