javax.print.attribute.standard package

Package javax.print.attribute.standard contains classes for specific printing attributes. The parent package, javax.print.attribute, provides classes and interfaces that describe the types of Java Print Service attributes and how they can be collected into attribute sets.

An attribute represents a printing feature that a print service can provide. For each attribute, a print service either does or does not support the attribute. For each possible value of a supported attribute, a print service either does or does not support the value.

The API requires every print service to support certain attributes; other attributes are optional and the service can choose whether or not to support them. Each attribute has a set of values that it accepts. The API requires every print service to support certain values for certain attributes; other attribute values are optional and the service can choose whether or not to support them. These support requirements are recorded in the documentation for each attribute class.

Package javax.print.attribute.standard contains standard printing attributes and standard printing attribute values that are widely used in the printing domain. A print service vendor can provide new vendor-specific printing attributes in addition to the standard ones. A vendor can also provide vendor-specific extensions (subclasses) of the standard printing attributes -- for example, to provide additional vendor-specific values for an existing standard attribute. Of course, if a vendor wants clients to be able to use any added or extended attributes, the vendor must publish the new attribute classes.

Many of the standard attribute classes extend one of the abstract syntax classes of the javax.print.attribute package. These abstract syntax classes each represent a different type. The EnumSyntax class, for example, represents a type-safe enumeration. The abstract syntax class provides a wrapper for the attribute value.

If an attribute class extends `EnumSyntax`, and the value of the attribute is an IPP-compatible value, the attribute's `toString` method returns the IPP string representation of the attribute value, such as "processing-stopped" for the JobState attribute. However, because the `EnumSyntax` class is extensible, vendors can define their own attribute values. If an attribute uses the `EnumSyntax` class and is set to one of these vendor-defined values then the `toString` method will not return the IPP string representation of the value.

A printing client application will typically not need to use all the printing attribute classes in package javax.print.attribute.standard, just the ones that pertain to the application.

The attribute classes in package javax.print.attribute.standard are based on the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) attributes as defined in the Internet RFC document, RFC 2911 Internet Printing Protocol/1.1: Model and Semantics dated September 2000. See RFC 2911 for more information. The descriptive text for each attribute class was taken largely from the above documents. The above authors' contribution to the API is gratefully acknowledged.

### Attribute Organization

There are five kinds of printing attributes: doc attributes, print request attributes, print job attributes, print service attributes, and supported-values attributes.

#### Doc Attributes

Doc attributes specify the characteristics of an individual doc and the print job settings to be applied to an individual doc. A doc attribute class implements interface DocAttribute. A doc attribute can appear in a DocAttributeSet.

#### Print Request Attributes

Print request attributes specify the settings to be applied to a whole print job and to all the docs in the print job. A print request attribute class implements interface PrintRequestAttribute. A print request attribute can appear in a PrintRequestAttributeSet.

Some attributes are doc attributes but not print request attributes and may only be specified at the doc level. Some attributes are print request attributes but not doc attributes and may only be specified at the Print Request level. Some attributes are both doc attributes and print request attributes and may be specified either at the doc level or at the Print Request level.

When specified at the doc level, an attribute applies just to that one doc. When specified at the Print Request level, an attribute applies to the whole job, including all the docs in the job. However, an attribute specified at the doc level overrides an attribute in the same category specified at the Print Request level.

#### Print Job Attributes

Print job attributes report the status of a Print Job. A print job attribute class implements interface PrintJobAttribute. A print job attribute can appear in a PrintJobAttributeSet.

Some attributes are both print request attributes and print job attributes; a client may include such attributes in a Print Request to specify characteristics for the ensuing Print Job, and those attributes then also appear in the Print Job's attribute set. Some attributes are print job attributes but not print request attributes; the print service itself adds these attributes to the Print Job's attribute set.

