TAPConfiguration.java

package tap.config;

/*
 * This file is part of TAPLibrary.
 *
 * TAPLibrary is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
 * it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by
 * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
 * (at your option) any later version.
 *
 * TAPLibrary is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
 * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
 * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
 * GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
 *
 * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
 * along with TAPLibrary.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 *
 * Copyright 2015-2019 - UDS/Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS),
 *                       Astronomisches Rechen Institut (ARI)
 */

import java.lang.reflect.Constructor;
import java.lang.reflect.InvocationTargetException;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Properties;

import tap.ServiceConnection.LimitUnit;
import tap.TAPException;
import tap.TAPFactory;
import tap.backup.DefaultTAPBackupManager;

/**
 * Utility class gathering tool functions and properties' names useful to
 * deal with a TAP configuration file.
 *
 * <p><i>
 * 	This class implements the Design Pattern "Utility": no instance of this
 * 	class can be created, it can not be extended, and it must be used only
 * 	thanks to its static classes and attributes.
 * </i></p>
 *
 * @author Gr&eacute;gory Mantelet (CDS;ARI)
 * @version 2.3 (03/2019)
 * @since 2.0
 */
public final class TAPConfiguration {

	/** Name of the initial parameter to set in the WEB-INF/web.xml file
	 * in order to specify the location and the name of the TAP configuration file to load. */
	public final static String TAP_CONF_PARAMETER = "tapconf";
	/** Default TAP configuration file. This file is research automatically
	 * if none is specified in the WEB-INF/web.xml initial parameter {@value #TAP_CONF_PARAMETER}. */
	public final static String DEFAULT_TAP_CONF_FILE = "tap.properties";

	/* FILE MANAGER KEYS */
	/** Name/Key of the property setting the file manager to use in the TAP service. */
	public final static String KEY_FILE_MANAGER = "file_manager";
	/** Value of the property {@link #KEY_FILE_MANAGER} specifying a local file manager. */
	public final static String VALUE_LOCAL = "local";
	/** Default value of the property {@link #KEY_FILE_MANAGER}: {@value #DEFAULT_FILE_MANAGER}. */
	public final static String DEFAULT_FILE_MANAGER = VALUE_LOCAL;
	/** Name/Key of the property setting the local root directory where all TAP files must be stored.
	 * <em>This property is used only if {@link #KEY_FILE_MANAGER} is set to {@link #VALUE_LOCAL}.</em> */
	public final static String KEY_FILE_ROOT_PATH = "file_root_path";
	/** Name/Key of the property indicating whether the jobs must be saved by user or not.
	 * If yes, there will be one directory per user. Otherwise, all jobs are backuped in the same directory
	 * (generally {@link #KEY_FILE_ROOT_PATH}). */
	public final static String KEY_DIRECTORY_PER_USER = "directory_per_user";
	/** Default value of the property {@link #KEY_DIRECTORY_PER_USER}: {@value #DEFAULT_DIRECTORY_PER_USER}. */
	public final static boolean DEFAULT_DIRECTORY_PER_USER = false;
	/** Name/Key of the property indicating whether the user directories (in which jobs of the user are backuped)
	 * must be gathered in less directories. If yes, the groups are generally made using the alphabetic order.
	 * The idea is to reduce the number of apparent directories and to easier the research of a user directory. */
	public final static String KEY_GROUP_USER_DIRECTORIES = "group_user_directories";
	/** Default value of the property {@link #KEY_GROUP_USER_DIRECTORIES}: {@value #DEFAULT_GROUP_USER_DIRECTORIES}. */
	public final static boolean DEFAULT_GROUP_USER_DIRECTORIES = false;
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the default period (in seconds) while a job must remain on the server.
	 * This value is set automatically to any job whose the retention period has never been specified by the user. */
	public final static String KEY_DEFAULT_RETENTION_PERIOD = "default_retention_period";
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the maximum period (in seconds) while a job can remain on the server. */
	public final static String KEY_MAX_RETENTION_PERIOD = "max_retention_period";
	/** Default value of the properties {@link #KEY_DEFAULT_RETENTION_PERIOD} and {@link #KEY_MAX_RETENTION_PERIOD}:
	 * {@value #DEFAULT_RETENTION_PERIOD}. */
	public final static int DEFAULT_RETENTION_PERIOD = 0;

