com.jivesoftware.community
Interface Question

All Superinterfaces:

JiveObject

public interface Question
extends JiveObject

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.

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.
ForumMessage	getCorrectAnswer() Returns the correct answer, or null if no correct answer has been set.
Date	getCreationDate() Returns the date this question was created.
ForumThread	getForumThread() Returns the thread that the question is associated with.
Collection<ForumMessage>	getHelpfulAnswers() Returns a read-only Collection of ForumMessage objects that have been marked as helpful.
Map<String,String>	getProperties() Retrieve a map of all the extended properties for the question.
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	isAssumedResolved() Determines if the state is Question.State.assumed_resolved
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.
boolean	isOpen() Determines if the state is Question.State.open
boolean	isPossiblyResolved() Determines if the state is Question.State.possibly_resolved
boolean	isResolved() Determines if the state is Question.State.resolved
void	setAssumedResolved() Sets the state to Question.State.assumed_resolved
void	setCorrectAnswer(ForumMessage message) Sets the specified message as the correct answer.
void	setOpen() Sets the state to Question.State.open
void	setPossiblyResolved() Sets the state to Question.State.possibly_resolved
void	setResolved() Sets the state to Question.State.resolved
void	setState(Question.State state) Sets the resolution state of this question.

Methods inherited from interface com.jivesoftware.community.JiveObject

getID, getObjectType

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 community.

Parameters:

state - the resolution state.

Throws:

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

isResolved

boolean isResolved()

Determines if the state is Question.State.resolved

Returns:

true if the state is Question.State.resolved, false otherwise.

isAssumedResolved

boolean isAssumedResolved()

Determines if the state is Question.State.assumed_resolved

Returns:

true if the state is Question.State.assumed_resolved, false otherwise.

isPossiblyResolved

boolean isPossiblyResolved()

Determines if the state is Question.State.possibly_resolved

Returns:

true if the state is Question.State.possibly_resolved, false otherwise.

isOpen

boolean isOpen()

Determines if the state is Question.State.open

Returns:

true if the state is Question.State.open, false otherwise.

setResolved

void setResolved()

Sets the state to Question.State.resolved

setAssumedResolved

void setAssumedResolved()

Sets the state to Question.State.assumed_resolved

setPossiblyResolved

void setPossiblyResolved()

Sets the state to Question.State.possibly_resolved

setOpen

void setOpen()

Sets the state to Question.State.open

getCreationDate

Date getCreationDate()

Returns the date this question was created.

Returns:

the date the question was created.

getResolutionDate

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.

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

Collection<ForumMessage> 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.

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.

getProperties

Map<String,String> getProperties()

Retrieve a map of all the extended properties for the question. Each question can have an arbitrary number of extended properties. This allows for enhanced functionality that is not part of the base interface. The map is alterable if the user is authorized to modify the document, however only a mapping of key -> value is allowed. Null keys and values are not allowed.

Returns:

a map of question extended properties.