/*
* 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;
/**
* An interface for object descriptions.
*
* @author Thomas Morgner
*/
public interface ObjectDescription extends Serializable {
/**
* Returns a parameter definition. If the parameter is invalid, this function returns null.
*
* @param name
* the definition name.
* @return The parameter class or null, if the parameter is not defined.
*/
public Class getParameterDefinition( String name );
/**
* Sets the value of a parameter.
*
* @param name
* the parameter name.
* @param value
* the parameter value.
*/
public void setParameter( String name, Object value );
/**
* Returns the value of a parameter.
*
* @param name
* the parameter name.
* @return The value.
*/
public Object getParameter( String name );
/**
* Returns an iterator the provides access to the parameter names. This returns all _known_ parameter names, the
* object description may accept additional parameters.
*
* @return The iterator.
*/
public Iterator getParameterNames();
/**
* Returns the object class.
*
* @return The Class.
*/
public Class getObjectClass();
/**
* Creates an object based on the description.
*
* @return The object.
*/
public Object createObject();
/**
* Returns a cloned instance of the object description. The contents of the parameter objects collection are cloned
* too, so that any already defined parameter value is copied to the new instance.
* <p/>
* Parameter definitions are not cloned, as they are considered read-only.
* <p/>
* The newly instantiated object description is not configured. If it need to be configured, then you have to call
* configure on it.
*
* @return A cloned instance.
*/
public ObjectDescription getUnconfiguredInstance();
/**
* Returns a cloned instance of the object description. The contents of the parameter objects collection are cloned
* too, so that any already defined parameter value is copied to the new instance.
* <p/>
* Parameter definitions are not cloned, as they are considered read-only.
*
* @return A cloned instance.
*/
public ObjectDescription getInstance();
/**
* Sets the parameters of this description object to match the supplied object.
*
* @param o
* the object.
* @throws ObjectFactoryException
* if there is a problem while reading the properties of the given object.
*/
public void setParameterFromObject( Object o ) throws ObjectFactoryException;
/**
* 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 descriptions are equal.
*
* @param o
* the other object.
* @return true, if both object desciptions describe the same object, 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();
}