	/* LOG KEYS */
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the logger to use.
	 * By default, {@link tap.log.DefaultTAPLog} is used. */
	public final static String KEY_LOGGER = "logger";
	/** Default value of the property {@link #KEY_LOGGER}:
	 * {@value #DEFAULT_LOGGER}. */
	public final static String DEFAULT_LOGGER = "default";
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the minimum type of messages
	 * (i.e. DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR, FATAL) that must be logged by the
	 * <strong>default logger</strong>.
	 * <p>By default all messages are logged...which is equivalent to set this
	 * property to "DEBUG".</p>
	 * <p><i><b>Note:</b> If {@link #KEY_LOGGER} is set to a value different
	 * from {@value #DEFAULT_LOGGER}, this property is ignored.</i></p> */
	public final static String KEY_MIN_LOG_LEVEL = "min_log_level";
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the frequency of the log file
	 * rotation to set in the <strong>default logger</strong>.
	 * <p>By default the log rotation occurs every day at midnight.</p>
	 * <p><i><b>Note:</b> If {@link #KEY_LOGGER} is set to a value different
	 * from {@value #DEFAULT_LOGGER}, this property is ignored.</i></p> */
	public final static String KEY_LOG_ROTATION = "log_rotation";
	/** SLF4J logger value: {@value #SLF4J_LOGGER}.
	 * @since 2.3 */
	public final static String SLF4J_LOGGER = "slf4j";

	/* UWS BACKUP */
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the frequency (in milliseconds) of jobs backup.
	 * This property accepts three types of value: "never" (default), "user_action" (the backup of a job is done when
	 * it is modified), or a numeric positive value (expressed in milliseconds). */
	public final static String KEY_BACKUP_FREQUENCY = "backup_frequency";
	/** Value of the property {@link #KEY_BACKUP_FREQUENCY} indicating that jobs should never be backuped. */
	public final static String VALUE_NEVER = "never";
	/** Value of the property {@link #KEY_BACKUP_FREQUENCY} indicating that job backup should occur only when the user
	 * creates or modifies one of his jobs. This value can be used ONLY IF {@link #KEY_BACKUP_BY_USER} is "true". */
	public final static String VALUE_USER_ACTION = "user_action";
	/** Default value of the property {@link #KEY_BACKUP_FREQUENCY}: {@link #DEFAULT_BACKUP_FREQUENCY}. */
	public final static long DEFAULT_BACKUP_FREQUENCY = DefaultTAPBackupManager.MANUAL;	// = "never" => no UWS backup manager
	/** Name/Key of the property indicating whether there should be one backup file per user or one file for all. */
	public final static String KEY_BACKUP_BY_USER = "backup_by_user";
	/** Default value of the property {@link #KEY_BACKUP_BY_USER}: {@value #DEFAULT_BACKUP_BY_USER}.
	 * This property can be enabled only if a user identification method is provided. */
	public final static boolean DEFAULT_BACKUP_BY_USER = false;

	/* ASYNCHRONOUS JOBS */
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the maximum number of asynchronous jobs that can run simultaneously.
	 * A negative or null value means "no limit". */
	public final static String KEY_MAX_ASYNC_JOBS = "max_async_jobs";
	/** Default value of the property {@link #KEY_MAX_ASYNC_JOBS}: {@value #DEFAULT_MAX_ASYNC_JOBS}. */
	public final static int DEFAULT_MAX_ASYNC_JOBS = 0;

	/* EXECUTION DURATION */
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the default execution duration (in milliseconds) set automatically to a job
	 * if none has been specified by the user. */
	public final static String KEY_DEFAULT_EXECUTION_DURATION = "default_execution_duration";
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the maximum execution duration (in milliseconds) that can be set on a job. */
	public final static String KEY_MAX_EXECUTION_DURATION = "max_execution_duration";
	/** Default value of the property {@link #KEY_DEFAULT_EXECUTION_DURATION} and {@link #KEY_MAX_EXECUTION_DURATION}: {@value #DEFAULT_EXECUTION_DURATION}. */
	public final static int DEFAULT_EXECUTION_DURATION = 0;

