package org.eclipse.core.runtime.preferences;
import org.eclipse.core.runtime.IPath;
/**
* Clients implement this interface to provide context to a particular scope.
* Instances of implementations of this interface are passed to the
* {@link IPreferencesService} for use in preference searching.
* <p>
* Clients may implement this interface.
* </p>
*
* @see IPreferencesService
* @since 3.0
*/
public interface IScopeContext {
/**
* Return the name of the scope that this context is associated with. Must
* not be <code>null</code>.
*
* @return the name of the scope
*/
public String getName();
/**
* Return the preferences node that contains the preferences for the given
* qualifier or <code>null</code> if the node cannot be determined. The
* given qualifier must not be <code>null</code> but may be a path to a
* sub-node within the scope.
* <p>
* An example of a qualifier in Eclipse 2.1 would be the plug-in identifier
* that the preference is associated with (e.g. the
* "org.eclipse.core.resources" plug-in defines the "description.autobuild"
* preference).
* </p>
* <p>
* This method can be used to determine the appropriate preferences node to
* aid in setting key/value pairs. For instance:
* <code>new InstanceScope().getNode("org.eclipse.core.resources");</code>
* returns the preference node in the instance scope where the preferences
* for "org.eclipse.core.resources" are stored.
* </p>
*
* @param qualifier
* a qualifier for the preference name
* @return the node containing the plug-in preferences or <code>null</code>
* @see IPreferencesService
*/
public IEclipsePreferences getNode(String qualifier);
/**
* Return a path to a location in the file-system where clients are able to
* write files that will have the same sharing/scope properties as
* preferences defined in this scope.
* <p>
* Implementors may return <code>null</code> if the location is not known,
* is unavailable, or is not applicable to this scope.
* </p>
*
* @return a writable location in the file system or <code>null</code>
*/
public IPath getLocation();
}