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OSID Specifications
course package
Version 3.0.0
Release Candidate Preview
Interfaceosid.course.TermHierarchySession
Implementsosid.OsidSession
Description

This session defines methods for traversing a hierarchy of Term objects. Each term in the hierarchy is a unique Term. The hierarchy may be traversed recursively to establish the tree structure through getParentTerms() and getChildTerms(). To relate these Ids to another OSID, getTermNodes() can be used for retrievals that can be used for bulk lookups in other OSIDs. Any Term available in the Course OSID is known to this hierarchy but does not appear in the hierarchy traversal until added as a root node or a child of another node.

A user may not be authorized to traverse the entire hierarchy. Parts of the hierarchy may be made invisible through omission from the returns of getParentTerms() or getChildTerms() in lieu of a PERMISSION_DENIED error that may disrupt the traversal through authorized pathways.

This session defines views that offer differing behaviors when retrieving multiple objects.

  • comparative view: term elements may be silently omitted or re-ordered
  • plenary view: provides a complete set or is an error condition
MethodgetTermHierarchyId
Description

Gets the hierarchy Id associated with this session.

Returnosid.id.Idthe hierarchy Id associated with this session
CompliancemandatoryThis method must be implemented.
MethodgetTermHierarchy
Description

Gets the hierarchy associated with this session.

Returnosid.hierarchy.Hierarchythe hierarchy associated with this session
ErrorsOPERATION_FAILEDunable to complete request
PERMISSION_DENIEDauthorization failure
CompliancemandatoryThis method must be implemented.
MethodcanAccessTermHierarchy
Description

Tests if this user can perform hierarchy queries. A return of true does not guarantee successful authorization. A return of false indicates that it is known all methods in this session will result in a PERMISSION_DENIED. This is intended as a hint to an application that may opt not to offer lookup operations.

Returnboolean false if hierarchy traversal methods are not authorized, true otherwise
CompliancemandatoryThis method must be implemented.
MethoduseComparativeTermView
Description

The returns from the term methods may omit or translate elements based on this session, such as authorization, and not result in an error. This view is used when greater interoperability is desired at the expense of precision.

CompliancemandatoryThis method is must be implemented.
MethodusePlenaryTermView
Description

A complete view of the Terms returns is desired. Methods will return what is requested or result in an error. This view is used when greater precision is desired at the expense of interoperability.

CompliancemandatoryThis method is must be implemented.
MethodgetRootTermIds
Description

Gets the root term Ids in this hierarchy.

Returnosid.id.IdListthe root term Ids
ErrorsOPERATION_FAILEDunable to complete request
PERMISSION_DENIEDauthorization failure
CompliancemandatoryThis method must be implemented.
MethodgetRootTerms
Description

Gets the root terms in the term hierarchy. A node with no parents is an orphan. While all term Ids are known to the hierarchy, an orphan does not appear in the hierarchy unless explicitly added as a root node or child of another node.

Returnosid.course.TermListthe root terms
ErrorsOPERATION_FAILEDunable to complete request
PERMISSION_DENIEDauthorization failure
CompliancemandatoryThis method is must be implemented.
MethodhasParentTerms
Description

Tests if the Term has any parents.

Parametersosid.id.IdtermIda term Id
Returnboolean true if the term has parents, false otherwise
ErrorsNOT_FOUND termId is not found
NULL_ARGUMENT termId is null
OPERATION_FAILEDunable to complete request
PERMISSION_DENIEDauthorization failure
CompliancemandatoryThis method must be implemented.
MethodisParentOfTerm
Description

Tests if an Id is a direct parent of term.

Parametersosid.id.Ididan Id
osid.id.IdtermIdthe Id of a term
Returnboolean true if this id is a parent of termId, false otherwise
ErrorsNOT_FOUND termId is not found
NULL_ARGUMENT id or termId is null
OPERATION_FAILEDunable to complete request
PERMISSION_DENIEDauthorization failure
CompliancemandatoryThis method must be implemented.
Provider Notes

If id not found return false.

MethodgetParentTermIds
Description

Gets the parent Ids of the given term.

Parametersosid.id.IdtermIda term Id
Returnosid.id.IdListthe parent Ids of the term
ErrorsNOT_FOUND termId is not found
NULL_ARGUMENT termId is null
OPERATION_FAILEDunable to complete request
PERMISSION_DENIEDauthorization failure
CompliancemandatoryThis method must be implemented.
MethodgetParentTerms
Description

Gets the parents of the given term.

Parametersosid.id.IdtermIdthe Id to query
Returnosid.course.TermListthe parents of the term
ErrorsNOT_FOUND termId not found
NULL_ARGUMENT termId is null
OPERATION_FAILEDunable to complete request
PERMISSION_DENIEDauthorization failure
CompliancemandatoryThis method must be implemented.
MethodisAncestorOfTerm
Description

Tests if an Id is an ancestor of a term.

Parametersosid.id.Ididan Id
osid.id.IdtermIdthe Id of a term
Returnboolean true if this id is an ancestor of termId, false otherwise
ErrorsNOT_FOUND termId not found
NULL_ARGUMENT id or termId is null
OPERATION_FAILEDunable to complete request
PERMISSION_DENIEDauthorization failure
CompliancemandatoryThis method must be implemented.
Provider Notes

If id not found return false.

MethodhasChildTerms
Description

Tests if a term has any children.

Parametersosid.id.IdtermIda term Id
Returnboolean true if the termId has children, false otherwise
ErrorsNOT_FOUND termId not found
NULL_ARGUMENT termId is null
OPERATION_FAILEDunable to complete request
PERMISSION_DENIEDauthorization failure
CompliancemandatoryThis method must be implemented.
MethodisChildOfTerm
Description

Tests if a node is a direct child of another.

Parametersosid.id.Ididan Id
osid.id.IdtermIdthe Id of a term
Returnboolean true if the id is a child of termId, false otherwise
ErrorsNOT_FOUND termId not found
NULL_ARGUMENT termId is null
OPERATION_FAILEDunable to complete request
PERMISSION_DENIEDauthorization failure
CompliancemandatoryThis method must be implemented.
Provider Notes

If id not found return false.

MethodgetChildTermIds
Description

Gets the child Ids of the given term.

Parametersosid.id.IdtermIda term Id
Returnosid.id.IdListthe child Ids of the term
ErrorsNOT_FOUND termId is not found
NULL_ARGUMENT termId is null
OPERATION_FAILEDunable to complete request
PERMISSION_DENIEDauthorization failure
CompliancemandatoryThis method must be implemented.
MethodgetChildTerms
Description

Gets the children of the given term.

Parametersosid.id.IdtermIdthe Id to query
Returnosid.course.TermListthe children of the term
ErrorsNOT_FOUND termId not found
NULL_ARGUMENT termId is null
OPERATION_FAILEDunable to complete request
PERMISSION_DENIEDauthorization failure
CompliancemandatoryThis method must be implemented.
MethodisDescendantOfTerm
Description

Tests if an Id is a descendant of a term.

Parametersosid.id.Ididan Id
osid.id.IdtermIdthe Id of a term
Returnboolean true if the id is a descendant of the termId, false otherwise
ErrorsNOT_FOUND termId not found
NULL_ARGUMENT termId or id is null
OPERATION_FAILEDunable to complete request
PERMISSION_DENIEDauthorization failure
CompliancemandatoryThis method must be implemented.
Provider Notes

If id is not found return false.

MethodgetTermNodeIds
Description

Gets a portion of the hierarchy for the given term.

Parametersosid.id.IdtermIdthe Id to query
cardinalancestorLevelsthe maximum number of ancestor levels to include. A value of 0 returns no parents in the node.
cardinaldescendantLevelsthe maximum number of descendant levels to include. A value of 0 returns no children in the node.
booleanincludeSiblings true to include the siblings of the given node, false to omit the siblings
Returnosid.hierarchy.Nodea term node
ErrorsNOT_FOUND termId not found
NULL_ARGUMENT termId is null
OPERATION_FAILEDunable to complete request
PERMISSION_DENIEDauthorization failure
CompliancemandatoryThis method must be implemented.
MethodgetTermNodes
Description

Gets a portion of the hierarchy for the given term.

Parametersosid.id.IdtermIdthe Id to query
cardinalancestorLevelsthe maximum number of ancestor levels to include. A value of 0 returns no parents in the node.
cardinaldescendantLevelsthe maximum number of descendant levels to include. A value of 0 returns no children in the node.
booleanincludeSiblings true to include the siblings of the given node, false to omit the siblings
Returnosid.course.TermNodea term node
ErrorsNOT_FOUND termId not found
NULL_ARGUMENT termId is null
OPERATION_FAILEDunable to complete request
PERMISSION_DENIEDauthorization failure
CompliancemandatoryThis method must be implemented.