/*
* Created on 02-May-2006
* Created by Damokles
* Copyright (C) 2006 Aelitis, All Rights Reserved.
*
* This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
* modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
* as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
* of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
* This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
* but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
* MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
* GNU General Public License for more details.
* You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
* along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
* Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
*
* AELITIS, SAS au capital de 46,603.30 euros
* 8 Allee Lenotre, La Grille Royale, 78600 Le Mesnil le Roi, France.
*
*/
package org.gudy.azureus2.plugins.ipc;
/**
* @author Damokles
*
*/
public interface IPCInterface {
/**
* This function will call the given method on the plugin.
*
* This function allows direct method calls to the plugin
* using Java Reflection API.
*
* Primitives like <code>int</code>, <code>boolean</code> need to be wrapped in their
* Objects (int -> Integer).</p>
*
* Results will be returned as Object and can be classcasted.
*
* <p>
*
* <b>WARNING</b>: only call Methods that use Java or Azureus Classes
* the use of custom classes may cause problems.
*
* <p>
*
* Examples:
* <p>
*
* 1.
* Plugin has method
* <code>int add (int x, int y);</code>
*
* <pre>
* int result = ((Integer)invoke ("add", new Object[] {Integer.valueOf(10),Integer.valueOf(5)}).intValue();
* //result (15)
* </pre>
*
* 2. Plugin has method
* <code>String randomize (String x);</code>
*
* <pre>
* String result = (String)invoke("randomize", new Object[]{"foobar"});
* //result ("bfaoro")
* </pre>
*
*
* @param methodName the name of the Methods to be called
* @param params Parameters of the Method
* @return returns the result of the method
*/
public Object invoke (String methodName, Object[] params) throws IPCException;
/**
* Test for existance of IPC method - params as above
* @param methodName
* @param params
* @return
*/
public boolean canInvoke( String methodName, Object[] params );
}