/*
* This file is part of the GeoLatte project.
*
* GeoLatte 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 3 of the License, or
* (at your option) any later version.
*
* GeoLatte 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 GeoLatte. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
*
* Copyright (C) 2010 - 2010 and Ownership of code is shared by:
* Qmino bvba - Romeinsestraat 18 - 3001 Heverlee (http://www.qmino.com)
* Geovise bvba - Generaal Eisenhowerlei 9 - 2140 Antwerpen (http://www.geovise.com)
*/
package org.geolatte.common.expressions;
/**
* <p>
* Base Expression interface. Every expression must implement this interface.
* </p>
* <p>
* <i>Creation-Date</i>: 9-apr-2010<br>
* <i>Creation-Time</i>: 11:48:54<br>
* </p>
*
* @author Peter Rigole
* @author Bert Vanhooff
* @author <a href="http://www.qmino.com">Qmino bvba</a>
* @param <T> The type the expression evaluates to.
* @since SDK1.5
*/
public interface Expression<T> {
/**
* Evaluates the given object against this expression.
*
*
* @param o The object to evaluate.
* @return True if the given object matches this expression, false otherwise.
*/
T evaluate(Object o);
/**
* Implements the visitor pattern as a switch on the type of this expression.
* For example, on an {@code Expression<Integer>}, this method calls the {@link BasicTypeSwitch#caseInteger(Expression)} method on the given switcher.
*
* @param switcher The class on which a 'case' corresponding to type of this expression will be called.
*/
void switchOn(BasicTypeSwitch switcher);
}