Bio::MAGE::Association

   SYNOPSIS
         use Bio::MAGE::Association qw(:CARD);

         # creating an empty instance
         my $association = Bio::MAGE::Association->new();

         # populating the instance in the constructor
         my $association = Bio::MAGE::Association->new(self=>$assoc_end1,
                                                              other=>$assoc_end2);

         # setting and retrieving the association ends
         my $self_end = $association->self();
         $association->self($value);

         my $other_end = $association->other();
         $association->other($value);

   DESCRIPTION
       This class holds the two association ends for each UML association. "self" is the end
       nearest the class of interest, while "other" is the end furthest away. The ends are of
       type "Bio::MAGE::Association::End".

   CARDINALITY
       Associations in UML have a "cardinality" that determines how many objects can be
       associated. In the "Bio::MAGE::Association" modulte, "cardinality" has two primary
       dimensions: optional or required, and single or list. So there are four combinations of
       the two dimensions:

       ·   0..1

           This is an optional single association, meaning it can have one object associated, but
           it is optional.

       ·   1

           This is a required single association, meaning it must have exactly one object
           associated.

       ·   0..N

           This is an optional list association, meaning it can have many objects associated.

       ·   1..N

           This is an required list association, meaning it must have at least one object, but it
           may have many.

       There are four constants defined in this module for handling the cardinalities, and they
       can be imported into an application using the CARD import tag:

         use Bio::MAGE::Association qw(:CARD);

       The four constants are: CARD_0_OR_1, CARD_1, CARD_0_TO_N, and CARD_1_TO_N.

Bio::MAGE::Association::End

   SYNOPSIS
         use Bio::MAGE::Association qw(:CARD);

         # creating an empty instance
         my $assoc_end = Bio::MAGE::Association::End->new();

         # populating the instance in the constructor
         my $assoc_end = Bio::MAGE::Association::End->new(
                                                       name=>$name,
                                                       is_ref=>$bool,
                                                       cardinality=>CARD_0_TO_N,
                                                       class_name=>$class_name,
                                                       documentation=>$doc_string,
                                                       rank=>$rank,
                                                       ordered=>$bool,
                                                      );

         # setting and retrieving object attributes
         my $name = $assoc_end->name();
         $assoc_end->name($value);

         my $is_ref = $assoc_end->is_ref();
         $assoc_end->is_ref($value);

         my $cardinality = $assoc_end->cardinality();
         $assoc_end->cardinality($value);

         my $class_name = $assoc_end->class_name();
         $assoc_end->class_name($value);

         my $documentation = $assoc_end->documentation();
         $assoc_end->documentation($value);

         my $rank = $assoc_end->rank();
         $assoc_end->rank($value);

         my $ordered = $assoc_end->ordered();
         $assoc_end->ordered($value);

         #
         # Utility methods
         #

         # does this end of list cardinality (0..N or 1..N)
         my $bool = $assoc_end->is_list();

   DESCRIPTION
       This class stores the information in a single UML association end.