In the Java API, DataSource is the common interface for values defined under Declarations. The following DataSource interfaces are available:

The methods in the following table apply to Scalar, Array 1D, and Array 2D declarations of types String, Boolean, Integer, and Double.

At runtime, these nodes are returned as DataSource objects that also implement Primitive. Use the typed getters and setters to read and write native Java values (for example, int[] or double[][]). Always select the accessor (get and set) that matches the declaration’s type.

The Declaration class provides access to all user-defined declarations in an application. In addition to retrieving individual declarations (such as scalars or arrays), the class contains methods for retrieving DeclarationGroup objects.

A DeclarationGroup corresponds one-to-one to a typed node under Declarations in the UI, for example, the node Array 1D Integer 1. The group contains the individual declaration entries (variables) of that primitive kind. Each entry is exposed as a Primitive (DataSource) and can be read/written with the type-specific get and set methods.

Do not confuse a DeclarationGroup with Group nodes under Declarations, which are only used to organize declarations.

The Declaration class also provides a method for retrieving a DeclarationGroupList object. A DeclarationGroupList contains all DeclarationGroup objects under a given Declarations node. It implements the IEntityList<DeclarationGroup> interface, which defines methods for retrieving and iterating over the contained groups.

The figures below shows an example of two DeclarationGroup objects double1 and double2 and how to access their variables.

The second figure additionally shows how to retrieve the names of all DeclarationGroup names, using the DeclarationGroupList method names()

A DeclarationGroup implements the generic interface IEntityList<Primitive>. This means it behaves like a typed list, with methods to:

In addition, the DeclarationGroup class itself defines the method getType(), which returns the data type of the group.

Here, each Primitive represents a single entry of the group, such as one integer element inside the array declaration named "integer1".

The Primitive interface encapsulates an individual declaration entry. It is derived from the more general DataSource interface, which is the base abstraction for all data objects in the API. Through Primitive, you can update the value of an entry using one of the overloaded, type-specific set(...) methods, for example, set(int value), set(double[][] value), or set(String[] value). Depending on the declaration type, you can also retrieve values in a type-safe way.

The methods described in the following table are applicable for both ChoiceList and UnitSet objects. These methods are used to manipulate choice lists and unit sets during runtime.

The code below adds the string Aluminum 3004 to a choice list. Note that the choice list index starts at 0, whereas the material tags start at 1 (mat1, mat2, mat3, and mat4).

For more information on using choice lists for changing materials, see the book Introduction to the Application Builder.

When the object is a UnitSet the following additional methods are also available:

When the object is a GraphicsData the following methods are available:

The GraphicsData class has the following properties:

The following code enables data picking for the graphics1 object, connects it to the graphicsdata1 object and sets some properties on the graphicsdata1 object: