com.jivesoftware.forum
Interface Question

public interface Question

Questions provide additional workflow around a thread; the thread creator asks a question and the question moves from unresolved to resolved as one or more answers are posted to the question. Note: Gold Edition feature only.

Nested Class Summary

static class

Question.State Type-safe enumeration for the state a question is in.

Method Summary

void	addHelpfulAnswer(ForumMessage message) Marks the specified message as a helpful answer to this question.
void	deleteProperty(java.lang.String name) Deletes an extended property.
ForumMessage	getCorrectAnswer() Returns the correct answer, or null if no correct answer has been set.
java.util.Date	getCreationDate() Returns the date this question was created.
ForumThread	getForumThread() Returns the thread that the question is associated with.
java.util.Collection	getHelpfulAnswers() Returns a read-only Collection of ForumMessage objects that have been marked as helpful.
java.util.Collection	getProperties(java.lang.String parentName) Return all immediate children property values of a parent property as an unmodifiable Collection of String values.
java.lang.String	getProperty(java.lang.String name) Returns an extended property of this object.
java.util.Iterator	getPropertyNames() Returns an Iterator of String values for all the names of the properties.
java.util.Date	getResolutionDate() Returns the date that question was resolved, or null if the question has not been resolved.
Question.State	getState() Returns the resolution state of this question.
User	getUser() Returns the user that created the question.
boolean	isCorrectAnswer(ForumMessage message) Returns true if the specified message is the correct answer.
boolean	isHelpfulAnswer(ForumMessage message) Returns true if the specified message has been marked as a helpful answer to this question.
void	setCorrectAnswer(ForumMessage message) Sets the specified message as the correct answer.
void	setProperty(java.lang.String name, java.lang.String value) Sets an extended property of object.
void	setState(Question.State state) Sets the resolution state of this question.

Method Detail

getUser

User getUser()

Returns the user that created the question.

Returns:

the user the created the question.

getForumThread

ForumThread getForumThread()

Returns the thread that the question is associated with.

Returns:

the thread that the question is associated with.

getState

Question.State getState()

Returns the resolution state of this question.

Returns:

the resolution state.

setState

void setState(Question.State state)
              throws UnauthorizedException

Sets the resolution state of this question. Rules for who is allowed to set the state of the question are as follows:

• Only the question creator is allowed to set the question state to Question.State.open. Typically, this would happen when the state has been set to Question.State.possibly_resolved or Question.State.assumed_resolved but the user wants to indicate that the question is still not resolved.
• Anybody can set the resolution state to Question.State.possibly_resolved as long the state was previously Question.State.open and there is at least one message posted in the thread after the question creation date. Otherwise, only a user with moderator or higher permission can set the state to Question.State.possibly_resolved.
• Only a user with moderator or higher permission can set the state to Question.State.assumed_resolved as long as the state was not previously Question.State.resolved.
• Only the user that created the question can change the state to Question.State.resolved.

When to set the state is left open in order to accomodate a variety of workflows and business rules. However, the typical rules are as follows:

• Set the state to Question.State.possibly_resolved when a new message is posted in the thread if the current state is Question.State.open.
• Set the state to Question.State.assumed_resolved when a support agent posts an answer to the question that they believe is correct. Or, when the user has abandoned the question and a moderator decides that the question is answered.
• Allow the question creator to set the state to Question.State.resolved when a helpful answer is added to the question. Encourage the question creator to set the state to Question.State.resolved when a correct answer is set. Allow the user to set the state to Question.State.resolved at any time; for example, if they solved the problem themselves or independently of the forums.

Parameters:

state - the resolution state.

Throws:

UnauthorizedException - if not allowed to change the resolution state to the specified value.

getCreationDate

java.util.Date getCreationDate()

Returns the date this question was created.

Returns:

the date the question was created.

getResolutionDate

java.util.Date getResolutionDate()

Returns the date that question was resolved, or null if the question has not been resolved. A question is considered resolved if the state is Question.State.assumed_resolved or Question.State.resolved. The rules for the resolution date are as follows:

• If there is a correct answer, the resolution date is the date that answer was posted.
• If there is no correct answer but one or more helpful answers, the resolution date is the date that the last helpful answer was posted.
• If there are no correct or helpful answers, the resolution date is the date that the question state was changed to Question.State.assumed_resolved or Question.State.resolved.

Returns:

the date the question was resolved, or null if the question has not been resolved.

addHelpfulAnswer

void addHelpfulAnswer(ForumMessage message)
                      throws UnauthorizedException

Marks the specified message as a helpful answer to this question.

Parameters:

message - the message.

Throws:

UnauthorizedException - if not allowed to mark the message as a helpful answer.

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException - if the message is not in the thread assocated with this question.

isHelpfulAnswer

boolean isHelpfulAnswer(ForumMessage message)

Returns true if the specified message has been marked as a helpful answer to this question.

Parameters:

message - the message.

Returns:

true if the specified message is a helpful answer to this question.

getHelpfulAnswers

java.util.Collection getHelpfulAnswers()

Returns a read-only Collection of ForumMessage objects that have been marked as helpful. If there are no helpful answers, this method will return an empty collection.

Returns:

a Collection of helpful answers (ForumMessage objects).

setCorrectAnswer

void setCorrectAnswer(ForumMessage message)
                      throws UnauthorizedException

Sets the specified message as the correct answer.

Parameters:

message - the message.

Throws:

UnauthorizedException - if not allowed to set the specified message as the correct answer to this question.

java.lang.IllegalArgumentException - if the message is not in the thread assocated with this question.

isCorrectAnswer

boolean isCorrectAnswer(ForumMessage message)

Returns true if the specified message is the correct answer.

Parameters:

message - the message.

Returns:

true if the specified message is the correct.

getCorrectAnswer

ForumMessage getCorrectAnswer()

Returns the correct answer, or null if no correct answer has been set.

Returns:

the correct answer.

getProperty

java.lang.String getProperty(java.lang.String name)

Returns an extended property of this object. Each question can have an arbitrary number of extended properties. This lets particular skins or filters provide enhanced functionality that is not part of the base interface.

Parameters:

name - the name of the property to get.

Returns:

the value of the property.

getProperties

java.util.Collection getProperties(java.lang.String parentName)

Return all immediate children property values of a parent property as an unmodifiable Collection of String values. A parent/child relationship is denoted by the "." character. For example, given the properties X.Y.A, X.Y.B, X.Y.C and X.Y.C.D, then the immediate child properties of X.Y are X.Y.A, X.Y.B, and X.Y.C (the value of X.Y.C.D would not be returned using this method).

Parameters:

parentName - the name of the parent property to return the children for.

Returns:

all Collection of all child property values for the given parent.

setProperty

void setProperty(java.lang.String name,
                 java.lang.String value)
                 throws UnauthorizedException

Sets an extended property of object. This object can have an arbitrary number of extended properties. This lets particular skins or filters provide enhanced functionality that is not part of the base interface.

Parameters:

name - the name of the property to set.

value - the new value for the property.

Throws:

UnauthorizedException - if not allowed to edit the message.

deleteProperty

void deleteProperty(java.lang.String name)
                    throws UnauthorizedException

Deletes an extended property. If the property specified by name does not exist, this method will do nothing.

Parameters:

name - the name of the property to delete.

Throws:

UnauthorizedException - if not allowed to edit the message.

getPropertyNames

java.util.Iterator getPropertyNames()

Returns an Iterator of String values for all the names of the properties.

Returns:

an Iterator for the names of all properties.