Record.java

/*
 * The contents of this file are subject to the terms
 * of the Common Development and Distribution License
 * (the License).  You may not use this file except in
 * compliance with the License.
 *
 * You can obtain a copy of the license at
 * https://glassfish.dev.java.net/public/CDDLv1.0.html or
 * glassfish/bootstrap/legal/CDDLv1.0.txt.
 * See the License for the specific language governing
 * permissions and limitations under the License.
 *
 * When distributing Covered Code, include this CDDL
 * Header Notice in each file and include the License file
 * at glassfish/bootstrap/legal/CDDLv1.0.txt.
 * If applicable, add the following below the CDDL Header,
 * with the fields enclosed by brackets [] replaced by
 * you own identifying information:
 * "Portions Copyrighted [year] [name of copyright owner]"
 *
 * Copyright 2006 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.
 */
package javax.resource.cci;


/** The <code>javax.resource.cci.Record</code> interface is the base
 *  interface for the representation of an input or output to the
 *  execute methods defined on an Interaction.
 *
 *  <p>The Record interface can be extended to form a one of the
 *  following representations:
 *  <UL>
 *     <LI> MappedRecord: A key-value pair based collection represents
 *          a record. This interface is based on the <code>java.util.Map</code>
 *     <LI> IndexedRecord:An ordered and indexed collection represents
 *          a record. This interface is based on the <code>java.util.List</code>.
 *     <LI> JavaBean based representation of an EIS abstraction: An
 *          example is a custom record generated to represent a purchase
 *          order in an ERP system.
 *     <LI> <code>javax.resource.cci.ResultSet</code>: This interface
 *          extends both <code>java.sql.ResultSet</code> and <code>
 *          javax.resource.cci.Record</code>. A ResultSet
 *          represents tabular data.
 *  </UL>
 *
 *  <p>A MappedRecord or IndexedRecord can contain another Record. This
 *  means that MappedRecord and IndexedRecord can be used to create
 *  a hierarchical structure of any arbitrary depth. A basic Java
 *  type is used as the leaf element of a hierarchical structure
 *  represented by a MappedRecord or IndexedRecord.
 *
 *  @author  Rahul Sharma
 *  @version 0.8
 *  @see     javax.resource.cci.Interaction
 *  @see     java.sql.ResultSet
**/
public interface Record extends java.lang.Cloneable, java.io.Serializable {

  /** Gets the name of the Record.
   *
   *  @return  String representing name of the Record
  **/
  public
  String getRecordName();

  /** Sets the name of the Record.
   *
   *  @param   name           Name of the Record
  **/
  public
  void setRecordName(String name);

  /** Sets a short description string for the Record. This property
   *  is used primarily by application development tools.
   *
   *  @param   description    Description of the Record
  **/
  public
  void setRecordShortDescription(String description);

  /** Gets a short description string for the Record. This property
   *  is used primarily by application development tools.
   *
   *  @return  String representing a short description of the Record
  **/
  public
  String getRecordShortDescription();

  /** Check if this instance is equal to another Record.
   *
   *  @return  true if two instances are equal
  **/
  public
  boolean equals(Object other);


  /** Returns the hash code for the Record instance.
   *
   *  @return  hash code
  **/
  public
  int hashCode();

  /** Creates and returns a copy of this object. The precise
   *  meaning of "copy" may depend on the class of the object.
   *
   *  @return a clone of this instance.
   *  @throws  CloneNotSupportedException
   *           If the object's class does not support the
   *           Cloneable interface Subclasses that override the
   *           clone method can also throw this exception to
   *           indicate that an instance cannot be cloned.
  **/
  public
  Object clone() throws CloneNotSupportedException;

}