IPentahoDefinableObjectFactory.java

/*
 * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the 
 * terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License, version 2.1 as published by the Free Software 
 * Foundation.
 *
 * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License along with this 
 * program; if not, you can obtain a copy at http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/lgpl-2.1.html 
 * or from the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 
 * 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
 *
 * This program 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.
 *
 * Copyright 2006 - 2009 Pentaho Corporation.  All rights reserved.
 *
 * Created Mar 16, 2009 
 * @author jdixon
 */
package org.pentaho.platform.api.engine;

/**
 * This class subclasses IPentahoObjectFactory and adds methods that enables the
 * implementation to allow objects to be defined through public classes.
 * The main use case for this is a system where the objects created by the
 * factory are defined in code via an API. Examples are when the Pentaho system
 * is fully embedded into an application, and unit tests.
 * @author jamesdixon
 *
 */
public interface IPentahoDefinableObjectFactory extends IPentahoObjectFactory {

  /**
   * The different object scopes that are supported
   * @author jamesdixon
   *
   */
  public static enum Scope { GLOBAL, SESSION, REQUEST, THREAD, LOCAL };

  /**
   * Defines a new object.
   * @param key - typically the interface name
   * @param className - the name of the class to instatiate
   * @param scope - the scope of the object
   */
  public void defineObject( String key, String className, Scope scope );
  
  /**
   * Defines a new object that must be loaded with a specific classloader
   * @param key - typically the interface name
   * @param className - the name of the class to instatiate
   * @param scope - the scope of the object
   * @param loader - the loader to be used to create the class
   */
  public void defineObject( String key, String className, Scope scope, ClassLoader loader );

}