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/*
 * Copyright (c) 2008, Harald Kuhr
 * All rights reserved.
 *
 * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
 * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
 *
 * * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this
 *   list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
 *
 * * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice,
 *   this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation
 *   and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
 *
 * * Neither the name of the copyright holder nor the names of its
 *   contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from
 *   this software without specific prior written permission.
 *
 * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS"
 * AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
 * IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
 * DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT HOLDER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
 * FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
 * DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR
 * SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER
 * CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY,
 * OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE
 * OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
 */

package com.twelvemonkeys.util.convert;

/**
 * Converts strings to objects and back.
 *
 * @author Harald Kuhr
 * @author last modified by $Author: haku $
 * @version $Id: //depot/branches/personal/haraldk/twelvemonkeys/release-2/twelvemonkeys-core/src/main/java/com/twelvemonkeys/util/convert/PropertyConverter.java#1 $
 */
public interface PropertyConverter {

    /**
     * Converts the string to an object, using the given format for parsing.
     *
     * @param pString the string to convert
     * @param pType the type to convert to. {@code PropertyConverter}
     * implementations may choose to ignore this parameter.
     * @param pFormat the format used for parsing. {@code PropertyConverter}
     * implementations may choose to ignore this parameter. Also, 
     * implementations that require a parser format, should provide a default
     * format, and allow {@code null} as the format argument.
     *
     * @return the object created from the given string.
     *
     * @throws ConversionException if the string could not be converted to the
     * specified type and format.
     */
    public Object toObject(String pString, Class pType, String pFormat)
        throws ConversionException;

    /**
     * Converts the object to a string, using the given format
     *
     * @param pObject the object to convert
     * @param pFormat the format used for parsing. {@code PropertyConverter}
     * implementations may choose to ignore this parameter. Also, 
     * implementations that require a parser format, should provide a default
     * format, and allow {@code null} as the format argument.
     *
     * @return the string representation of the object, on the correct format.
     *
     * @throws ConversionException if the string could not be converted to the
     * specified type and format.
     */
    public String toString(Object pObject, String pFormat)
        throws ConversionException;
}