javafx.beans.Observable Maven / Gradle / Ivy

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package javafx.beans;


/**
 * An {@code Observable} is an entity that wraps content and allows to
 * observe the content for invalidations.
 * 
 * An implementation of {@code Observable} may support lazy evaluation,
 * which means that the content is not immediately recomputed after changes, but
 * lazily the next time it is requested. All bindings and properties in
 * this library support lazy evaluation.
 * 

 * Implementations of this class should strive to generate as few events as
 * possible to avoid wasting too much time in event handlers. Implementations in
 * this library mark themselves as invalid when the first invalidation event
 * occurs. They do not generate anymore invalidation events until their value is
 * recomputed and valid again.
 * 
 * @see javafx.beans.value.ObservableValue
 * @see javafx.collections.ObservableList
 * @see javafx.collections.ObservableMap
 * 
 * 
 * @since JavaFX 2.0
 */
public interface Observable {

    /**
     * Adds an {@link InvalidationListener} which will be notified whenever the
     * {@code Observable} becomes invalid. If the same
     * listener is added more than once, then it will be notified more than
     * once. That is, no check is made to ensure uniqueness.
     * 

     * Note that the same actual {@code InvalidationListener} instance may be
     * safely registered for different {@code Observables}.
     * 

     * The {@code Observable} stores a strong reference to the listener
     * which will prevent the listener from being garbage collected and may
     * result in a memory leak. It is recommended to either unregister a
     * listener by calling {@link #removeListener(InvalidationListener)
     * removeListener} after use or to use an instance of
     * {@link WeakInvalidationListener} avoid this situation.
     * 
     * @see #removeListener(InvalidationListener)
     * 
     * @param listener
     *            The listener to register
     * @throws NullPointerException
     *             if the listener is null
     */
    void addListener(InvalidationListener listener);

    /**
     * Removes the given listener from the list of listeners, that are notified
     * whenever the value of the {@code Observable} becomes invalid.
     * 
     * If the given listener has not been previously registered (i.e. it was
     * never added) then this method call is a no-op. If it had been previously
     * added then it will be removed. If it had been added more than once, then
     * only the first occurrence will be removed.
     * 
     * @see #addListener(InvalidationListener)
     * 
     * @param listener
     *            The listener to remove
     * @throws NullPointerException
     *             if the listener is null
     */
    void removeListener(InvalidationListener listener);

}