/*
 * The JTS Topology Suite is a collection of Java classes that
 * implement the fundamental operations required to validate a given
 * geo-spatial data set to a known topological specification.
 *
 * Copyright (C) 2001 Vivid Solutions
 *
 * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
 * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
 * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
 * version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
 *
 * This library 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
 * Lesser General Public License for more details.
 *
 * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
 * License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
 * Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
 *
 * For more information, contact:
 *
 *     Vivid Solutions
 *     Suite #1A
 *     2328 Government Street
 *     Victoria BC  V8T 5G5
 *     Canada
 *
 *     (250)385-6040
 *     www.vividsolutions.com
 */
package com.vividsolutions.jts.geom;

/**
 * A factory to create concrete instances of {@link CoordinateSequence}s. Used
 * to configure {@link GeometryFactory}s to provide specific kinds of
 * CoordinateSequences.
 * 
 * @version 1.7
 */
public interface CoordinateSequenceFactory {

	/**
	 * Returns a {@link CoordinateSequence} based on the given array. Whether
	 * the array is copied or simply referenced is implementation-dependent.
	 * This method must handle null arguments by creating an empty sequence.
	 * 
	 * @param coordinates
	 *            the coordinates
	 */
	CoordinateSequence create(Coordinate[] coordinates);

	/**
	 * Creates a {@link CoordinateSequence} which is a copy of the given
	 * {@link CoordinateSequence}. This method must handle null arguments by
	 * creating an empty sequence.
	 * 
	 * @param coordSeq
	 *            the coordinate sequence to copy
	 */
	CoordinateSequence create(CoordinateSequence coordSeq);

	/**
	 * Creates a {@link CoordinateSequence} of the specified size and dimension.
	 * For this to be useful, the {@link CoordinateSequence} implementation must
	 * be mutable.
	 * 
	 * @param size
	 *            the number of coordinates in the sequence
	 * @param dimension
	 *            the dimension of the coordinates in the sequence (if
	 *            user-specifiable, otherwise ignored)
	 */
	CoordinateSequence create(int size, int dimension);

}