javax.tv.service.SIElement Maven / Gradle / Ivy

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/*
 * @(#)SIElement.java	1.18 00/10/09
 *
 * Copyright 1998-2000 by Sun Microsystems, Inc.,
 * 901 San Antonio Road, Palo Alto, California, 94303, U.S.A.
 * All rights reserved.
 * 
 * This software is the confidential and proprietary information
 * of Sun Microsystems, Inc. ("Confidential Information").  You
 * shall not disclose such Confidential Information and shall use
 * it only in accordance with the terms of the license agreement
 * you entered into with Sun.
 */

package javax.tv.service;

import javax.tv.locator.Locator;

/**
 * The base interface of elements provided by the SI database.
 * SIElement objects represent immutable copies
 * of the service information data contained in the SI database.  If
 * the information represented by an SIElement E
 * changes in the database, E will not be changed.  The value
 * of the SIElement's locator (obtained by the
 * getLocator() method) will remain unchanged in this
 * case; the locator may be used to retrieve a copy of the SI element
 * with the new data.  Two SIElement objects retrieved
 * from the SI database using the same input Locator at
 * different times will report Locator objects that are
 * equal according to Locator.equal().  However, the
 * SIElement objects themselves will not be
 * equal() if the corresponding data changed in the SI
 * database between the times of their respective retrievals.
 *
 * @see #getLocator
 * @see SIManager#retrieveSIElement
 */
public interface SIElement extends SIRetrievable {
	
 /**
  * Reports the Locator of this SIElement.
  *
  * @return Locator The locator referencing this
  * SIElement */
  public Locator getLocator();

  /**
   * Tests two SIElement objects for equality.  Returns
   * true if and only if:
   * 
   * obj's class is the
   * same as the class of this SIElement, and
   * 
obj's Locator is equal to
   * the Locator of this object (as reported by
   * SIElement.getLocator(), and
   * 
obj and this object encapsulate identical data.
   * 
   *
   * @param obj The object against which to test for equality.
   *
   * @return true if the two SIElement objects
   * are equal; false otherwise.
   */
  public boolean equals(Object obj);

  /**
   * Reports the hash code value of this SIElement.  Two
   * SIElement objects that are equal will have identical
   * hash codes.
   *
   * @return The hash code value of this SIElement.
   */
  public int hashCode();
  
  /**
   * Reports the SI format in which this SIElement was
   * delivered.
   * 
   * @return The SI format in which this SI element was delivered.
   */
  public ServiceInformationType getServiceInformationType();
}