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/**
 * Interfaces used to model elements of the Java programming language.
 *
 * The term "element" in this package is used to refer to program
 * elements, the declared entities that make up a program.  Elements
 * include classes, interfaces, methods, constructors, and fields.
 * The interfaces in this package do not model the structure of a
 * program inside a method body; for example there is no
 * representation of a {@code for} loop or {@code try}-{@code finally}
 * block.  However, the interfaces can model some structures only
 * appearing inside method bodies, such as local variables and
 * anonymous classes.
 *
 * <p id="accurate_model">When used in the context of annotation
 * processing, an accurate model of the element being represented must
 * be returned.  As this is a language model, the source code provides
 * the fiducial (reference) representation of the construct in
 * question rather than a representation in an executable output like
 * a class file.  Executable output may serve as the basis for
 * creating a modeling element.  However, the process of translating
 * source code to executable output may not permit recovering some
 * aspects of the source code representation.  For example,
 * annotations with {@linkplain
 * java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy#SOURCE source} {@linkplain
 * java.lang.annotation.Retention retention} cannot be recovered from
 * class files and class files might not be able to provide source
 * position information.
 *
 * Names of {@linkplain
 * javax.lang.model.element.ExecutableElement#getParameters()
 * parameters} may not be recoverable from class files.
 *
 * The {@linkplain javax.lang.model.element.Modifier modifiers} on an
 * element created from a class file may differ in some cases from an
 * element for the same declaration created from a source file
 * including:
 *
 * <ul>
 * <li> {@code strictfp} on a class or interface
 * <li> {@code final} on a parameter
 * <li> {@code protected}, {@code private}, and {@code static} on
 *      classes and interfaces
 * </ul>
 *
 * Some elements which are {@linkplain
 * javax.lang.model.util.Elements.Origin#MANDATED mandated} may not be
 * marked as such when created from class files.
 *
 * Additionally, {@linkplain
 * javax.lang.model.util.Elements.Origin#SYNTHETIC synthetic}
 * constructs in a class file, such as accessor methods used in
 * implementing nested classes and {@linkplain
 * javax.lang.model.util.Elements#isBridge(ExecutableElement)
 * bridge methods} used in implementing covariant returns, are
 * translation artifacts strictly outside of this model. However, when
 * operating on class files, it is helpful be able to operate on such
 * elements, screening them out when appropriate.
 *
 * <p>During annotation processing, operating on incomplete or
 * erroneous programs is necessary; however, there are fewer
 * guarantees about the nature of the resulting model.  If the source
 * code is not syntactically well-formed or has some other
 * irrecoverable error that could not be removed by the generation of
 * new classes or interfaces, a model may or may not be provided as a
 * quality of implementation issue.  If a program for a class or
 * interface is syntactically valid but erroneous in some other
 * fashion, any returned model must have no less information than if
 * all the method bodies in the program were replaced by {@code "throw
 * new RuntimeException();"}.  If a program refers to a missing class
 * or interface Xyz, the returned model must contain no less
 * information than if the declaration of class or interface Xyz were
 * assumed to be {@code "class Xyz {}"}, {@code "interface Xyz {}"},
 * {@code "enum Xyz {}"}, {@code "@interface Xyz {}"}, or {@code
 * "record Xyz {}"}. If a program refers to a missing class or
 * interface {@code Xyz<K1, ... ,Kn>}, the returned model must contain
 * no less information than if the declaration of Xyz were assumed to
 * be {@code "class Xyz<T1, ... ,Tn> {}"} or {@code "interface Xyz<T1,
 * ... ,Tn> {}"}
 *
 * <p> Unless otherwise specified in a particular implementation, the
 * collections returned by methods in this package should be expected
 * to be unmodifiable by the caller and unsafe for concurrent access.
 *
 * <p> Unless otherwise specified, methods in this package will throw
 * a {@code NullPointerException} if given a {@code null} argument.
 *
 * @see javax.lang.model.util.Elements
 * @see javax.lang.model##elementsAndTypes Elements and Types
 * @see <a href="https://jcp.org/en/jsr/detail?id=269">
 * JSR 269: Pluggable Annotation Processing API</a>
 * @jls 6.1 Declarations
 * @jls 7.4 Package Declarations
 * @jls 7.7 Module Declarations
 * @jls 8.1 Class Declarations
 * @jls 8.3 Field Declarations
 * @jls 8.4 Method Declarations
 * @jls 8.5 Member Class and Interface Declarations
 * @jls 8.8 Constructor Declarations
 * @jls 9.1 Interface Declarations
 * @since 1.6
 */
package javax.lang.model.element;
