/*
* Copyright 2007 Ralf Joachim
*
* Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
* you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
* You may obtain a copy of the License at
*
* http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
*
* Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
* distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
* WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
* See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
* limitations under the License.
*/
package org.castor.cpa.persistence.convertor;
import org.castor.core.util.AbstractProperties;
/**
* Interface for a type convertor. A type convertor converts a Java object from one
* type to another. A type convertor implementation is required for each type of
* conversion.
*
* @author <a href="mailto:ralf DOT joachim AT syscon DOT eu">Ralf Joachim</a>
* @version $Revision: 7134 $ $Date: 2006-04-25 15:08:23 -0600 (Tue, 25 Apr 2006) $
* @since 1.1.3
*/
public interface TypeConvertor extends org.exolab.castor.mapping.TypeConvertor, Cloneable {
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/**
* Configure the converter with given configuration.
*
* @param properties Properties to use.
*/
void configure(AbstractProperties properties);
/**
* Initialize the converter with the given parameter. If no parameter is available the method
* don't need to be called or may be called with <code>null</code> which both should lead to
* the default behaviour of the converter.
*
* @param parameter The parameter for the convertor (null if is not specified).
*/
void parameterize(String parameter);
/**
* Creates and returns a copy of this object.
*
* @return A clone of this instance.
*/
Object clone();
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/**
* Get the type being converted from.
*
* @return The type being converted from.
*/
Class<?> fromType();
/**
* Get the type being converted to.
*
* @return The type being converted to.
*/
Class<?> toType();
/**
* Convert the object from one type to another.
*
* @param object The object to convert.
* @return The converted object.
* @throws ClassCastException The object is not of the type supported by this convertor.
*/
Object convert(Object object) throws ClassCastException;
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
}