23.9 java.beans.Introspector (JDK 1.1)

The Introspector is a class that is never instantiated. Its static getBeanInfo() methods provide a way to obtain information about a Java bean, and are typically only invoked by application builders or similar tools. getBeanInfo() first looks for a BeanInfo class for the specified Java bean class. For a class named x, it looks for a BeanInfo class named xBeanInfo, first in the current package, and then in each of the packages in the BeanInfo search path.

If no BeanInfo class is found, or if the BeanInfo class found does not provide complete information about the bean properties, events, and methods, getBeanInfo() "introspects" on the bean class by using the java.lang.reflect package to fill in the missing information. When explicit information is provided by a BeanInfo class, getBeanInfo() treats it as definitive. When determining information through introspection, however, it examines each of the bean's superclasses in turn, looking for a BeanInfo class at that level or using introspection. When calling getBeanInfo(), you may optionally specify a second class argument that specifies a superclass for which, and above which, getBeanInfo() does not introspect.

public class Introspector extends Object {
    // No Constructor
    // Class Methods
            public static String decapitalize(String name);
            public static BeanInfo getBeanInfo(Class beanClass) throws IntrospectionException;
            public static BeanInfo getBeanInfo(Class beanClass, Class stopClass) throws IntrospectionException;
            public static String[] getBeanInfoSearchPath();
            public static void setBeanInfoSearchPath(String[] path);
}