	/* DATABASE KEYS */
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the database access method to use. */
	public final static String KEY_DATABASE_ACCESS = "database_access";
	/** Value of the property {@link #KEY_DATABASE_ACCESS} to select the simple JDBC method.  */
	public final static String VALUE_JDBC = "jdbc";
	/** Value of the property {@link #KEY_DATABASE_ACCESS} to access the database using a DataSource stored in JNDI.  */
	public final static String VALUE_JNDI = "jndi";
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the ADQL to SQL translator to use. */
	public final static String KEY_SQL_TRANSLATOR = "sql_translator";
	/** Value of the property {@link #KEY_SQL_TRANSLATOR} to select a PostgreSQL translator (no support for geometrical functions). */
	public final static String VALUE_POSTGRESQL = "postgres";
	/** Value of the property {@link #KEY_SQL_TRANSLATOR} to select a PgSphere translator. */
	public final static String VALUE_PGSPHERE = "pgsphere";
	/** Value of the property {@link #KEY_SQL_TRANSLATOR} to select an SQLServer translator.
	 * @since 2.1 */
	public final static String VALUE_SQLSERVER = "sqlserver";
	/** Value of the property {@link #KEY_SQL_TRANSLATOR} to select a MySQL translator.
	 * @since 2.1 */
	public final static String VALUE_MYSQL = "mysql";
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying by how many rows the library should fetch a query result from the database.
	 * This is the fetch size for to apply for synchronous queries. */
	public final static String KEY_SYNC_FETCH_SIZE = "sync_fetch_size";
	/** Default value of the property {@link #KEY_SYNC_FETCH_SIZE}: {@value #DEFAULT_SYNC_FETCH_SIZE}. */
	public final static int DEFAULT_SYNC_FETCH_SIZE = 1000;
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying by how many rows the library should fetch a query result from the database.
	 * This is the fetch size for to apply for asynchronous queries. */
	public final static String KEY_ASYNC_FETCH_SIZE = "async_fetch_size";
	/** Default value of the property {@link #KEY_ASYNC_FETCH_SIZE}: {@value #DEFAULT_ASYNC_FETCH_SIZE}. */
	public final static int DEFAULT_ASYNC_FETCH_SIZE = 10000;
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying whether the fixOnFail option is
	 * enabled or not. This option lets automatically fix the input ADQL query
	 * if its tokenization fails.
	 * @since 2.3  */
	public final static String KEY_FIX_ON_FAIL = "fix_on_fail";
	/** Default value of the property {@link #KEY_FIX_ON_FAIL}:
	 * {@value #DEFAULT_FIX_ON_FAIL}.
	 * @since 2.3  */
	public final static boolean DEFAULT_FIX_ON_FAIL = false;
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the name of the DataSource into the JDNI. */
	public final static String KEY_DATASOURCE_JNDI_NAME = "datasource_jndi_name";
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the full class name of the JDBC driver.
	 * Alternatively, a shortcut the most known JDBC drivers can be used. The list of these drivers is stored
	 * in {@link #VALUE_JDBC_DRIVERS}. */
	public final static String KEY_JDBC_DRIVER = "jdbc_driver";
	/** List of the most known JDBC drivers. For the moment this list contains 4 drivers:
	 * oracle ("oracle.jdbc.OracleDriver"), postgresql ("org.postgresql.Driver"), mysql ("com.mysql.jdbc.Driver"),
	 * sqlite ("org.sqlite.JDBC") and h2 ("org.h2.Driver"). */
	public final static HashMap<String, String> VALUE_JDBC_DRIVERS = new HashMap<String, String>(4);
	static{
		VALUE_JDBC_DRIVERS.put("oracle", "oracle.jdbc.OracleDriver");
		VALUE_JDBC_DRIVERS.put("postgresql", "org.postgresql.Driver");
		VALUE_JDBC_DRIVERS.put("mysql", "com.mysql.jdbc.Driver");
		VALUE_JDBC_DRIVERS.put("sqlite", "org.sqlite.JDBC");
		VALUE_JDBC_DRIVERS.put("h2", "org.h2.Driver");
	}
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the JDBC URL of the database to access. */
	public final static String KEY_JDBC_URL = "jdbc_url";
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the database user name to use to access the database. */
	public final static String KEY_DB_USERNAME = "db_username";
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the password of the database user. */
	public final static String KEY_DB_PASSWORD = "db_password";

	/* METADATA KEYS */
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying where the list of schemas, tables and columns and their respective metadata
	 * is provided. */
	public final static String KEY_METADATA = "metadata";
	/** Value of the property {@link #KEY_METADATA} which indicates that metadata are provided in an XML file, whose the
	 * local path is given by the property {@link #KEY_METADATA_FILE}. */
	public final static String VALUE_XML = "xml";
	/** Value of the property {@link #KEY_METADATA} which indicates that metadata are already in the TAP_SCHEMA of the database. */
	public final static String VALUE_DB = "db";
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the local file path of the XML file containing the TAP metadata to load. */
	public final static String KEY_METADATA_FILE = "metadata_file";

	/* DATALINK KEY */
	/** Name/Key of the property providing the API for the Datalink capability.
	 * @since 2.3 */
	public final static String KEY_DATALINK = "datalink";

	/* HOME PAGE KEY */
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the TAP home page to use.
	 * It can be a file, a URL or a class. If null, the default TAP home page of the library is used.
	 * By default the default library home page is used. */
	public final static String KEY_HOME_PAGE = "home_page";
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the MIME type of the set home page.
	 * By default, "text/html" is set. */
	public final static String KEY_HOME_PAGE_MIME_TYPE = "home_page_mime_type";

