ConfiguratorCodec.java :  » Game » rugl » com » ryanm » config » serial » Java Open Source

package com.ryanm.config.serial;

/**
 * Defines an object that can encode and decode variables of a given
 * type
 * 
 * @author s9902505
 * @param <P>
 *           The type of object handled by the codec
 */
public interface ConfiguratorCodec<P>
{
  /**
   * Encodes the value of a given object
   * 
   * @param value
   *           The value to encode
   * @return The String encoding for the value, or null if encoding
   *         was not possible
   */
  public String encode( P value );

  /**
   * Decodes the encoded string into a value object
   * 
   * @param encoded
   *           The encoded string
   * @param runtimeType
   *           The desired type of the object
   * @return The value of the encoded string
   * @throws ParseException
   */
  public P decode( String encoded, Class runtimeType ) throws ParseException;

  /**
   * Gets the type identifier that this codec object can handle
   * 
   * @return The type identifier
   */
  public Class getType();

  /**
   * Gets a description of the saved format
   * 
   * @return a descriptive string
   */
  public String getDescription();
}