/*
 * Copyright (c) 2008, 2009, 2011 Oracle, Inc. All rights reserved.
 *
 * This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
 * terms of the Eclipse Public License v1.0 and Eclipse Distribution License v. 1.0
 * which accompanies this distribution.  The Eclipse Public License is available
 * at http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-v10.html and the Eclipse Distribution License
 * is available at http://www.eclipse.org/org/documents/edl-v10.php.
 */
package javax.persistence;

import java.lang.annotation.Retention;
import java.lang.annotation.Target;

import static java.lang.annotation.ElementType.FIELD;
import static java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME;
import static javax.persistence.FetchType.LAZY;

Defines a collection of instances of a basic type or embeddable class. Must be specified if the collection
is to be mapped by means of a collection table.

   Example:
   @Entity public class Person {
      @Id protected String ssn;
      protected String name;
      ...
      @ElementCollection
      protected Set<String> nickNames = new HashSet();
        ...
   }

Since:
Java Persistence 2.0/**
 * Defines a collection of instances of a basic type or embeddable class. Must be specified if the collection
 * is to be mapped by means of a collection table.
 * <p>
 * <pre>
 *    Example:
 *
 *    &#064;Entity public class Person {
 *       &#064;Id protected String ssn;
 *       protected String name;
 *       ...
 *       &#064;ElementCollection
 *       protected Set&#060;String&#062; nickNames = new HashSet();
 *         ...
 *    }
 * </pre>
 *
 * @since Java Persistence 2.0
 */
@Target({FIELD})
@Retention(RUNTIME)
public @interface ElementCollection {

  
(Optional) The basic or embeddable class that is the element type of the collection. This element is
optional only if the collection field or property is defined using Java generics, and must be specified
otherwise. It defaults to the paramterized type of the collection when defined using generics.
Returns:
target class/**
   * (Optional) The basic or embeddable class that is the element type of the collection. This element is
   * optional only if the collection field or property is defined using Java generics, and must be specified
   * otherwise. It defaults to the paramterized type of the collection when defined using generics.
   *
   * @return target class
   */
  Class targetClass() default void.class;

  
(Optional) Whether the collection should be lazily loaded or must be eagerly fetched. The EAGER
strategy is a requirement on the persistence provider runtime that the collection elements must be
eagerly fetched. The LAZY strategy is a hint to the persistence provider runtime.
Returns:
fetch type/**
   * (Optional) Whether the collection should be lazily loaded or must be eagerly fetched. The EAGER
   * strategy is a requirement on the persistence provider runtime that the collection elements must be
   * eagerly fetched. The LAZY strategy is a hint to the persistence provider runtime.
   *
   * @return fetch type
   */
  FetchType fetch() default LAZY;
}