#### Print Service Attributes

Print service attributes report the status of a print service. A print service attribute class implements interface PrintServiceAttribute. A print service attribute can appear in a PrintServiceAttributeSet.

#### Supported-Values Attributes

A supported-value attribute indicates the legal values for another attribute that a print service supports. A supported-values attribute class implements interface SupportedValuesAttribute. However, supported-values attributes never appear in attribute sets, so there is no restricted AttributeSet subinterface for them.

#### Attribute Table

The table below lists all the printing attributes. The table shows the tagging interfaces each attribute class implements in addition to interface Attribute, thus indicating how each attribute is used in the API. For each doc attribute and print request attribute, the column marked "SupportedValuesAttribute" lists the supported-values attribute class, if any, with which a print service indicates the supported values for that attribute category.

Attribute Class | Doc Attribute | Print Request Attribute | Print Job Attribute | Print Service Attribute | SupportedValuesAttribute
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Compression | X |  |  |  |
DocumentName | X |  |  |  |
Chromaticity | X | X | X |  |
Copies |  | X | X |  | CopiesSupported
Finishings | X | X | X |  |
JobHoldUntil |  | X | X |  |
JobImpressions |  | X | X |  | JobImpressionsSupported
JobKOctets |  | X | X |  | JobKOctetsSupported
JobMediaSheets |  | X | X |  | JobMediaSheetsSupported
JobName |  | X | X |  |
JobPriority |  | X | X |  | JobPrioritySupported
JobSheets |  | X | X |  |
Media | X | X | X |  |
MediaSize |  |  |  |  |
MultipleDocumentHandling |  | X | X |  |
NumberUp | X | X | X |  | NumberUpSupported
OrientationRequested | X | X | X |  |
PageRanges | X | X | X |  |
PresentationDirection | X | X | X |  |
PrinterResolution | X | X | X |  |
PrintQuality | X | X | X |  |
RequestingUserName |  | X | X |  |
SheetCollate | X | X | X |  |
Sides | X | X | X |  |
DateTimeAtCompleted |  |  | X |  |
DateTimeAtCreation |  |  | X |  |
DateTimeAtProcessing |  |  | X |  |
JobImpressionsCompleted |  |  | X |  |
JobKOctetsProcessed |  |  | X |  |
JobMediaSheetsCompleted |  |  | X |  |
JobMessageFromOperator |  |  | X |  |
JobOriginatingUserName |  |  | X |  |
JobState |  |  | X |  |
JobStateReasons Contains zero or more -- |  |  | X |  |
-- JobStateReason |  |  |  |  |
NumberOfDocuments |  |  | X |  |
NumberOfInterveningJobs |  |  | X |  |
OutputDeviceAssigned |  |  | X |  |
ColorSupported |  |  |  | X |
PagesPerMinute |  |  |  | X |
PagesPerMinuteColor |  |  |  | X |
PDLOverrideSupported |  |  |  | X |
PrinterIsAcceptingJobs |  |  |  | X |
PrinterInfo |  |  |  | X |
PrinterLocation |  |  |  | X |
PrinterMessageFromOperator |  |  |  | X |
PrinterMakeAndModel |  |  |  | X |
PrinterMoreInfo |  |  |  | X |
PrinterMoreInfoManufacturer |  |  |  | X |
PrinterName |  |  |  | X |
PrinterState |  |  |  | X |
PrinterStateReasons Contains zero or more -- |  |  |  | X |
-- PrinterStateReason |  |  |  |  |
-- Severity |  |  |  |  |
QueuedJobCount |  |  |  | X |
ReferenceUriSchemesSupported |  |  |  |  |

Please note: In the javax.print APIs, a null reference parameter to methods is incorrect unless explicitly documented on the method as having a meaningful interpretation. Usage to the contrary is incorrect coding and may result in a run time exception either immediately or at some later time. IllegalArgumentException and NullPointerException are examples of typical and acceptable run time exceptions for such cases.

@since 1.4