BaseObject.java

/*******************************************************************************
 *   Gisgraphy Project 
 * 
 *   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
 * 
 *  Copyright 2008  Gisgraphy project 
 *  David Masclet <davidmasclet@gisgraphy.com>
 *  
 *  
 *******************************************************************************/
package com.gisgraphy.model;

import java.io.Serializable;

/**
 * Base class for Model objects. Child objects should implement toString(),
 * equals() and hashCode().
 * 
 * @author <a href="mailto:matt@raibledesigns.com">Matt Raible</a>
 */
public abstract class BaseObject implements Serializable {

    /**
     * Returns a multi-line String with key=value pairs.
     * 
     * @return a String representation of this class.
     */
    @Override
    public abstract String toString();

    /**
     * Compares object equality. When using Hibernate, the primary key should
     * not be a part of this comparison.
     * 
     * @param o
     *                object to compare to
     * @return true/false based on equality tests
     */
    @Override
    public abstract boolean equals(Object o);

    /**
     * When you override equals, you should override hashCode. See "Why are
     * equals() and hashCode() importation" for more information:
     * http://www.hibernate.org/109.html
     * 
     * @return hashCode
     */
    @Override
    public abstract int hashCode();
}