/*
 * The Unified Mapping Platform (JUMP) is an extensible, interactive GUI 
 * for visualizing and manipulating spatial features with geometry and attributes.
 *
 * Copyright (C) 2003 Vivid Solutions
 * 
 * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
 * modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
 * as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
 * of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
 * 
 * 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 General Public License for more details.
 * 
 * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
 * along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
 * Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307, USA.
 * 
 * For more information, contact:
 *
 * Vivid Solutions
 * Suite #1A
 * 2328 Government Street
 * Victoria BC  V8T 5G5
 * Canada
 *
 * (250)385-6040
 * www.vividsolutions.com
 */

package com.vividsolutions.jump.workbench.plugin;


/**
 * <p> Plug-ins are code modules that can be easily added to or
 * removed from JUMP Workbench. For example, each menu item in the
 * JUMP Workbench is a PlugIn. Typically plug-ins are executed with a
 * menu item -- FeatureInstaller has methods for adding plug-ins as
 * menu items. Alternatively, a plug-in need not be associated with a
 * menu-item; it might, for example, simply run some code when the
 * Workbench starts up.
 * </p>
 *
 * <p>
 * "Built-in" plug-ins are configured in a Setup class. Third-party plug-ins reside
 * in a JAR file that also contains an Extension class that configures them.
 * During development, third-party plug-ins may be specified in the
 * workbench-properties.xml file, to avoid having to build a JAR file.
 * </p>
 * 
 * @see com.vividsolutions.jump.workbench.Setup
 * @see Extension
 * @see PlugInManager
 */
public interface PlugIn {
    /**
     * Called when Workbench starts up to allow plugins to initialize themselves.
     */
    public void initialize(PlugInContext context) throws Exception;

    /**
     * Performs the action for this plugin.
     * For threaded plugins with dialogs, this method contains the code to
     * invoke the dialog.  If the user cancels the dialog, this method
     * should return <code>false</code> to prevent the run method
     * from being called.
     *
     * @return true if the action completed, false if it was aborted.
     * Used by ThreadedPlugIns to indicate that their #run method needn't be
     * called next.
     * @throws Exception if a problem occurs during plug-in execution
     * @see ThreadedPlugIn
     */
    public boolean execute(PlugInContext context) throws Exception;

    /**
     * Returns a very brief description of this PlugIn e.g. for display as a menu item
     * @return the name of this PlugIn
     */
    public String getName();
}