The ParameterDefinition object contains all of the qualities, values, names, and conditions for a parameter. A ParameterDefinition object can display options to the user and respond to user-generated events. The actuate.Parameter class downloads an array of ParameterDefinition objects with downloadParameters( ). The order of this array is also the order in which the parameters are displayed. Parameters can be grouped to divide the parameters on the page into logical sets under a heading.

This class requires significant memory and bandwidth resources. ParameterValue is much smaller than ParameterDefinition. ParameterValue is the more efficient way to communicate to the server that a parameter value has changed.

Constructs a new ParameterDefinition object.

Table 7‑24 lists actuate.parameter.ParameterDefinition functions.

Gets the auto suggest threshold value for this ParameterDefinition. The auto suggest threshold determines the number of characters a user types in before they are given suggestions from auto suggest.

To store the auto suggest threshold of the parameter definition paramdef in a variable called threshold, use code similar to the following:

Gets the cascadingParentName value for this ParameterDefinition. A cascading parent parameter is only used when one parameter depends upon another.

String.

To store the cascading parent name of the parameter definition paramdef in a variable called parentname, use code similar to the following:

Gets the columnName value for this ParameterDefinition. This setting sets the column to retrieve data from for a dynamic filter parameter that performs a query.

This setting has no effect on other types of parameters.

String.

To store the column name of the parameter definition paramdef in a variable called columnname, use code similar to the following:

Gets the columnType value for this ParameterDefinition. This setting sets the data type queried by an ad hoc parameter that performs a query.

This setting has no effect on other types parameters.

String. Possible values are: null, "Currency", "Date", "DateOnly", "Time", "Double", "Integer", "String", "Boolean", "Structure", "Table", and "Unknown".

To store the column type of the parameter definition paramdef in a variable called columntype, use code similar to the following:

Gets the controlType value for this ParameterDefinition. It determines the form element displayed for the user to set the parameter value.

String. Possible values are: null, "", "ControlRadioButton", "ControlList", "ControlListAllowNew", and "ControlCheckBox".

To store the control type string for the parameter definition paramdef in a variable called controltype, use code similar to the following:

Gets the current display name for this ParameterDefinition.

String.

To store the current display name of the parameter definition paramdef in a variable called displayname, use code similar to the following:

Gets the dataType value for this ParameterDefinition.

String. Possible values are: "Currency", "Date", "DateOnly", "Time", "Double", "Integer", "String", "Boolean", "Structure", "Table", and "Unknown".

To store the data type of the parameter definition paramdef in a variable called myParamType, use code similar to the following:

Gets the defaultValue value for this ParameterDefinition, if applicable.

String.

To store the default value as a string for the parameter definition paramdef in a variable called default, use code similar to the following:

Returns true when the parameter’s default value is null.

Boolean.

To alert the user that the default value is null for the parameter definition paramdef, use code similar to the following:

Gets the displayName for this ParameterDefinition.

String.

To store the displayed name for the parameter definition paramdef in a variable called displayname, use code similar to the following:

Gets the group for this ParameterDefinition, indicating if it is a member of a group.

String. A group name, or null if there is no group.

To print the group name for the parameter definition paramdef to the current document, use code similar to the following:

Gets the helpText for this ParameterDefinition.

String. The help text.

To store the help text for the parameter definition paramdef in a variable called helptext, use code similar to the following:

Gets the name for this ParameterDefinition.

String. The parameter name.

To store the name for the parameter definition paramdef in a variable called paramname, use code similar to the following:

Gets the operator list for this ParameterDefinition.

An array of strings containing the operator list.

To store the list of operators for the parameter definition paramdef in a variable called ops, use code similar to the following:

Gets the position in the array for this ParameterDefinition.

Integer.

To store the position of the parameter definition paramdef in a variable called position, use code similar to the following:

Gets the selectNameValueList for this ParameterDefinition. This list applies if the parameter is set with a selection list.

Array of actuate.parameter.NameValuePair objects.

To retrieve the name-value pair list for the parameter definition paramdef and put it into a new array, use code similar to the following:

Gets the selectValueList for this ParameterDefinition. This list applies when the parameter is set with a selection list.

An array of strings containing the select value list.

To retrieve the list of values selectable for the parameter definition paramdef and put it into a new array, use code similar to the following:

Returns true when this parameter is a dynamic filter parameter.

Boolean. True when this parameter is a dynamic filter.

To set the default value to null for the parameter definition paramdef if it is a dynamic filter parameter, use code similar to the following:

Gets the isHidden value for this ParameterDefinition.

Boolean. True indicates that this parameter is hidden.

To reveal a parameter with the parameter definition paramdef if it is hidden, use code similar to the following:

Gets the isPassword value for this ParameterDefinition.

Boolean. True indicates that the parameter is a password.

To set the parameter definition paramdef as required if it is a password parameter, use code similar to the following:

Gets the isRequired value for this ParameterDefinition.

Boolean. True indicates that the parameter is required.

To set specific help text for the parameter definition paramdef if it is a required parameter, use code similar to the following:

Obsolete since BIRT iHub release 2.

Sets the auto suggest threshold for this ParameterDefinition. The auto suggest threshold determines the number of characters a user types in before they are given suggestions from auto suggest.

To always show the auto suggest dialog for the parameter definition paramdef, use code similar to the following:

Sets the cascadingParentName for this ParameterDefinition. This sets another parameter as this parameter’s parent.

To set the parent name of the parameter definition paramdef to "Clark", use code similar to the following:

Sets the columnName for this ParameterDefinition. Used for queries.

To set the parameter definition paramdef to access the ProductName column, use code similar to the following:

Sets the columnType for this ParameterDefinition. Used for queries.

To allow the parameter definition paramdef to interpret a column as untyped data, use code similar to the following:

Sets the control type of this ParameterDefinition.

To set the parameter definition paramdef to use a control list, use code similar to the following:

Sets the displayed name for this parameter.

To set the display name for the parameter definition paramdef to "Year", use code similar to the following:

Sets the dataType for this ParameterDefinition.

To set the parameter definition paramdef data type to date, use code similar to the following:

Sets the default value for this ParameterDefinition.

To set the default value of parameter definition paramdef to "2016", use code similar to the following:

When true, sets the default value for this ParameterDefinition to null. Sets the default value to no value in all other cases.

To set the default value of parameter definition paramdef to null, use code similar to the following:

Sets the name to display on the parameter page for this ParameterDefinition.

To set the displayed name of parameter definition paramdef to "Year", use code similar to the following:

Sets the group value for this ParameterDefinition.

To assign the parameter definition paramdef to the "Customer Details" parameter group, use code similar to the following:

Sets the helpText value for this ParameterDefinition.

To set specific help text for the parameter definition paramdef if it is a required parameter, use code similar to the following:

Sets this parameter as a dynamic filter parameter.

To enable the parameter definition paramdef to accept dynamic filter values, use code similar to the following:

Sets the parameter to hidden.

To hide a parameter defined by a parameter definition called paramdef, use code similar to the following:

Sets the parameter to accept multiple selected values.

To allow a parameter defined by a parameter definition called paramdef to accept multiple selected values, use code similar to the following:

Sets this parameter to treat its value as a password, which hides the input on the page and encrypts the value.

To set the parameter type accepted by the parameter definition paramdef to password, use code similar to the following:

Sets the parameter to required.

To make the parameter defined by the parameter definition paramdef mandatory, use code similar to the following:

Obsolete since BIRT iHub release 2.

Sets the name to use internally for this ParameterDefinition.

To set the internal name of the parameter definition paramdef to Year, use code similar to the following:

Sets the position value for this ParameterDefinition. The index indicates the position in the array of the ParameterDefinition.

To shift the parameter definition paramdef down on position in the parameter array, use code similar to the following:

Sets the selectNameValueList value for this ParameterDefinition.

To set the parameter definition paramdef to select the same name-value list as the parameter definition nparam, use code similar to the following:

Sets the selectValueList value for this ParameterDefinition.

To set the parameter definition paramdef to select the values 2007‑2009, use code similar to the following: