This annotation type is used to indicate that instances of the associated
class may not be altered after they have been created. Note that this may or
may not indicate strict immutability, as some classes marked with this
annotation type may have their internal state altered in some way that is not
externally visible. In addition, the following caveats must be observed for
classes containing this annotation type, and for all other classes in the
LDAP SDK:
-
If an array is provided as an argument to a constructor or a method, then
that array must not be referenced or altered by the caller at any time
after that point unless it is clearly noted that it is acceptable to do
so.
-
If an array is returned by a method, then the contents of that array must
not be altered unless it is clearly noted that it is acceptable to do so.
It will only be used for classes which are primarily used as data structures
and will not be included in classes whose primary purpose is something other
than as a data type. It will also not be used for interfaces, abstract
classes, or enums.
This annotation type will appear in the generated Javadoc documentation for
classes and interfaces that include it.