/*
 *    GeoTools - The Open Source Java GIS Toolkit
 *    http://geotools.org
 * 
 *    (C) 2008, Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo)
 *
 *    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;
 *    version 2.1 of the License.
 *
 *    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.
 */
package org.geotools.data;

import java.util.List;

import org.opengis.feature.type.Name;


/**
 * An adapter interface allowing a hosting application
 * to advertise DataStore instances to GeoTools.
 * <p>
 * GeoTools includes a really simple RepositoryImpl which you can use to
 * manage DataStore in your own application; or if you have your own advanced
 * "catalog" you can make your own implementation.
 * </p>
 *
 * </ul>
 * @source $URL$
 */
public interface Repository {
    /**
     * Search for the DataAccess (may be a DataStore) by name.
     * 
     * @param name The Name (namespace and name) to search for
     * @return DataAccess
     */
    DataAccess<?,?> access( Name name );
    
    /**
     * Search for the DataStore by name.
     * 
     * @param Name The typeName (namespace and name) to search for
     * @return DataAccess api providing access to the indicatedTypeName (or null if not found)
     */
    DataStore dataStore( Name name );
    
    /**
     * List of available DataStore instances; these are considered to be
     * live/connected datastores under the management of the application
     * and should not be closed or otherwise harmed by client code.
     * <p>
     * 
     * @return List of Managed DataStore instances
     */
    public List<DataStore> getDataStores();        
    
}