Records
=======

Records carry the ID and the user data of a message. 
The payload is transported in a list of slots. 

The following constructors exist::

    CRecord(final IId aId);
    
    CRecord(final CRecord aTemplate);
    
There is also a factory method::

    static CRecord createFromStream(final DataInputStream aStream) throws IOException;

Record ID
*********

The ID is of the type: ref: `IId <ID>` and can consist of an integer, a string or a UUID::

    IId getId();
    
    void setId(final IId aId);

Accessing the Slots
*******************

Slots are kept in the record in a map. 
They can be set using the following methods::

    // Adding a single slot. aKey can be SlotKey or a component.
    ISlot addSlot(final Object aKey,
                  final ISlot aSlot);
                  
    // Transfer from a template.
    void takeSlots(final CRecord aRecord);

Removal of slots is also possible::

    void removeSlot(final ISlotKey aKey);
    
The following access methods exist::

    // aKey can be SlotKey or a component
    ISlot getSlot(final Object aKey);
    
    // incl. check of type; wrong type --> CException
    ISlot getSlot(final ISlotKey aKey,
                  final CSlotType aType) throws CException;
                  
    // get all slots
    Map<ISlotKey, ISlot> getSlots();
    
    // check if slot exists
    boolean exist(final ISlotKey aKey);
    
    // Number of slots
    int size();
    
There are separate methods for accessing the value of a slot::

    Object getValue(final ISlotKey aKey);
    
    // incl. default value
    Object getValue(final ISlotKey aKey,
                    final Object aDefaultValue);
                    
    // incl. check of type; wrong type --> CException
    Object getValue(final ISlotKey aKey,
                    final CSlotType aType) throws CException;

    // incl. check of type; wrong type --> CException
    Object getValue(final ISlotKey aKey,
                    final CSlotType aType,
                    final Object aDefaultValue) throws CException;
                    
Here you can clearly see that an untyped object is returned, so you have to cast it yourself. 
This can be avoided by using the static access classes of the :ref:`Record-Generator <RECORDGENERATOR>`.

A check of the slot type is of course possible at any time::

    CSlotType getSlotType(final ISlotKey aKey);
    
Or::

    ISlot slot = getSlot(aKey);
    CSlotType type = slot.getType();
                    
It is also possible to set the value directly::

    void setValue(final ISlotKey aKey,
                  final CSlotType aType,
                  final Object aValue) throws CException;
                  
    // in case of an error the error will only be logged
    void setValueSafe(final ISlotKey aKey,
                      final CSlotType aType,
                      final Object aValue);

Further Methods
***************

The following methods are available::

    // The current version is always 0
    getVersion();
    
    // Writing to a stream
    void toStream(final DataOutputStream aStream) throws IOException;

    // resets ID, removes all slots
    void clear();
    
    // removes all slots
    void clearSlots();