	/* EXAMPLES KEY */
	/** <p>Name/Key of the property specifying the content of the <code>/examples</code> endpoint.
	 * It can be a file or a URL. If null, the TAP service will not have any
	 * <code>/examples</code> endpoint (which is optional in the TAP 1.1 standard.</p>
	 * <p><i>Note: The specified content must be an XHTML+RDFa document whose the expected syntax is
	 * defined either by TAPNotes 1.0 or DALI 1.0.</i></p>
	 * @since 2.1 */
	public final static String KEY_EXAMPLES = "examples";

	/* PROVIDER KEYS */
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the name of the organization/person providing the TAP service. */
	public final static String KEY_PROVIDER_NAME = "provider_name";
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the description of the TAP service. */
	public final static String KEY_SERVICE_DESCRIPTION = "service_description";

	/* UPLOAD KEYS */
	/** Name/Key of the property indicating whether the UPLOAD feature must be
	 * enabled or not. By default, this feature is disabled. */
	public final static String KEY_UPLOAD_ENABLED = "upload_enabled";
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the default limit (in rows or bytes)
	 * on the uploaded VOTable(s).
	 * @deprecated	Since 2.3, use the property {@value #KEY_MAX_UPLOAD_LIMIT}
	 *            	instead. */
	@Deprecated
	public final static String KEY_DEFAULT_UPLOAD_LIMIT = "upload_default_db_limit";
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the maximum limit (in rows or bytes)
	 * on the uploaded VOTable(s). */
	public final static String KEY_MAX_UPLOAD_LIMIT = "upload_max_db_limit";
	/** Default value of the property {@value #KEY_MAX_UPLOAD_LIMIT} =
	 * {@value #DEFAULT_MAX_UPLOAD_LIMIT}.
	 * @since 2.3 */
	public final static String DEFAULT_MAX_UPLOAD_LIMIT = "1000000r";
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the maximum size of all VOTable(s)
	 * uploaded in a query.
	 * @deprecated	Since 2.3, use the property {@value #KEY_MAX_UPLOAD_LIMIT}
	 *            	and {@value #KEY_MAX_REQUEST_LIMIT} instead. */
	@Deprecated
	public final static String KEY_UPLOAD_MAX_FILE_SIZE = "upload_max_file_size";
	/** Default value of the property {@value #KEY_UPLOAD_MAX_FILE_SIZE} =
	 * {@value #DEFAULT_UPLOAD_MAX_FILE_SIZE}.
	 * @deprecated	Since 2.3, use the property {@value #KEY_MAX_UPLOAD_LIMIT}
	 *            	and {@value #KEY_MAX_REQUEST_LIMIT} instead. */
	@Deprecated
	public final static int DEFAULT_UPLOAD_MAX_FILE_SIZE = Integer.MAX_VALUE;
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the maximum size of a whole HTTP
	 * Multipart Request.
	 * @since 2.3 */
	public final static String KEY_UPLOAD_MAX_REQUEST_SIZE = "upload_max_request_size";
	/** Default value of the property {@value #KEY_UPLOAD_MAX_REQUEST_SIZE} =
	 * {@value #DEFAULT_UPLOAD_MAX_REQUEST_SIZE}.
	 * @since 2.3 */
	public final static int DEFAULT_UPLOAD_MAX_REQUEST_SIZE = 250 * 1024 * 1024;

	/* OUTPUT KEYS */
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the list of all result output formats to support.
	 * By default all formats provided by the library are allowed. */
	public final static String KEY_OUTPUT_FORMATS = "output_formats";
	/** Value of the property {@link #KEY_OUTPUT_FORMATS} which select all formats that the library can provide. */
	public final static String VALUE_ALL = "ALL";
	/** Value of the property {@link #KEY_OUTPUT_FORMATS} which select a VOTable format.
	 * The format can be parameterized with the VOTable version and serialization. */
	public final static String VALUE_VOTABLE = "votable";
	/** Value of the property {@link #KEY_OUTPUT_FORMATS} which select a VOTable format.
	 * The format can be parameterized with the VOTable version and serialization.
	 * <em>This value is just an alias of {@link #VALUE_VOTABLE}.</em> */
	public final static String VALUE_VOT = "vot";
	/** Value of the property {@link #KEY_OUTPUT_FORMATS} which select a FITS format. */
	public final static String VALUE_FITS = "fits";
	/** Value of the property {@link #KEY_OUTPUT_FORMATS} which select a JSON format. */
	public final static String VALUE_JSON = "json";
	/** Value of the property {@link #KEY_OUTPUT_FORMATS} which select an HTML format. */
	public final static String VALUE_HTML = "html";
	/** Value of the property {@link #KEY_OUTPUT_FORMATS} which select a human-readable table. */
	public final static String VALUE_TEXT = "text";
	/** Value of the property {@link #KEY_OUTPUT_FORMATS} which select a CSV format. */
	public final static String VALUE_CSV = "csv";
	/** Value of the property {@link #KEY_OUTPUT_FORMATS} which select a TSV format. */
	public final static String VALUE_TSV = "tsv";
	/** Value of the property {@link #KEY_OUTPUT_FORMATS} which select a Separated-Value format.
	 * <em>This value must be parameterized with the separator to use.</em> */
	public final static String VALUE_SV = "sv";
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the number of result rows that should be returned if none is specified by the user. */
	public final static String KEY_DEFAULT_OUTPUT_LIMIT = "output_default_limit";
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the maximum number of result rows that can be returned by the TAP service. */
	public final static String KEY_MAX_OUTPUT_LIMIT = "output_max_limit";

