Source for org.jfree.xml.factory.objects.ClassFactory

   1: /* ========================================================================
   2:  * JCommon : a free general purpose class library for the Java(tm) platform
   3:  * ========================================================================
   4:  *
   5:  * (C) Copyright 2000-2005, by Object Refinery Limited and Contributors.
   6:  * 
   7:  * Project Info:  http://www.jfree.org/jcommon/index.html
   8:  *
   9:  * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it 
  10:  * under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by 
  11:  * the Free Software Foundation; either version 2.1 of the License, or 
  12:  * (at your option) any later version.
  13:  *
  14:  * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but 
  15:  * WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY 
  16:  * or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Lesser General Public 
  17:  * License for more details.
  18:  *
  19:  * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
  20:  * License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
  21:  * Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301, 
  22:  * USA.  
  23:  *
  24:  * [Java is a trademark or registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. 
  25:  * in the United States and other countries.]
  26:  * 
  27:  * -----------------
  28:  * ClassFactory.java
  29:  * -----------------
  30:  * (C)opyright 2003, 2004, by Thomas Morgner and Contributors.
  31:  *
  32:  * Original Author:  Thomas Morgner;
  33:  * Contributor(s):   David Gilbert (for Object Refinery Limited);
  34:  *
  35:  * $Id: ClassFactory.java,v 1.3 2005/11/14 10:59:58 mungady Exp $
  36:  *
  37:  * Changes (from 19-Feb-2003)
  38:  * -------------------------
  39:  * 19-Feb-2003 : Added standard header and Javadocs (DG);
  40:  * 29-Apr-2003 : Distilled from the JFreeReport project and moved into JCommon
  41:  *
  42:  */
  43: 
  44: package org.jfree.xml.factory.objects;
  45: 
  46: import java.io.Serializable;
  47: import java.util.Iterator;
  48: 
  49: import org.jfree.util.Configuration;
  50: 
  51: /**
  52:  * A class factory.
  53:  *
  54:  * @author Thomas Morgner
  55:  */
  56: public interface ClassFactory extends Serializable {
  57: 
  58:     /**
  59:      * Returns an object description for a class.
  60:      *
  61:      * @param c  the class.
  62:      *
  63:      * @return The object description.
  64:      */
  65:     public ObjectDescription getDescriptionForClass(Class c);
  66: 
  67:     /**
  68:      * Returns an object description for the super class of a class.
  69:      *
  70:      * @param d  the class.
  71:      * @param knownSuperClass the last known super class or null.
  72:      *
  73:      * @return The object description.
  74:      */
  75:     public ObjectDescription getSuperClassObjectDescription
  76:         (Class d, ObjectDescription knownSuperClass);
  77: 
  78:     /**
  79:      * Returns an iterator for the registered classes. This returns a list
  80:      * of pre-registered classes known to this ClassFactory. A class may be able
  81:      * to handle more than the registered classes.
  82:      * <p>
  83:      * This method exists to support query tools for UI design, do not rely on it
  84:      * for day to day work.
  85:      *
  86:      * @return The iterator.
  87:      */
  88:     public Iterator getRegisteredClasses();
  89: 
  90:     /**
  91:      * Configures this factory. The configuration contains several keys and
  92:      * their defined values. The given reference to the configuration object
  93:      * will remain valid until the report parsing or writing ends.
  94:      * <p>
  95:      * The configuration contents may change during the reporting.
  96:      *
  97:      * @param config the configuration, never null
  98:      */
  99:     public void configure(Configuration config);
 100: 
 101: 
 102:     /**
 103:      * Compares whether two object factories are equal. This method must be
 104:      * implemented!
 105:      *
 106:      * @param o the other object.
 107:      * @return true, if both object factories describe the same objects, false otherwise.
 108:      */
 109:     public boolean equals (Object o);
 110: 
 111:     /**
 112:      * Computes the hashCode for this ClassFactory. As equals() must be implemented,
 113:      * a corresponding hashCode() should be implemented as well.
 114:      *
 115:      * @return the hashcode.
 116:      */
 117:     public int hashCode();
 118: }