/*******************************************************************************
*   Copyright 2014 Analog Devices, Inc.
*
*   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 com.analog.lyric.dimple.events;

import org.eclipse.jdt.annotation.Nullable;

import com.analog.lyric.dimple.model.core.FactorGraph;
import com.analog.lyric.options.IOptionHolder;

/**
 * Interface for classes of objects that may produce {@link DimpleEvent}s.
 * 
 * @since 0.06
 * @author Christopher Barber
 */
public interface IDimpleEventSource extends IOptionHolder
{
	/**
	 * Returns factor graph most immediately containing this object. Returns this object if
	 * it is already a {@link FactorGraph}.
	 *
	 * @since 0.06
	 */
	public @Nullable FactorGraph getContainingGraph();
	
	/**
	 * Returns the event listener, if any, that will receive events generated by this object.
	 * 
	 * @since 0.06
	 */
	public @Nullable IDimpleEventListener getEventListener();

	/**
	 * The parent of this object in the event hierarchy or null if at root.
	 * <p>
	 * Unless otherwise noted, this will always have the same value as {@link #getOptionParent()}.
	 * <p>
	 * @since 0.06
	 */
	public @Nullable IDimpleEventSource getEventParent();
	
	/**
	 * Name of source for use in {@link DimpleEvent}.
	 * 
	 * @since 0.06
	 */
	public String getEventSourceName();
	
	/**
	 * The model object that is most closely associated with the source.
	 * <p>
	 * If this object is itself a {@link IModelEventSource} this method should simply
	 * return this object.
	 */
	public @Nullable IModelEventSource getModelEventSource();
	
	/**
	 * Notify the source that it should refresh its event setting.
	 * <p>
	 * This can be used when the event listener settings affecting this object
	 * have changed dynamically and you want the changes to take effect earlier
	 * than would be the case automatically. For instance, objects that can generate
	 * high-frequency events may normally refresh their settings during the initialization phase.
	 * 
	 * @since 0.06
	 */
	public void notifyListenerChanged();

}