	/* USER IDENTIFICATION */
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the user identification method to use.
	 * None is implemented by the library, so a class must be provided as value of this property. */
	public final static String KEY_USER_IDENTIFIER = "user_identifier";

	/* ADQL RESTRICTIONS */
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the list of all allowed coordinate systems that can be used in ADQL queries.
	 * By default, all are allowed, but no conversion is done by the library. */
	public final static String KEY_COORD_SYS = "coordinate_systems";
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the list of all ADQL geometrical function that can be used in ADQL queries.
	 * By default, all are allowed. */
	public final static String KEY_GEOMETRIES = "geometries";
	/** Value of {@link #KEY_COORD_SYS} and {@link #KEY_GEOMETRIES} that forbid all possible values. */
	public final static String VALUE_NONE = "NONE";
	/** Name/Key of the property that lets declare all User Defined Functions that must be allowed in ADQL queries.
	 * By default, all unknown functions are rejected. This default behavior can be totally reversed by using the
	 * value {@link #VALUE_ANY} */
	public final static String KEY_UDFS = "udfs";
	/** Value of {@link #KEY_UDFS} allowing any unknown function in ADQL queries. Those functions will be considered as UDFs
	 * and will be translated into SQL exactly as they are written in ADQL. */
	public final static String VALUE_ANY = "ANY";

	/* ADDITIONAL TAP RESOURCES */
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the XSLT stylesheet to use for /capabilities. */
	public final static String KEY_CAPABILITIES_STYLESHEET = "capabilities_stylesheet";
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the XSLT stylesheet to use for /tables. */
	public final static String KEY_TABLES_STYLESHEET = "tables_stylesheet";
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying a list of resources to add to the TAP service (e.g. a ADQL query validator).
	 * By default, this list if empty ; only the default TAP resources exist. */
	public final static String KEY_ADD_TAP_RESOURCES = "additional_resources";

	/* CUSTOM FACTORY */
	/** Name/Key of the property specifying the {@link TAPFactory} class to use instead of the default {@link ConfigurableTAPFactory}.
	 * <em>Setting a value to this property could disable several properties of the TAP configuration file.</em> */
	public final static String KEY_TAP_FACTORY = "tap_factory";

	/** No instance of this class should be created. */
	private TAPConfiguration(){
	}

	/**
	 * <p>Read the asked property from the given Properties object.</p>
	 * <ul>
	 * 	<li>The returned property value is trimmed (no space at the beginning and at the end of the string).</li>
	 * 	<li>If the value is empty (length=0), NULL is returned.</li>
	 * </ul>
	 *
	 * @param prop	List of property
	 * @param key	Property whose the value is requested.
	 *
	 * @return		Return property value.
	 */
	public final static String getProperty(final Properties prop, final String key){
		if (prop == null)
			return null;

		String value = prop.getProperty(key);
		if (value != null){
			value = value.trim();
			return (value.length() == 0) ? null : value;
		}

		return value;
	}

	/**
	 * Test whether a property value is a class name.
	 * Expected syntax: a non-empty string surrounded by brackets ('{' and '}').
	 *
	 * Note: The class name itself is not checked!
	 *
	 * @param value	Property value.
	 *
	 * @return <i>true</i> if the given value is formatted as a class name, <i>false</i> otherwise.
	 */
	public final static boolean isClassName(final String value){
		return (value != null && value.length() > 2 && value.charAt(0) == '{' && value.charAt(value.length() - 1) == '}');
	}

