{{tag>Programmers_Reference Methods IEntity_Interface GetReferences Index}}
====getReferences (String)====
<code java>public ObjectReference [] getReferences (String attributeName)
throws InvalidParameterException</code>

This method retrieves references of the business object or notification. If the business object was obtained in the first place by the calls to the ''[[pr_methods:getentity|getEntity]]''or ''[[pr_methods:getentities|getEntities]]'' methods of the [[docs:3500:0300:0315|IExecutionEngine]] interface the ''getReferences'' method will always return null for multiple references (it will always return the only existing reference if the attribute is a single reference). Use the [[pr_methods:getallreferences|getAllReferences]] method in the [[docs:3500:0300:0315|IExecutionEngine]] interface to obtain all multiple references of the business object.

===Parameters===
|''attributeName''|The name of the attribute of the business object or notification the references of which are returned (must be of the reference type)|

===Returns===
The references as ''ObjectReference'' objects or null if no objects are referenced by the specified attribute.

===Throws===
|''InvalidParameterException''| if the specified attribute name does not exist in the business object or notification or it is not a reference.|