/*********************************************************************
*
*      Copyright (C) 2002 Andrew Khan
*
* 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; either
* version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
*
* 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.
*
* You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
* License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
* Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA
***************************************************************************/

package jxl;

import jxl.format.CellFormat;

/**
 * Represents an individual Cell within a Sheet.  May be queried for its
 * type and its content
 */
public interface Cell
{
  /**
   * Returns the row number of this cell
   *
   * @return the row number of this cell
   */
  public int getRow();

  /**
   * Returns the column number of this cell
   *
   * @return the column number of this cell
   */
  public int getColumn();

  /**
   * Returns the content type of this cell
   *
   * @return the content type for this cell
   */
  public CellType getType();

  /**
   * Indicates whether or not this cell is hidden, by virtue of either
   * the entire row or column being collapsed
   *
   * @return TRUE if this cell is hidden, FALSE otherwise
   */
  public boolean isHidden();

  /**
   * Quick and dirty function to return the contents of this cell as a string.
   * For more complex manipulation of the contents, it is necessary to cast
   * this interface to correct subinterface
   *
   * @return the contents of this cell as a string
   */
  public String getContents();

  /**
   * Gets the cell format which applies to this cell
   * Note that for cell with a cell type of EMPTY, which has no formatting
   * information, this method will return null.  Some empty cells (eg. on
   * template spreadsheets) may have a cell type of EMPTY, but will
   * actually contain formatting information
   *
   * @return the cell format applied to this cell, or NULL if this is an
   *         empty cell
   */
  public CellFormat getCellFormat();

  /**
   * Gets any special cell features, such as comments (notes) or cell
   * validation present for this cell
   *
   * @return the cell features, or NULL if this cell has no special features
   */
  public CellFeatures getCellFeatures();
}