/*
 * 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 (c) 2001 - 2013 Object Refinery Ltd, Pentaho Corporation and Contributors..  All rights reserved.
 */

package org.pentaho.reporting.engine.classic.core.modules.parser.ext.factory.base;

import org.pentaho.reporting.libraries.base.config.Configuration;

import java.io.Serializable;
import java.util.Iterator;

/**
 * A class factory.
 *
 * @author Thomas Morgner
 */
public interface ClassFactory extends Serializable {

  /**
   * Returns an object description for a class.
   *
   * @param c
   *          the class.
   * @return The object description.
   */
  public ObjectDescription getDescriptionForClass( Class c );

  /**
   * Returns an object description for the super class of a class.
   *
   * @param d
   *          the class.
   * @param knownSuperClass
   *          the last known super class or null.
   * @return The object description.
   */
  public ObjectDescription getSuperClassObjectDescription( Class d, ObjectDescription knownSuperClass );

  /**
   * Returns an iterator for the registered classes. This returns a list of pre-registered classes known to this
   * ClassFactory. A class may be able to handle more than the registered classes.
   * <p/>
   * This method exists to support query tools for UI design, do not rely on it for day to day work.
   *
   * @return The iterator.
   */
  public Iterator getRegisteredClasses();

  /**
   * Configures this factory. The configuration contains several keys and their defined values. The given reference to
   * the configuration object will remain valid until the report parsing or writing ends.
   * <p/>
   * The configuration contents may change during the reporting.
   *
   * @param config
   *          the configuration, never null
   */
  public void configure( Configuration config );

  /**
   * Compares whether two object factories are equal. This method must be implemented!
   *
   * @param o
   *          the other object.
   * @return true, if both object factories describe the same objects, false otherwise.
   */
  public boolean equals( Object o );

  /**
   * Computes the hashCode for this ClassFactory. As equals() must be implemented, a corresponding hashCode() should be
   * implemented as well.
   *
   * @return the hashcode.
   */
  public int hashCode();
}