javax.microedition.contactless.visual
Class SymbologyManager

java.lang.Object
  SymbologyManager

public class SymbologyManager
extends java.lang.Object

This class is a starting point when using visual tags. Since this specification does not mandate the use of any particular symbology, this class provides static methods for querying supported symbologies for visual tag reading and image generation. It also has a static method for requesting ImageProperties needed in generation of a visual tag image.

Before the application can start reading or generating visual tag images, it must know whether the needed symbologies are supported by the API implementation. This check is done using methods in this class. If the symbology is supported the application can open a connection to visual tag and perform needed actions. Also the propertied needed in the visual tag image generation are provided through this class.

The names of the symbologies vary a lot. Since only a small portion of the symbologies are standardized, names might not be widely adopted. The following table lists the standardized symbologies in the time this specification was finalized. The symbology names listed below must be used, when referring to standardized symbologies in the implementation of this specification.

Names of standardized symbologies

Symbology name	Standardization body
aztec-code	ANSI/AIM BC13 ITS/97/002
code-16k	ANSI/AIM BC7-1995
code-39	ANSI/AIM BC1-1995, ISO/IEC 16388
code-49	ANSI/AIM BC6-1995
code-93	ANSI/AIM BC5-1995
code-128	ANSI/AIM BC4-1999, ISO/IEC 15417
codebar	ANSI/AIM BC3-1995
data-matrix	ISO/IEC 16022
ean-upc	ISO/IEC 15420
interleaved-2-of-5	ANSI/AIM BC2-1995, ISO/IEC 16390
maxicode	ANSI/AIM BC10, ISO/IEC 16023
pdf417	ISO/IEC 15438
qr-code	AIM ITS/97/001, ISO/IEC 18004

For other symbologies, than the ones listed above, the final naming convention it is left to an API implementer. All letters in the symbology name must be lower case and spaces are replaced with hyphen. The name should also reflect the package structure of the API implementation.

Method Summary

static java.lang.String[]	getGenerateSymbologies() Returns the list of symbologies that are supported by the API implementation for visual tag image generation.
static java.lang.Class[]	getImageClasses() Returns the names of all image classes that are supported by the API implementation.
static ImageProperties	getImageProperties(java.lang.String symbologyName) Returns the default properties of the specified symbology that are needed when generating visual tag image.
static java.lang.String[]	getReadSymbologies() Returns the list of symbologies that are supported by the API implementation for reading visual tags.

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

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

Method Detail

getGenerateSymbologies

public static java.lang.String[] getGenerateSymbologies()

Returns the list of symbologies that are supported by the API implementation for visual tag image generation. The names of standardized symbologies that must be used are listed in the table in class description.

Returns:

supported symbologies for visual tag image generation

getImageClasses

public static java.lang.Class[] getImageClasses()

Returns the names of all image classes that are supported by the API implementation. Example of the return value could be javax.microedition.lcdui.Image if the API is implemented on MIDP environment.

Returns:

the image class names the API implementation supports

getImageProperties

public static ImageProperties getImageProperties(java.lang.String symbologyName)
                                          throws ContactlessException

Returns the default properties of the specified symbology that are needed when generating visual tag image. If the specified symbology is not supported by the API implementation, ContactlessException is thrown.

Returns:

the properties of the requested symbology

Throws:

java.lang.NullPointerException - if symbologyName is null

ContactlessException - if the requested symbology is not supported by the API implementation

getReadSymbologies

public static java.lang.String[] getReadSymbologies()

Returns the list of symbologies that are supported by the API implementation for reading visual tags. The names of standardized symbologies that must be used are listed in the table in class description.

Returns:

supported symbologies for visual tag reading