Class MetaMessage

java.lang.Object
javax.sound.midi.MidiMessage
javax.sound.midi.MetaMessage
All Implemented Interfaces:
Cloneable

public class MetaMessage extends MidiMessage
A MetaMessage is a MidiMessage that is not meaningful to synthesizers, but that can be stored in a MIDI file and interpreted by a sequencer program. (See the discussion in the MidiMessage class description.) The Standard MIDI Files specification defines various types of meta-events, such as sequence number, lyric, cue point, and set tempo. There are also meta-events for such information as lyrics, copyrights, tempo indications, time and key signatures, markers, etc. For more information, see the Standard MIDI Files 1.0 specification, which is part of the Complete MIDI 1.0 Detailed Specification published by the MIDI Manufacturer's Association (http://www.midi.org).

When data is being transported using MIDI wire protocol, a ShortMessage with the status value 0xFF represents a system reset message. In MIDI files, this same status value denotes a MetaMessage. The types of meta-message are distinguished from each other by the first byte that follows the status byte 0xFF. The subsequent bytes are data bytes. As with system exclusive messages, there are an arbitrary number of data bytes, depending on the type of MetaMessage.

See Also:
  • Field Summary

    Fields
    Modifier and Type
    Field
    Description
    static final int
    Status byte for MetaMessage (0xFF, or 255), which is used in MIDI files.

    Fields declared in class MidiMessage

    data, length
    Modifier and Type
    Field
    Description
    protected byte[]
    The MIDI message data.
    protected int
    The number of bytes in the MIDI message, including the status byte and any data bytes.
  • Constructor Summary

    Constructors
    Modifier
    Constructor
    Description
     
    Constructs a new MetaMessage.
    protected
    MetaMessage(byte[] data)
    Constructs a new MetaMessage.
     
    MetaMessage(int type, byte[] data, int length)
    Constructs a new MetaMessage and sets the message parameters.
  • Method Summary

    Modifier and Type
    Method
    Description
    Creates a new object of the same class and with the same contents as this object.
    byte[]
    Obtains a copy of the data for the meta message.
    int
    Obtains the type of the MetaMessage.
    void
    setMessage(int type, byte[] data, int length)
    Sets the message parameters for a MetaMessage.

    Methods declared in class MidiMessage

    getLength, getMessage, getStatus, setMessage
    Modifier and Type
    Method
    Description
    int
    Obtains the total length of the MIDI message in bytes.
    byte[]
    Obtains the MIDI message data.
    int
    Obtains the status byte for the MIDI message.
    protected void
    setMessage(byte[] data, int length)
    Sets the data for the MIDI message.

    Methods declared in class Object

    equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait
    Modifier and Type
    Method
    Description
    boolean
    Indicates whether some other object is "equal to" this one.
    protected void
    Deprecated, for removal: This API element is subject to removal in a future version.
    Finalization is deprecated and subject to removal in a future release.
    final Class<?>
    Returns the runtime class of this Object.
    int
    Returns a hash code value for this object.
    final void
    Wakes up a single thread that is waiting on this object's monitor.
    final void
    Wakes up all threads that are waiting on this object's monitor.
    Returns a string representation of the object.
    final void
    Causes the current thread to wait until it is awakened, typically by being notified or interrupted.
    final void
    wait(long timeoutMillis)
    Causes the current thread to wait until it is awakened, typically by being notified or interrupted, or until a certain amount of real time has elapsed.
    final void
    wait(long timeoutMillis, int nanos)
    Causes the current thread to wait until it is awakened, typically by being notified or interrupted, or until a certain amount of real time has elapsed.
  • Field Details

  • Constructor Details

    • MetaMessage

      public MetaMessage()
      Constructs a new MetaMessage. The contents of the message are not set here; use setMessage to set them subsequently.
    • MetaMessage

      public MetaMessage(int type, byte[] data, int length) throws InvalidMidiDataException
      Constructs a new MetaMessage and sets the message parameters. The contents of the message can be changed by using the setMessage method.
      Parameters:
      type - meta-message type (must be less than 128)
      data - the data bytes in the MIDI message
      length - an amount of bytes in the data byte array; it should be non-negative and less than or equal to data.length
      Throws:
      InvalidMidiDataException - if the parameter values do not specify a valid MIDI meta message
      Since:
      1.7
      See Also:
    • MetaMessage

      protected MetaMessage(byte[] data)
      Constructs a new MetaMessage.
      Parameters:
      data - an array of bytes containing the complete message. The message data may be changed using the setMessage method.
      See Also:
  • Method Details

    • setMessage

      public void setMessage(int type, byte[] data, int length) throws InvalidMidiDataException
      Sets the message parameters for a MetaMessage. Since only one status byte value, 0xFF, is allowed for meta-messages, it does not need to be specified here. Calls to getStatus return 0xFF for all meta-messages.

      The type argument should be a valid value for the byte that follows the status byte in the MetaMessage. The data argument should contain all the subsequent bytes of the MetaMessage. In other words, the byte that specifies the type of MetaMessage is not considered a data byte.

      Parameters:
      type - meta-message type (must be less than 128)
      data - the data bytes in the MIDI message
      length - the number of bytes in the data byte array
      Throws:
      InvalidMidiDataException - if the parameter values do not specify a valid MIDI meta message
    • getType

      public int getType()
      Obtains the type of the MetaMessage.
      Returns:
      an integer representing the MetaMessage type
    • getData

      public byte[] getData()
      Obtains a copy of the data for the meta message. The returned array of bytes does not include the status byte or the message length data. The length of the data for the meta message is the length of the array. Note that the length of the entire message includes the status byte and the meta message type byte, and therefore may be longer than the returned array.
      Returns:
      array containing the meta message data
      See Also:
    • clone

      public Object clone()
      Creates a new object of the same class and with the same contents as this object.
      Specified by:
      clone in class MidiMessage
      Returns:
      a clone of this instance
      See Also: