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Interface javax.speech.EngineProperties

Subinterfaces:

RecognizerProperties, SynthesizerProperties

public abstract interface EngineProperties

An EngineProperties object defines the set of run-time properties of an Engine. This interface is extended for each type of speech engine. SynthesizerProperties and RecognizerProperties define the additional run-time properties of synthesizers and recognizers respectively. The EngineProperties object for an Engine is obtained from the getEngineProperties method of the engine, and should be cast appropriately for the type of engine. For example:

    Synthesizer synth = ...;
    SynthesizerProperties props = (SynthesizerProperties)synth.getEngineProperties();
 

Each property of an engine has a set and get method. The method signatures follow the JavaBeans design patterns (outlined below).

The run-time properties of an engine affect the behavior of a running engine. Technically, properties affect engines in the ALLOCATED state. Normally, property changes are made on an ALLOCATED engine and take effect immediately or soon after the change call.

The EngineProperties object for an engine is, however, available in all states of an Engine. Changes made to the properties of engine in the DEALLOCATED or the ALLOCATING_RESOURCES state take effect when the engine next enters the ALLOCATED state. A typical scenario for setting the properties of a non-allocated is determining the initial state of the engine. For example, setting the initial voice of a Synthesizer, or the initial SpeakerProfile of a Recognizer. (Setting these properties prior to allocation is desirable because allocating the engine and then changing the voice or the speaker can be computationally expensive.)

When setting any engine property:

• The engine may choose to ignore a set value either because it does not support changes in a property or because it is out-of-range.
• The engine will apply the property change as soon as possible, but the change is not necessarily immediate. Thus, all set methods are asynchronous (call may return before the effect takes place).
• All properties of an engine are bound properties - JavaBeans terminology for a property for which an event is issued when the property changes. A PropertyChangeListener can be attached to the EngineProperties object to receive a property change event when a change takes effect.

For example, a call to the setPitch method of the SynthesizerProperties interface to change pitch from 120Hz to 200Hz might fail because the value is out-of-range. If it does succeed, the pitch change might be deferred until the synthesizer can make the change by waiting to the end of the current word, sentence, paragraph or text object. When the change does take effect, a PropertyChangeEvent is issued to all attached listeners with the name of the changed property ("Pitch"), the old value (120) and the new value (200).

Set calls take effect in the order in which they are received. If multiple changed are requested are requested for a single property, a separate event is issued for each call, even if the multiple changes take place simultaneously.

The properties of an engine are persistent across sessions where possible. It is the engine's responsibility to store and restore the property settings. In multi-user and client-server environments the store/restore policy is at the discretion of the engine.

Control Component

An engine may provide a control object through the getControlComponent method of its EngineProperties object. The control object is an AWT Component. If provided, that component can be displayed to a user for customization of the engine. Because the component is implemented by the engine, the display may support customization of engine-specific properties that are not accessible through the standard properties interfaces.

JavaBeans Properties

The JavaBeans property patterns are followed for engine properties. A property is defined by its name and its property type (for example, "Pitch" is a float). The property is accessed through get and set methods. The signature of the property accessor methods are:

       public void set<PropertyName>(<PropertyType> value);
       public <PropertyType> get<PropertyName>();
 

For boolean-valued properties, the get<PropertyName>() may also be is<PropertyName>()

For indexed properties (arrays) the signature of the property accessor methods are:

       public void set<PropertyName>(<PropertyType>[]; value);
       public void set<PropertyName>(int i, <PropertyType> value);
       public <PropertyType>[] get<PropertyName>();
       public <PropertyType> get<PropertyName>(int i);
 

For example speaking rate (for a Synthesizer) is a floating value and has the following methods:

       public void setSpeakingRate(float value);
       public float getSpeakingRate();
 

See Also:

Engine, getEngineProperties, RecognizerProperties, SynthesizerProperties, PropertyChangeListener, PropertyChangeEvent

Method Summary

void	addPropertyChangeListener(PropertyChangeListener listener) Add a PropertyChangeListener to the listener list.
Component	getControlComponent() Obtain the AWT Component that provides the default user interface for setting the properties of this Engine.
void	removePropertyChangeListener(PropertyChangeListener listener) Remove a PropertyChangeListener from the listener list.
void	reset() The reset method returns all properties to reasonable defaults for the Engine.

Method Detail

getControlComponent

public Component getControlComponent()

Obtain the AWT Component that provides the default user interface for setting the properties of this Engine. If this Engine has no default control panel, the return is null

reset

public void reset()

The reset method returns all properties to reasonable defaults for the Engine. A property change event is issued for each engine property that changes as the reset takes effect.

addPropertyChangeListener

public void addPropertyChangeListener(PropertyChangeListener listener)

Add a PropertyChangeListener to the listener list. The listener is registered for all properties of the engine..

A PropertyChangeEvent is fired in response to setting any bound property.

Parameters:

listener - - The PropertyChangeListener to be added

removePropertyChangeListener

public void removePropertyChangeListener(PropertyChangeListener listener)

Remove a PropertyChangeListener from the listener list.

Parameters:

listener - - The PropertyChangeListener to be removed