001: /* ========================================================================
002: * JCommon : a free general purpose class library for the Java(tm) platform
003: * ========================================================================
004: *
005: * (C) Copyright 2000-2005, by Object Refinery Limited and Contributors.
006: *
007: * Project Info: http://www.jfree.org/jcommon/index.html
008: *
009: * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
010: * under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by
011: * the Free Software Foundation; either version 2.1 of the License, or
012: * (at your option) any later version.
013: *
014: * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
015: * WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY
016: * or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Lesser General Public
017: * License for more details.
018: *
019: * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
020: * License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
021: * Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301,
022: * USA.
023: *
024: * [Java is a trademark or registered trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.
025: * in the United States and other countries.]
026: *
027: * -----------------
028: * ClassFactory.java
029: * -----------------
030: * (C)opyright 2003, 2004, by Thomas Morgner and Contributors.
031: *
032: * Original Author: Thomas Morgner;
033: * Contributor(s): David Gilbert (for Object Refinery Limited);
034: *
035: * $Id: ClassFactory.java,v 1.3 2005/11/14 10:59:58 mungady Exp $
036: *
037: * Changes (from 19-Feb-2003)
038: * -------------------------
039: * 19-Feb-2003 : Added standard header and Javadocs (DG);
040: * 29-Apr-2003 : Distilled from the JFreeReport project and moved into JCommon
041: *
042: */
043:
044: package org.jfree.xml.factory.objects;
045:
046: import java.io.Serializable;
047: import java.util.Iterator;
048:
049: import org.jfree.util.Configuration;
050:
051: /**
052: * A class factory.
053: *
054: * @author Thomas Morgner
055: */
056: public interface ClassFactory extends Serializable {
057:
058: /**
059: * Returns an object description for a class.
060: *
061: * @param c the class.
062: *
063: * @return The object description.
064: */
065: public ObjectDescription getDescriptionForClass(Class c);
066:
067: /**
068: * Returns an object description for the super class of a class.
069: *
070: * @param d the class.
071: * @param knownSuperClass the last known super class or null.
072: *
073: * @return The object description.
074: */
075: public ObjectDescription getSuperClassObjectDescription(Class d,
076: ObjectDescription knownSuperClass);
077:
078: /**
079: * Returns an iterator for the registered classes. This returns a list
080: * of pre-registered classes known to this ClassFactory. A class may be able
081: * to handle more than the registered classes.
082: * <p>
083: * This method exists to support query tools for UI design, do not rely on it
084: * for day to day work.
085: *
086: * @return The iterator.
087: */
088: public Iterator getRegisteredClasses();
089:
090: /**
091: * Configures this factory. The configuration contains several keys and
092: * their defined values. The given reference to the configuration object
093: * will remain valid until the report parsing or writing ends.
094: * <p>
095: * The configuration contents may change during the reporting.
096: *
097: * @param config the configuration, never null
098: */
099: public void configure(Configuration config);
100:
101: /**
102: * Compares whether two object factories are equal. This method must be
103: * implemented!
104: *
105: * @param o the other object.
106: * @return true, if both object factories describe the same objects, false otherwise.
107: */
108: public boolean equals(Object o);
109:
110: /**
111: * Computes the hashCode for this ClassFactory. As equals() must be implemented,
112: * a corresponding hashCode() should be implemented as well.
113: *
114: * @return the hashcode.
115: */
116: public int hashCode();
117: }
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