16.28. Properties

The ModeShape graph model allows nodes to hold multiple properties, where each property is identified by a unique Name and may have one or more values. Like many of the other classes used in the graph model, Property is an immutable object that, once constructed, can never be changed and therefore provides a consistent snapshot of the state of a property as it existed at the time it was read.

ModeShape properties can hold a wide range of value objects, including normal Java strings, names, paths, URIs, booleans, longs, doubles, decimals, binary content, dates, UUIDs, references to other nodes, or any other serializable object. All but three of these are the standard Java classes: dates are represented by an immutable DateTime class; binary content is represented by an immutable Binary interface patterned after the interface of the same name in JSR-283; and Reference is an immutable interface patterned after the corresponding interface is JSR-170 and JSR-283.