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 * ObjectFactory.java
029 * ------------------
030 * (C) Copyright 2003-2005, by Thomas Morgner and Contributors.
031 *
032 * Original Author:  Thomas Morgner;
033 * Contributor(s):   David Gilbert (for Object Refinery Limited);
034 *
035 * $Id: ObjectFactory.java,v 1.3 2005/10/18 13:33:53 mungady Exp $
036 *
037 * Changes
038 * -------
039 * 22-Nov-2003 : Version 1 (TM);
040 *  
041 */
042
043package org.jfree.xml.util;
044
045/**
046 * An object factory.
047 */
048public interface ObjectFactory {
049
050    /**
051     * Returns the generic factory for the given class or null, if there is
052     * no handler for this class. The factory will be reinitialized using
053     * getInstance().
054     *
055     * @param c the class for which we need a producer
056     * @return the factory for this class
057     */
058    public GenericObjectFactory getFactoryForClass(Class c);
059
060    /**
061     * Checks, whether a generic handler exists for the given class. This does
062     * not check, whether an mapping exists.
063     *
064     * @param c the class for which to check
065     * @return true, if an generic handler is defined, false otherwise.
066     */
067    public boolean isGenericHandler(Class c);
068
069    /**
070     * Returns the multiplex definition for the given class, or null, if no
071     * such definition exists.
072     *
073     * @param c the class for which to check the existence of the multiplexer
074     * @return the multiplexer for the class, or null if no multiplexer exists.
075     */
076    public MultiplexMappingDefinition getMultiplexDefinition(Class c);
077
078    /**
079     * Returns the manual mapping definition for the given class, or null, if
080     * not manual definition exists.
081     *
082     * @param c the class for which to check the existence of the definition
083     * @return the manual mapping definition or null.
084     */
085    public ManualMappingDefinition getManualMappingDefinition(Class c);
086
087}