Attribute (Java SE 25 & JDK 25)
Description: declaration: module: java.base, package: java.lang.classfile, interface: Attribute
Keywords: java.lang.classfile.Attribute interface

# Interface Attribute<A extends Attribute<A>>

Type Parameters:
  `A` - the attribute type

All Superinterfaces:
  `ClassFileElement`

All Known Subinterfaces:
  `AnnotationDefaultAttribute, BootstrapMethodsAttribute, CharacterRangeTableAttribute, CodeAttribute, CompilationIDAttribute, ConstantValueAttribute, DeprecatedAttribute, EnclosingMethodAttribute, ExceptionsAttribute, InnerClassesAttribute, LineNumberTableAttribute, LocalVariableTableAttribute, LocalVariableTypeTableAttribute, MethodParametersAttribute, ModuleAttribute, ModuleHashesAttribute, ModuleMainClassAttribute, ModulePackagesAttribute, ModuleResolutionAttribute, ModuleTargetAttribute, NestHostAttribute, NestMembersAttribute, PermittedSubclassesAttribute, RecordAttribute, RuntimeInvisibleAnnotationsAttribute, RuntimeInvisibleParameterAnnotationsAttribute, RuntimeInvisibleTypeAnnotationsAttribute, RuntimeVisibleAnnotationsAttribute, RuntimeVisibleParameterAnnotationsAttribute, RuntimeVisibleTypeAnnotationsAttribute, SignatureAttribute, SourceDebugExtensionAttribute, SourceFileAttribute, SourceIDAttribute, StackMapTableAttribute, SyntheticAttribute, UnknownAttribute`

All Known Implementing Classes:
  `CustomAttribute`

public sealed interface Attribute<A extends Attribute<A>> extends ClassFileElement permits AnnotationDefaultAttribute, BootstrapMethodsAttribute, CharacterRangeTableAttribute, CodeAttribute, CompilationIDAttribute, ConstantValueAttribute, DeprecatedAttribute, EnclosingMethodAttribute, ExceptionsAttribute, InnerClassesAttribute, LineNumberTableAttribute, LocalVariableTableAttribute, LocalVariableTypeTableAttribute, MethodParametersAttribute, ModuleAttribute, ModuleHashesAttribute, ModuleMainClassAttribute, ModulePackagesAttribute, ModuleResolutionAttribute, ModuleTargetAttribute, NestHostAttribute, NestMembersAttribute, PermittedSubclassesAttribute, RecordAttribute, RuntimeInvisibleAnnotationsAttribute, RuntimeInvisibleParameterAnnotationsAttribute, RuntimeInvisibleTypeAnnotationsAttribute, RuntimeVisibleAnnotationsAttribute, RuntimeVisibleParameterAnnotationsAttribute, RuntimeVisibleTypeAnnotationsAttribute, SignatureAttribute, SourceDebugExtensionAttribute, SourceFileAttribute, SourceIDAttribute, StackMapTableAttribute, SyntheticAttribute, UnknownAttribute, CustomAttribute<T> (not exhaustive)
Models an attribute (JVMS 4.7) in the `class` file format. Attributes exist on certain `class` file structures modeled by `AttributedElement`, which provides basic read access to the attributes.

This sealed interface hierarchy includes attributes predefined in the JVMS and JDK-specific nonstandard attributes. Their mappers are available in `Attributes`. Two special subtypes of `Attribute` are `CustomAttribute`, which all user-defined attributes should extend from, and `UnknownAttribute`, representing attributes read from `class` file but are not recognized by the `ClassFile.AttributeMapperOption`.

Attributes are read through `AttributedElement` or element traversal of a `CompoundElement`; they are written through `ClassFileBuilder`. See Reading Attributes and Writing Attributes for more details.

See Java Virtual Machine Specification:
  4.7 Attributes
Sealed Class Hierarchy Graph:
Since:
  24
See Also:
  - `java.lang.classfile.attribute`
  - `AttributeMapper`
  - `AttributedElement`
  - `CustomAttribute`
  - `UnknownAttribute`

- ## Method Summary

  Modifier and Type
  Method
  Description
  `AttributeMapper<A>`
  `attributeMapper()`
  Returns the `AttributeMapper` associated with this attribute.
  `Utf8Entry`
  `attributeName()`
  Returns the name of the attribute.

- ## Method Details

  - ### attributeName

    Utf8Entry attributeName()
    Returns the name of the attribute. The string value of the name is equivalent to the value of `attributeMapper().name()`.

    If this attribute is read from a `class` file, this method returns the `Utf8Entry` indicating the attribute name in the `class` file.

    Returns:
      the name of the attribute

  - ### attributeMapper

    AttributeMapper<A> attributeMapper()
    Returns the `AttributeMapper` associated with this attribute.
    Returns:
      the `AttributeMapper` associated with this attribute