	/**
	 * Fetch the class object corresponding to the class name provided between brackets in the given value.
	 *
	 * @param value			Value which is supposed to contain the class name between brackets (see {@link #isClassName(String)} for more details)
	 * @param propertyName	Name of the property associated with the parameter "value".
	 * @param expectedType	Type of the class expected to be returned ; it is also the type which parameterizes this function: C.
	 *
	 * @return	The corresponding Class object.
	 *
	 * @throws TAPException	If the class name is incorrect
	 *                     	or if its type is not compatible with the parameterized type C (represented by the parameter "expectedType").
	 *
	 * @see #isClassName(String)
	 */
	@SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
	public final static <C> Class<? extends C> fetchClass(final String value, final String propertyName, final Class<C> expectedType) throws TAPException{
		if (!isClassName(value))
			return null;

		String classPath = value.substring(1, value.length() - 1).trim();
		if (classPath.isEmpty())
			return null;

		try{
			Class<? extends C> classObject = (Class<? extends C>)Class.forName(classPath);
			if (!expectedType.isAssignableFrom(classObject))
				throw new TAPException("The class specified by the property \"" + propertyName + "\" (" + value + ") is not implementing " + expectedType.getName() + ".");
			else
				return classObject;
		}catch(ClassNotFoundException cnfe){
			throw new TAPException("The class specified by the property \"" + propertyName + "\" (" + value + ") can not be found.");
		}catch(ClassCastException cce){
			throw new TAPException("The class specified by the property \"" + propertyName + "\" (" + value + ") is not implementing " + expectedType.getName() + ".");
		}
	}

	/**
	 * Test whether the specified class has a constructor with the specified parameters.
	 *
	 * @param propValue		Value which is supposed to contain the class name between brackets (see {@link #isClassName(String)} for more details)
	 * @param propName		Name of the property associated with the parameter "propValue".
	 * @param expectedType	Type of the class expected to be returned ; it is also the type which parameterizes this function: C.
	 * @param pTypes		List of each constructor parameter type. Each type MUST be exactly the type declared in the class constructor to select. <i>NULL or empty array if no parameter.</i>
	 *
	 * @return	<code>true</code> if the specified class has a constructor with the specified parameters,
	 *        	<code>false</code> otherwise.
	 *
	 * @throws TAPException	If the class name is incorrect
	 *                     	or if its type is not compatible with the parameterized type C (represented by the parameter "expectedType").
	 *
	 * @since 2.1
	 */
	public final static <C> boolean hasConstructor(final String propValue, final String propName, final Class<C> expectedType, final Class<?>[] pTypes) throws TAPException{
		// Ensure the given name is a class name specification:
		if (!isClassName(propValue))
			throw new TAPException("Class name expected for the property \"" + propName + "\" instead of: \"" + propValue + "\"! The specified class must extend/implement " + expectedType.getName() + ".");

		// Fetch the class object:
		Class<? extends C> classObj = fetchClass(propValue, propName, expectedType);
		try{

			// Get a constructor matching the given parameters list:
			classObj.getConstructor((pTypes == null) ? new Class<?>[0] : pTypes);

			return true;

		}catch(Exception e){
			return false;
		}
	}

	/**
	 * <p>Create an instance of the specified class. The class name is expected to be surrounded by {} in the given value.</p>
	 *
	 * <p>The instance is created using the empty constructor of the specified class.</p>
	 *
	 * @param propValue		Value which is supposed to contain the class name between brackets (see {@link #isClassName(String)} for more details)
	 * @param propName		Name of the property associated with the parameter "propValue".
	 * @param expectedType	Type of the class expected to be returned ; it is also the type which parameterizes this function: C.
	 *
	 * @return	The corresponding instance.
	 *
	 * @throws TAPException	If the class name is incorrect
	 *                     	or if its type is not compatible with the parameterized type C (represented by the parameter "expectedType")
	 *                     	or if the specified class has no empty constructor
	 *                     	or if an error occurred while calling this constructor.
	 *
	 * @see #isClassName(String)
	 * @see #fetchClass(String, String, Class)
	 */
	public final static <C> C newInstance(final String propValue, final String propName, final Class<C> expectedType) throws TAPException{
		return newInstance(propValue, propName, expectedType, null, null);
	}

