converterfactory.java

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/*
 * Copyright 2002-2004 the original author or authors.
 *
 * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
 * You may obtain a copy of the License at
 *
 *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 *
 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 * limitations under the License.
 */

package de.mindmatters.faces.application;

import java.util.Iterator;

import javax.faces.application.Application;
import javax.faces.convert.Converter;

/**
 * <strong>Factory</strong> for managing {@link Converter}s. Used by
 * {@link ApplicationImpl}.
 * 
 * @author Andreas Kuhrwahl
 * 
 */
public interface ConverterFactory {

    /**
     * Register a new mapping of converter id to the name of the corresponding
     * {@link Converter} class. This allows subsequent calls to
     * <code>createConverter()</code> to serve as a factory for
     * {@link Converter} instances.
     * 
     * @param application
     *            the <strong>original</strong> Application of the underlying
     *            JSF implementation
     * @param converterId
     *            The converter id to be registered
     * @param converterClass
     *            The fully qualified class name of the corresponding
     *            {@link Converter} implementation
     * 
     * @exception NullPointerException
     *                if <code>converterId</code> or
     *                <code>converterClass</code> is <code>null</code>
     */
    void addConverter(Application application, String converterId,
            String converterClass);

    /**
     * Register a new converter class that is capable of performing conversions
     * for the specified target class.
     * 
     * @param application
     *            the <strong>original</strong> Application of the underlying
     *            JSF implementation
     * @param targetClass
     *            The class for which this converter is registered
     * @param converterClass
     *            The fully qualified class name of the corresponding
     *            {@link Converter} implementation
     * 
     * @exception NullPointerException
     *                if <code>targetClass</code> or
     *                <code>converterClass</code> is <code>null</code>
     */
    void addConverter(Application application, Class targetClass,
            String converterClass);

    /**
     * Instantiate and return a new {@link Converter} instance of the class
     * specified by a previous call to <code>addConverter()</code> for the
     * specified converter id. If there is no such registration for this
     * converter id, return <code>null</code>.
     * 
     * @param application
     *            the <strong>original</strong> Application of the underlying
     *            JSF implementation
     * @param converterId
     *            The converter id for which to create and return a new
     *            {@link Converter} instance
     * @return the created Converter
     * @exception javax.faces.FacesException
     *                if the {@link Converter} cannot be created
     * @exception NullPointerException
     *                if <code>converterId</code> is <code>null</code>
     */
    Converter createConverter(Application application, String converterId);

    /**
     * Instantiate and return a new {@link Converter} instance of the class that
     * has registered itself as capable of performing conversions for objects of
     * the specified type. If no such {@link Converter} class can be identified,
     * return <code>null</code>.
     * 
     * <p>
     * To locate an appropriate {@link Converter} class, the following algorithm
     * is performed, stopping as soon as an appropriate {@link Converter} class
     * is found:
     * </p>
     * <ul>
     * <li>Locate a {@link Converter} registered for the target class itself.
     * </li>
     * <li>Locate a {@link Converter} registered for interfaces that are
     * implemented by the target class (directly or indirectly).</li>
     * <li>Locate a {@link Converter} registered for the superclass (if any) of
     * the target class, recursively working up the inheritance hierarchy.</li>
     * </ul>
     * 
     * @param application
     *            the <strong>original</strong> Application of the underlying
     *            JSF implementation
     * @param targetClass
     *            Target class for which to return a {@link Converter}
     * @return the created Converter
     * @exception javax.faces.FacesException
     *                if the {@link Converter} cannot be created
     * @exception NullPointerException
     *                if <code>targetClass</code> is <code>null</code>
     */
    Converter createConverter(Application application, Class targetClass);

    /**
     * Return an <code>Iterator</code> over the set of currently registered
     * converter ids for this <code>Application</code>.
     * 
     * @param application
     *            the <strong>original</strong> Application of the underlying
     *            JSF implementation
     * @return An Iterator over the set of currently registered converter ids
     */
    Iterator getConverterIds(Application application);

    /**
     * Return an <code>Iterator</code> over the set of <code>Class</code>
     * instances for which {@link Converter} classes have been explicitly
     * registered.
     * 
     * @param application
     *            the <strong>original</strong> Application of the underlying
     *            JSF implementation
     * @return An Iterator over the set of <code>Class</code> instances for
     *         which {@link Converter} classes have been explicitly registered
     */
    Iterator getConverterTypes(Application application);

}