/*
* Copyright 2004-2012 the original author or authors.
*
* Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
* you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
* You may obtain a copy of the License at
*
* http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
*
* Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
* distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
* WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
* See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
* limitations under the License.
*/
package org.springframework.webflow.engine.model;
/**
* Interface defining models. All models must be able to handle merging of their content with an eligible model.
*
* @author Scott Andrews
*/
public interface Model {
/**
* Determine if the model is able to be merged into the current model
*
* @param model the model to compare
*
* @return true if able to merge
*/
public boolean isMergeableWith(Model model);
/**
* Merge the model into the current model
*
* @param model the model to merge with
*/
public void merge(Model model);
/**
* Create a deep copy of this model. Needed when merging models and collections.
*
* @return a deep copy of this model
*/
public Model createCopy();
}