ISaveablePart.java

/*******************************************************************************
 * Copyright (c) 2000, 2006 IBM Corporation and others.
 * All rights reserved. This program and the accompanying materials
 * are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Public License v1.0
 * which accompanies this distribution, and is available at
 * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-v10.html
 *
 * Contributors:
 *     IBM Corporation - initial API and implementation
 *******************************************************************************/

package org.eclipse.ui;

import org.eclipse.core.runtime.IProgressMonitor;

/**
 * Workbench parts implement or adapt to this interface to participate
 * in the enablement and execution of the <code>Save</code> and
 * <code>Save As</code> actions.
 * 
 * @since 2.1
 * @see org.eclipse.ui.IEditorPart  
 */
public interface ISaveablePart {

    /**
     * The property id for <code>isDirty</code>.
     */
    public static final int PROP_DIRTY = IWorkbenchPartConstants.PROP_DIRTY;

    /**
     * Saves the contents of this part.
     * <p>
     * If the save is successful, the part should fire a property changed event 
     * reflecting the new dirty state (<code>PROP_DIRTY</code> property).
     * </p>
     * <p>
     * If the save is cancelled through user action, or for any other reason, the
     * part should invoke <code>setCancelled</code> on the <code>IProgressMonitor</code>
     * to inform the caller.
     * </p>
     * <p>
     * This method is long-running; progress and cancellation are provided
     * by the given progress monitor. 
     * </p>
     *
     * @param monitor the progress monitor
     */
    public void doSave(IProgressMonitor monitor);

    /**
     * Saves the contents of this part to another object.
     * <p>
     * Implementors are expected to open a "Save As" dialog where the user will
     * be able to select a new name for the contents. After the selection is made,
     * the contents should be saved to that new name.  During this operation a
     * <code>IProgressMonitor</code> should be used to indicate progress.
     * </p>
     * <p>
     * If the save is successful, the part fires a property changed event 
     * reflecting the new dirty state (<code>PROP_DIRTY</code> property).
     * </p>
     */
    public void doSaveAs();

    /**
     * Returns whether the contents of this part have changed since the last save
     * operation. If this value changes the part must fire a property listener 
     * event with <code>PROP_DIRTY</code>.
     * <p>
     * <b>Note:</b> this method is called often on a part open or part
     * activation switch, for example by actions to determine their 
     * enabled status.
     * </p>
     *
     * @return <code>true</code> if the contents have been modified and need
     *   saving, and <code>false</code> if they have not changed since the last
     *   save
     */
    public boolean isDirty();

    /**
     * Returns whether the "Save As" operation is supported by this part.
     *
     * @return <code>true</code> if "Save As" is supported, and <code>false</code>
     *  if not supported
     */
    public boolean isSaveAsAllowed();

    /**
     * Returns whether the contents of this part should be saved when the part
     * is closed.
     *
     * @return <code>true</code> if the contents of the part should be saved on
     *   close, and <code>false</code> if the contents are expendable
     */
    public boolean isSaveOnCloseNeeded();
}