/*
 * Copyright 2014 (C) Tom Parker <thpr@users.sourceforge.net>
 * 
 * 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 pcgen.base.calculation;

/**
 * A BasicCalculation is a calculation performed on two objects of the same
 * format. This could be two Number objects or two Boolean objects, etc.
 * 
 * @param <T>
 *            The format of object processed by this BasicCalculation
 */
public interface BasicCalculation<T> extends CalculationInfo<T>
{

	/**
	 * "Processes" (or runs) the BasicCalculation in order to determine the
	 * appropriate result of the BasicCalculation.
	 * 
	 * There is no requirement that a BasicCalculation take into account the
	 * input value (it can be a "set").
	 * 
	 * The BasicCalculation should treat the input as an Immutable object (it
	 * does not gain ownership of that parameter).
	 * 
	 * Note that the two parameters may be order dependent in some
	 * BasicCalculation objects, so classes calling a BasicCalculation should
	 * carefully consider the order of arguments to a BasicCalculation.
	 * 
	 * @param previousValue
	 *            The first input value used (if necessary) to determine the
	 *            appropriate result of this BasicCalculation. Would be
	 *            considered the "previous" value for this BasicCalculation.
	 * @param argument
	 *            The second input value used (if necessary) to determine the
	 *            appropriate result of this BasicCalculation. Would be
	 *            considered the argument for this BasicCalculation.
	 * @return The resulting value of the BasicCalculation
	 */
	public T process(T previousValue, T argument);
}