com.esri.arcgis.geodatabase
Interface IFeature

All Superinterfaces:

IObject, IRow, IRowBuffer, Serializable

All Known Subinterfaces:

ISchematicFeature, ISchematicInMemoryFeature, ISchematicInMemoryFeatureLink, ISchematicInMemoryFeatureNode, ISchematicInMemoryFeatureNodeOnLink, ISchematicInMemoryFeatureSubLink, ITemporalFeature

All Known Implementing Classes:

AnnotationFeature, ComplexEdgeFeature, ComplexJunctionFeature, CoverageAnnotationFeature, DimensionFeature, Feature, GeocodedFeature, IFeatureProxy, ISchematicFeatureProxy, ISchematicInMemoryFeatureLinkProxy, ISchematicInMemoryFeatureNodeOnLinkProxy, ISchematicInMemoryFeatureNodeProxy, ISchematicInMemoryFeatureProxy, ISchematicInMemoryFeatureSubLinkProxy, NALocationFeature, NALocationRangesFeature, NATraversalResultElement, RasterCatalogItem, RelQueryRow, SchematicInMemoryFeatureLink, SchematicInMemoryFeatureNode, SchematicInMemoryFeatureNodeOnLink, SchematicInMemoryFeatureSubLink, SchematicLink, SchematicNode, SchematicNodeOnLink, SchematicSubLink, SimpleEdgeFeature, SimpleJunctionFeature, TemporalFeature, TopologyErrorFeature

public interface IFeature
extends IObject, Serializable

Provides access to members that return and set properties of a feature.

Remarks

Features are spatial Objects. They are contained in a feature class in the same way that a row is contained in a table, and an object is contained in an object class. A feature has an associated shape, the type of which is defined by the feature class. The possible shape objects are Point, Multipoint, Multipatch, Polyline, and Polygon - these are all objects in the Geometry library. For more details, see the IGeometryDef interface.

One thing to note is that all features still have the same core geometry types of point, multipoint, polyline, polygon and multipatch; an example of this is the annotation feature, whose geometry type is polygon - this represents the envelope of the text element.

The IFeature interface extends the IObject and IRow interfaces, and as such, the documentation for those interfaces applies to this interface. The additional functionality relates to the features' shapes, accessed and set through the Shape property. This can be much more convenient than the alternative of using the Value property, since you don’t have to determine the index of the shape field. The Shape property is the main link in ArcObjects between the geometry and geodatabase object models.

The ShapeCopy property is a cloned copy of the feature’s Shape. When modifying the geometry of a feature or a set of features, use the ShapeCopy property to obtain a copy of the feature's geometry, perform the modification on the geometries, then apply the modifications by setting the geometry to the Shape property.

There are several Feature subclasses which can also be accessed using the IFeature interface. These include annotation, dimension, and network features.

Product Availability

Available with ArcGIS Engine, ArcGIS Desktop, and ArcGIS Server.

See Also:

IFeatureClass.getShapeFieldName(), IFeatureClass.getAreaField(), IFeatureClass.getLengthField(), IFeatureClass.createFeatureBuffer(), IFeatureClass.createFeature()

Method Summary

IEnvelope	getExtent() The extent of the feature.
int	getFeatureType() The type of the feature.
IGeometry	getShape() A reference to the default shape for the feature.
IGeometry	getShapeCopy() A cloned copy of the default shape for the feature.
void	setShapeByRef(IGeometry shape) A reference to the default shape for the feature.

Methods inherited from interface com.esri.arcgis.geodatabase.IObject

esri_getClass

Methods inherited from interface com.esri.arcgis.geodatabase.IRow

delete, getOID, getTable, isHasOID, store

Methods inherited from interface com.esri.arcgis.geodatabase.IRowBuffer

getFields, getValue, setValue

Method Detail

getShapeCopy

IGeometry getShapeCopy()
                       throws IOException,
                              AutomationException

A cloned copy of the default shape for the feature.

Remarks

The ShapeCopy property is a cloned copy of the feature’s Shape. When modifying the geometry of a feature or a set of features, use the ShapeCopy property to obtain a copy of the feature's geometry, perform the modification on the geometries, then apply the modifications by setting the geometry to the Shape property.

Product Availability

Available with ArcGIS Engine, ArcGIS Desktop, and ArcGIS Server.

Supported Platforms

Windows, Solaris, Linux

Returns:

A reference to a com.esri.arcgis.geometry.IGeometry

Throws:

IOException - If there are interop problems.

AutomationException - If the ArcObject component throws an exception.

getShape

IGeometry getShape()
                   throws IOException,
                          AutomationException

A reference to the default shape for the feature.

Remarks

The basic process to change the shape of a feature is:

1) Get the feature's existing geometry through IFeature.ShapeCopy or create a new geometry
2) Modify the geometry
3) Set the feature's geometry using IFeature.Shape
4) Store the feature

All edits to features that participate in a Topology or Geometric Network must be performed within an edit session and bracketed within an edit operation.

Product Availability

Available with ArcGIS Engine, ArcGIS Desktop, and ArcGIS Server.

Supported Platforms

Windows, Solaris, Linux

Returns:

A reference to a com.esri.arcgis.geometry.IGeometry

Throws:

IOException - If there are interop problems.

AutomationException - If the ArcObject component throws an exception.

setShapeByRef

void setShapeByRef(IGeometry shape)
                   throws IOException,
                          AutomationException

A reference to the default shape for the feature.

Product Availability

Available with ArcGIS Engine, ArcGIS Desktop, and ArcGIS Server.

Supported Platforms

Windows, Solaris, Linux

Parameters:

shape - A reference to a com.esri.arcgis.geometry.IGeometry (in)

Throws:

IOException - If there are interop problems.

AutomationException - If the ArcObject component throws an exception.

getExtent

IEnvelope getExtent()
                    throws IOException,
                           AutomationException

The extent of the feature.

Product Availability

Available with ArcGIS Engine, ArcGIS Desktop, and ArcGIS Server.

Supported Platforms

Windows, Solaris, Linux

Returns:

A reference to a com.esri.arcgis.geometry.IEnvelope

Throws:

IOException - If there are interop problems.

AutomationException - If the ArcObject component throws an exception.

getFeatureType

int getFeatureType()
                   throws IOException,
                          AutomationException

The type of the feature.

Product Availability

Available with ArcGIS Engine, ArcGIS Desktop, and ArcGIS Server.

Supported Platforms

Windows, Solaris, Linux

Returns:

A com.esri.arcgis.geodatabase.esriFeatureType constant

Throws:

IOException - If there are interop problems.

AutomationException - If the ArcObject component throws an exception.