/*
* Copyright 2008-14 (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.cdom.base;
import pcgen.rules.context.LoadContext;
public interface Persistent<T>
{
/**
* Encodes the given choice into a String sufficient to uniquely identify
* the choice. This may not sufficiently encode to be stored into a file or
* format which restricts certain characters (such as URLs), it simply
* encodes into an identifying String. There is no guarantee that this
* encoding is human readable, simply that the encoding is uniquely
* identifying such that the decodeChoice method of the Chooser is capable
* of decoding the String into the choice object.
*
* @param item
* The choice which should be encoded into a String sufficient to
* identify the choice.
*
* @return A String sufficient to uniquely identify the choice.
*/
public String encodeChoice(T item);
/**
* Decodes a given String into a choice of the appropriate type. The String
* format to be passed into this method is defined solely by the return
* result of the encodeChoice method. There is no guarantee that the
* encoding is human readable, simply that the encoding is uniquely
* identifying such that this method is capable of decoding the String into
* the choice object.
*
* @param context
* The LoadContext used to decode the choice
* @param persistentFormat
* The String which should be decoded to provide the choice of
* the appropriate type.
*
* @return A choice object of the appropriate type that was encoded in the
* given String.
*/
public T decodeChoice(LoadContext context, String persistentFormat);
}