Package edu.cmu.tetrad.data

Class AbstractVariable

java.lang.Object

edu.cmu.tetrad.data.AbstractVariable

All Implemented Interfaces:

Variable, Node, TetradSerializable, Serializable, Comparable<Node>

Direct Known Subclasses:

ContinuousVariable, DiscreteVariable

public abstract class AbstractVariable
extends Object
implements Variable

Base class for variable specifications for DataSet. These objects govern the types of values which may be recorded in a Column of data and provide information about the interpretation of these values. Variables of every type must provide a marker which is recorded in a column of data for that variable when the value is missing; this missing data marker should not be used for other purposes.

Author:

Willie Wheeler 7/99, josephramsey modifications 12/00

See Also:

• Serialized Form

Field Summary

Fields

Modifier and Type	Field	Description
static int	LAST_ID	The last ID assigned to a variable.

Fields inherited from interface edu.cmu.tetrad.graph.Node

ALPHA, ALPHA_NUM, LAG

Method Summary

Modifier and Type	Method	Description
boolean	checkValue(Object value)	Checks to see whether the passed value is an acceptable value for this variable.
abstract Object	getMissingValueMarker()	Returns the name of the variable.
final String	getName()	Returns the name of this node.
abstract boolean	isMissingValue(Object value)	Tests whether the given value is the missing data marker.
abstract Node	like(String name)	Creates a new node of the same type as this one with the given name.
final void	setName(String name)	Sets the name of this variable.
String	toString()	Returns the intervention type for this node.

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

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

Methods inherited from interface edu.cmu.tetrad.graph.Node

addAttribute, addPropertyChangeListener, compareTo, equals, getAllAttributes, getAttribute, getCenterX, getCenterY, getNodeType, getNodeVariableType, hashCode, removeAttribute, setCenter, setCenterX, setCenterY, setNodeType, setNodeVariableType

Field Details

LAST_ID

public static int LAST_ID

The last ID assigned to a variable.

Method Details

getMissingValueMarker

public abstract Object getMissingValueMarker()

Description copied from interface: Variable

Returns the name of the variable.

Specified by:

getMissingValueMarker in interface Variable

Returns:

the missing value marker as an Object.

isMissingValue

public abstract boolean isMissingValue(Object value)

Tests whether the given value is the missing data marker.

Specified by:

isMissingValue in interface Variable

Parameters:

value - The object value one wants to check as a missing value.

Returns:

true iff the given object is equals to getMissingValueMarker().

getName

public final String getName()

Description copied from interface: Node

Returns the name of this node.

Specified by:

getName in interface Node

Returns:

the name of this variable.

setName

public final void setName(String name)

Sets the name of this variable.

Specified by:

setName in interface Node

Parameters:

name - the name of this node.

checkValue

public boolean checkValue(Object value)

Checks to see whether the passed value is an acceptable value for this variable. For AbstractVariable, this method always returns true. Subclasses should override checkValue() in order to provide for subclass-specific value checking. The value should pass the test if it can be converted into an equivalent object of the correct class type (see getValueClass()) for this variable; otherwise, it should fail. In general, checkValue() should not fail a value for simply not being an instance of a particular class. Since this method is not static, subclasses may (but need not) provide for instance-specific value checking.

Specified by:

checkValue in interface Variable

Parameters:

value - a value

Returns:

true if the value is an acceptable value for this variable, and false otherwise

toString

public String toString()

Description copied from interface: Node

Returns the intervention type for this node.

Specified by:

toString in interface Node

Overrides:

toString in class Object

Returns:

a String representation of this variable. Specifically, the name of the variable is returned.

like

public abstract Node like(String name)

Description copied from interface: Node

Creates a new node of the same type as this one with the given name.

Specified by:

like in interface Node

Parameters:

name - the name of the new node.

Returns:

the new node.