Datasystems
are the logical layer between a filesystem and higher-level file-oriented operations.
The
Datasystems API
provides a higher-level view of files in terms of useful data - data
which has specific types, actions that can be performed on these
types, and relationships to other files. For example, NetBeans might
find these files in a newly-opened directory:
-
myform.form
-
myform.java
-
myform.class
-
myform$1.class
-
myform$2.class
Logically, all of these files are interlinked, and it is the job of a
data loader
to associate them. In this case, a loader installed by the Form Editor
into the system's
loader pool
would recognize the common basename of the files, and produce a
special
data object
which encapsulates that there is a Java source with an accompanying
form and compiled class files. This data object would then provide
operations appropriate to a form on disk, and assist in creating an
Explorer node subtree for it.