/*
 * Copyright (c) 2009-2012 jMonkeyEngine
 * All rights reserved.
 *
 * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
 * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are
 * met:
 *
 * * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
 *   notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
 *
 * * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
 *   notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
 *   documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
 *
 * * Neither the name of 'jMonkeyEngine' nor the names of its contributors
 *   may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
 *   without specific prior written permission.
 *
 * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
 * "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED
 * TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
 * PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR
 * CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL,
 * EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
 * PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR
 * PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF
 * LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING
 * NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS
 * SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
 */
package com.jme3.asset;

import java.io.IOException;

/**
 * An interface for asset loaders. An <code>AssetLoader</code> is responsible
 * for loading a certain type of asset associated with file extension(s).
 * The loader will load the data in the provided {@link AssetInfo} object by
 * calling {@link AssetInfo#openStream() }, returning an object representing
 * the parsed data.
 */
public interface AssetLoader {

    /**
     * Loads asset from the given input stream, parsing it into
     * an application-usable object.
     *
     * @return An object representing the resource.
     * @throws java.io.IOException If an I/O error occurs while loading
     */
    public Object load(AssetInfo assetInfo) throws IOException;
}