question: gets the value of the reference property . this accessor method returns a reference to the live list , not a snapshot . therefore any modification you make to the returned list will be present inside the jaxb object . this is why there is not a set method for the reference property . for example , to add a new item , do as follows : getreference . add newitem ; objects of the following type s are allowed in the list referencetype concode_field_sep List<ReferenceType> reference concode_elem_sep CanonicalizationMethodType canonicalizationMethod concode_elem_sep SignatureMethodType signatureMethod concode_elem_sep String id concode_field_sep void setCanonicalizationMethod concode_elem_sep SignatureMethodType getSignatureMethod concode_elem_sep CanonicalizationMethodType getCanonicalizationMethod concode_elem_sep void setId concode_elem_sep String getId concode_elem_sep void setSignatureMethod
target: List < ReferenceType > function ( ) { if ( reference == null ) { reference = new ArrayList < ReferenceType > ( ) ; } return this . reference ; }