	/**
	 * <p>Create an instance of the specified class. The class name is expected to be surrounded by {} in the given value.</p>
	 *
	 * <p><b>IMPORTANT:</b>
	 * 	The instance is created using the constructor whose the declaration matches exactly with the given list of parameter types.
	 * 	The number and types of given parameters MUST match exactly to the list of parameter types.
	 * </p>
	 *
	 * @param propValue		Value which is supposed to contain the class name between brackets (see {@link #isClassName(String)} for more details)
	 * @param propName		Name of the property associated with the parameter "propValue".
	 * @param expectedType	Type of the class expected to be returned ; it is also the type which parameterizes this function: C.
	 * @param pTypes		List of each constructor parameter type. Each type MUST be exactly the type declared in the class constructor to select. <i>NULL or empty array if no parameter.</i>
	 * @param parameters	List of all constructor parameters. The number of object MUST match exactly the number of classes provided in the parameter pTypes. <i>NULL or empty array if no parameter.</i>
	 *
	 * @return	The corresponding instance.
	 *
	 * @throws TAPException	If the class name is incorrect
	 *                     	or if its type is not compatible with the parameterized type C (represented by the parameter "expectedType")
	 *                     	or if the constructor with the specified parameters can not be found
	 *                     	or if an error occurred while calling this constructor.
	 *
	 * @see #isClassName(String)
	 * @see #fetchClass(String, String, Class)
	 */
	public final static <C> C newInstance(final String propValue, final String propName, final Class<C> expectedType, final Class<?>[] pTypes, final Object[] parameters) throws TAPException{
		// Ensure the given name is a class name specification:
		if (!isClassName(propValue))
			throw new TAPException("Class name expected for the property \"" + propName + "\" instead of: \"" + propValue + "\"! The specified class must extend/implement " + expectedType.getName() + ".");

		Class<? extends C> classObj = null;
		try{

			// Fetch the class object:
			classObj = fetchClass(propValue, propName, expectedType);

			// Get a constructor matching the given parameters list:
			Constructor<? extends C> constructor = classObj.getConstructor((pTypes == null) ? new Class<?>[0] : pTypes);

			// Finally create a new instance:
			return constructor.newInstance((parameters == null) ? new Object[0] : parameters);

		}catch(NoSuchMethodException e){
			// List parameters' type:
			StringBuffer pTypesStr = new StringBuffer();
			if (pTypes != null){
				for(int i = 0; i < pTypes.length; i++){
					if (pTypesStr.length() > 0)
						pTypesStr.append(", ");
					if (pTypes[i] == null)
						pTypesStr.append("NULL");
					pTypesStr.append(pTypes[i].getName());
				}
			}
			// Throw the error:
			throw new TAPException("Missing constructor " + classObj.getName() + "(" + pTypesStr.toString() + ")! See the value \"" + propValue + "\" of the property \"" + propName + "\".");
		}catch(InstantiationException ie){
			throw new TAPException("Impossible to create an instance of an abstract class: \"" + classObj.getName() + "\"! See the value \"" + propValue + "\" of the property \"" + propName + "\".");
		}catch(InvocationTargetException ite){
			if (ite.getCause() != null){
				if (ite.getCause() instanceof TAPException)
					throw (TAPException)ite.getCause();
				else
					throw new TAPException(ite.getCause());
			}else
				throw new TAPException(ite);
		}catch(TAPException te){
			throw te;
		}catch(Exception ex){
			throw new TAPException("Impossible to create an instance of " + expectedType.getName() + " as specified in the property \"" + propName + "\": \"" + propValue + "\"!", ex);
		}
	}

	/**
	 * Lets parsing a limit (for output, upload, ...) with its numeric value
	 * and its unit.
	 *
	 * <p>
	 * 	Here is the expected syntax: num_val[unit].
	 * 	Where unit is optional and should be one of the following values:
	 * 	r or R, B, kB, MB, GB. If the unit is not specified, it is set by
	 * 	default to ROWS.
	 * </p>
	 *
	 * <p><i>Note:
	 * 	If the value is strictly less than 0 (whatever is the unit), the
	 * 	returned value will be -1.
	 * </i></p>
	 *
	 * @param value				Property value (must follow the limit syntax:
	 *             				num_val[unit] ; ex: 20kB or 2000
	 *             				(for 2000 rows)).
	 * @param propertyName		Name of the property which specify the limit.
	 * @param areBytesAllowed	Tells whether the unit BYTES is allowed. If not
	 *                       	and a BYTES unit is encountered, then an
	 *                       	exception is thrown.
	 *
	 * @return	An array with always 2 items:
	 *        	[0]=numeric value (of type Integer),
	 *        	[1]=unit (of type {@link LimitUnit}).
	 *
	 * @throws TAPException	If the syntax is incorrect
	 *                     	or if a not allowed unit has been used.
	 *
	 * @see #parseLimit(String, String, boolean, boolean)
	 */
	public final static Object[] parseLimit(String value, final String propertyName, final boolean areBytesAllowed) throws TAPException{
		return parseLimit(value, propertyName, areBytesAllowed, false);
	}

	/**
	 * Lets parsing a limit (for output, upload, ...) with its numeric value
	 * and its unit.
	 *
	 * <p>
	 * 	Here is the expected syntax: num_val[unit].
	 * 	Where unit is optional and should be one of the following values:
	 * 	r or R, B, kB, MB, GB. If the unit is not specified, it is set by
	 * 	default to ROWS.
	 * </p>
	 *
	 * <p><i>Note:
	 * 	If the value is strictly less than 0 (whatever is the unit), the
	 * 	returned value will be -1.
	 * </i></p>
	 *
	 * @param value				Property value (must follow the limit syntax:
	 *             				num_val[unit] ; ex: 20kB or 2000
	 *             				(for 2000 rows)).
	 * @param propertyName		Name of the property which specify the limit.
	 * @param areBytesAllowed	Tells whether the unit BYTES is allowed. If not
	 *                       	and a BYTES unit is encountered, then an
	 *                       	exception is thrown.
	 * @param longValue			<code>true</code> to get the limit as a long,
	 *                 			<code>false</code> to get it as an int.
	 *
	 * @return	An array with always 2 items:
	 *        	[0]=numeric value (of type Integer or Long in function of the
	 *        	    parameter longValue),
	 *        	[1]=unit (of type {@link LimitUnit}).
	 *
	 * @throws TAPException	If the syntax is incorrect
	 *                     	or if a not allowed unit has been used.
	 *
	 * @since 2.3
	 */
	public final static Object[] parseLimit(String value, final String propertyName, final boolean areBytesAllowed, final boolean longValue) throws TAPException{
		// Remove any whitespace inside or outside the numeric value and its unit:
		if (value != null)
			value = value.replaceAll("\\s", "");

		// If empty value, return an infinite limit:
		if (value == null || value.length() == 0)
			return (longValue ? new Object[]{ new Long(-1L), LimitUnit.rows } : new Object[]{ new Integer(-1), LimitUnit.rows });

		// A. Parse the string from the end in order to extract the unit part.
		//    The final step of the loop is the extraction of the numeric value, when the first digit is encountered.
		long numValue = -1;
		LimitUnit unit;
		StringBuffer buf = new StringBuffer();
		for(int i = value.length() - 1; i >= 0; i--){
			// if a digit, extract the numeric value:
			if (value.charAt(i) >= '0' && value.charAt(i) <= '9'){
				try{
					numValue = Long.parseLong(value.substring(0, i + 1));
					break;
				}catch(NumberFormatException nfe){
					throw new TAPException("Integer expected for the property " + propertyName + " for the substring \"" + value.substring(0, i + 1) + "\" of the whole value: \"" + value + "\"!");
				}
			}
			// if a character, store it for later processing:
			else
				buf.append(value.charAt(i));

		}

		// B. Parse the unit.
		// if no unit, set ROWS by default:
		if (buf.length() == 0)
			unit = LimitUnit.rows;
		// if the unit is too long, throw an exception:
		else if (buf.length() > 2)
			throw new TAPException("Unknown limit unit (" + buf.reverse().toString() + ") for the property " + propertyName + ": \"" + value + "\"!");
		// try to identify the unit:
		else{
			// the base unit: bytes or rows
			switch(buf.charAt(0)){
				case 'B':
					if (!areBytesAllowed)
						throw new TAPException("BYTES unit is not allowed for the property " + propertyName + " (" + value + ")!");
					unit = LimitUnit.bytes;
					break;
				case 'r':
				case 'R':
					unit = LimitUnit.rows;
					break;
				default:
					throw new TAPException("Unknown limit unit (" + buf.reverse().toString() + ") for the property " + propertyName + ": \"" + value + "\"!");
			}
			// the 10-power of the base unit, if any:
			if (buf.length() > 1){
				if (unit == LimitUnit.bytes){
					switch(buf.charAt(1)){
						case 'k':
							unit = LimitUnit.kilobytes;
							break;
						case 'M':
							unit = LimitUnit.megabytes;
							break;
						case 'G':
							unit = LimitUnit.gigabytes;
							break;
						default:
							throw new TAPException("Unknown limit unit (" + buf.reverse().toString() + ") for the property " + propertyName + ": \"" + value + "\"!");
					}
				}else
					throw new TAPException("Unknown limit unit (" + buf.reverse().toString() + ") for the property " + propertyName + ": \"" + value + "\"!");
			}
		}

		if (numValue < 0)
			return (longValue ? new Object[]{ new Long(-1L), unit } : new Object[]{ new Integer(-1), unit });
		else
			return (longValue ? new Object[]{ new Long(numValue), unit } : new Object[]{ new Integer((int)numValue), unit });
	}

}