Reference (Apache Accumulo Core 2.1.0 API)

All Known Implementing Classes:

ReferenceDirectory, ReferenceFile
```
public interface Reference
```
A GC reference used for collecting files and directories into a single stream. The GC deals with two inputs conceptually: candidates and references. Candidates are files that could be possibly be deleted if they are not defeated by a reference.

Method Summary

All Methods Instance Methods Abstract Methods
Modifier and Type	Method	Description
`String`	`getMetadataEntry()`	Get the exact string stored in the metadata table for this file or directory.
`TableId`	`getTableId()`	Get the `TableId` of the reference.
`boolean`	`isDirectory()`	Only return true if the reference is a directory.

- Method Detail
  - isDirectory
```
boolean isDirectory()
```
    Only return true if the reference is a directory.
  - getTableId
```
TableId getTableId()
```
    Get the TableId of the reference.
  - getMetadataEntry
```
String getMetadataEntry()
```
    Get the exact string stored in the metadata table for this file or directory. A file will be read from the Tablet "file" column family: MetadataSchema.TabletsSection.DataFileColumnFamily A directory will be read from the "srv:dir" column family: MetadataSchema.TabletsSection.ServerColumnFamily