StateTrackable.java

/**
 * Copyright (c) 2003-2009, Xith3D Project Group all rights reserved.
 * 
 * Portions based on the Java3D interface, Copyright by Sun Microsystems.
 * Many thanks to the developers of Java3D and Sun Microsystems for their
 * innovation and design.
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 * 
 * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice,
 * this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
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 * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice,
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 * 
 * Neither the name of the 'Xith3D Project Group' nor the names of its
 * contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this
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package org.xith3d.render.states;

/**
 * Simple interface that allows the renderer to assign a state id to a node.
 * This is used to speed up caching state changes during rendering.
 * 
 * @author David Yazel
 */
public interface StateTrackable< T extends StateTrackable< T >> extends Comparable< T >
{
    /**
     * Used by the render engine to set the state id for the node.
     * 
     * @param node
     */
    void setStateNode( StateNode node );
    
    /**
     * @return the id of the object. This should return -1 if there is no
     * assigned id.
     */
    StateNode getStateNode();
    
    /**
     * @return a copy of the state of the referenced trackable object.
     */
    T getCopy();
}