/* ========================================================================
* JCommon : a free general purpose class library for the Java(tm) platform
* ========================================================================
*
* (C) Copyright 2000-2005, by Object Refinery Limited and Contributors.
*
* Project Info: http://www.jfree.org/jcommon/index.html
*
* 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., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301,
* USA.
*
* [Java is a trademark or registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.
* in the United States and other countries.]
*
* -----------
* Module.java
* -----------
* (C)opyright 2004, by Thomas Morgner and Contributors.
*
* Original Author: Thomas Morgner;
* Contributor(s): David Gilbert (for Object Refinery Limited);
*
* $Id: Module.java,v 1.3 2005/10/18 13:14:50 mungady Exp $
*
* Changes
* -------
* 07-Jun-2004 : Added JCommon header (DG);
*
*/
package org.jfree.base.modules;
/**
* A module encapsulates optional functionality within a project. Modules can
* be used as an easy way to make projects more configurable.
* <p>
* The module system provides a controled way to check dependencies and to initialize
* the modules in a controlled way.
*
* @author Thomas Morgner
*/
public interface Module extends ModuleInfo
{
/**
* Returns an array of all required modules. If one of these modules is missing
* or cannot be initialized, the module itself will be not available.
*
* @return an array of the required modules.
*/
public ModuleInfo[] getRequiredModules();
/**
* Returns an array of optional modules. Missing or invalid modules are non fatal
* and will not harm the module itself.
*
* @return an array of optional module specifications.
*/
public ModuleInfo[] getOptionalModules();
/**
* Initializes the module. Use this method to perform all initial setup operations.
* This method is called only once in a modules lifetime. If the initializing cannot
* be completed, throw a ModuleInitializeException to indicate the error,. The module
* will not be available to the system.
*
* @param subSystem the subSystem.
*
* @throws ModuleInitializeException if an error ocurred while initializing the module.
*/
public void initialize(SubSystem subSystem) throws ModuleInitializeException;
/**
* Configures the module. This should load the default settings of the module.
*
* @param subSystem the subSystem.
*/
public void configure(SubSystem subSystem);
/**
* Returns a short description of the modules functionality.
*
* @return a module description.
*/
public String getDescription();
/**
* Returns the name of the module producer.
*
* @return the producer name
*/
public String getProducer();
/**
* Returns the module name. This name should be a short descriptive handle of the
* module.
*
* @return the module name
*/
public String getName();
/**
* Returns the modules subsystem. If this module is not part of an subsystem
* then return the modules name, but never null.
*
* @return the name of the subsystem.
*/
public String getSubSystem ();
}