/*******************************************************************************
 * Copyright 2015 xWic group (http://www.xwic.de)
 *
 * 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 de.jwic.base;


/**
 * Interface for the Control object. This interface has been (re-)implemented
 * to make the usage of Interfaces for custom controls easier. 
 * 
 * @author Florian Lippisch
 * @version $Revision: 1.1 $
 */
public interface IControl {

	/**
	 * A user has clicked on a link that was generated by this control.
	 * Links are generated with the <code>createActionURL</code> function.
	 */
	public abstract void actionPerformed(String actionId, String parameter);

	/**
	 * This method is invoked when the control is removed from the container.
	 */
	public abstract void destroy();

	/**
	 * Removes the field with the given name.
	 * @param name
	 */
	public abstract void removeField(String name);

	/**
	 * Removes the field from the fieldlist.
	 * @param field
	 */
	public abstract void removeField(Field field);

	/**
	 * Returns the field with the specified name.
	 * @param name
	 * @return
	 */
	public abstract Field getField(String name);

	/**
	 * Create an URL with the specified action and parameter. If the user
	 * clicks on this link, the <code>actionPerformed(..)</code> method is 
	 * invoked.
	 * @param action 
	 * @param acpara 
	 */
	public abstract String createActionURL(String action, String acpara);

	/**
	 * Returns the container where this control is nested in.
	 */
	public abstract IControlContainer getContainer();

	/**
	 * Returns the ID of the control.
	 * @return String
	 */
	public abstract java.lang.String getControlID();

	/**
	 * Returns the SessionContext object, this control lives in.
	 */
	public abstract SessionContext getSessionContext();

	/**
	 * Returns true if the control has been changed since the last rendering
	 * and must be rendered again to reflect the last changes.
	 * @return boolean
	 */
	public abstract boolean isRequireRedraw();

	/**
	 * Returns true if the control should be rendered.
	 * @return boolean
	 */
	public abstract boolean isVisible();

	/**
	 * Set to true if the control needs to be rendered again to reflect the changes
	 * of the control since it was last rendered. 
	 * @param requireRedraw
	 */
	public abstract void setRequireRedraw(boolean requireRedraw);

	/**
	 * Set the visibility flag of this control.
	 * @param newVisible boolean
	 */
	public abstract void setVisible(boolean newVisible);

	/**
	 * Returns the name of the Control.
	 */
	public abstract String getName();

	/**
	 * Returns the renderer implementation.
	 * @return Returns the renderer.
	 */
	public abstract String getRendererId();

	/**
	 * Sets the renderer used to render this control into HTML code.
	 * @param renderer The renderer to set.
	 */
	public abstract void setRendererId(String rendererId);

	/**
	 * Returns the name of the template used to render this control.
	 * By default, the name of the template is the name of the control class.
	 * @return Returns the templateName.
	 */
	public abstract String getTemplateName();

	/**
	 * Sets the name of the template used to render this control.
	 * @param templateName The templateName to set.
	 */
	public abstract void setTemplateName(String templateName);

}