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/*
 * Copyright (c) 1998-2018 University Corporation for Atmospheric Research/Unidata
 * See LICENSE for license information.
 */
package ucar.units;

/**
 * Interface for classes that parse and format unit specifications.
 *
 * @author Steven R. Emmerson
 */
public interface UnitFormat {
  /**
   * Parses a unit specification.
   * 
   * @param spec The unit specification (e.g. "m/s");
   * @return The unit corresponding to the specification.
   * @throws NoSuchUnitException A unit in the specification couldn't be
   *         found (e.g. the "m" in the example).
   * @throws UnitParseException The specification is grammatically
   *         incorrect.
   * @throws SpecificationException The specification is incorrect somehow.
   * @throws UnitDBException Problem with the unit database.
   * @throws PrefixDBException Problem with the unit-prefix database.
   * @throws UnitSystemException Problem with the system of units.
   */
  Unit parse(String spec) throws NoSuchUnitException, UnitParseException, SpecificationException, UnitDBException,
      PrefixDBException, UnitSystemException;

  /**
   * Parses a unit specification.
   * 
   * @param spec The unit specification (e.g. "m/s");
   * @param unitDB The unit database.
   * @return The unit corresponding to the specification.
   * @throws NoSuchUnitException A unit in the specification couldn't be
   *         found (e.g. the "m" in the example).
   * @throws UnitParseException The specification is grammatically
   *         incorrect.
   * @throws SpecificationException The specification is incorrect somehow.
   * @throws UnitDBException Problem with the unit database.
   * @throws PrefixDBException Problem with the unit-prefix database.
   * @throws UnitSystemException Problem with the system of units.
   */
  Unit parse(String spec, UnitDB unitDB) throws NoSuchUnitException, UnitParseException, SpecificationException,
      UnitDBException, PrefixDBException, UnitSystemException;

  /**
   * Formats a Factor (a base unit/exponent pair).
   * 
   * @param factor The base unit/exponent pair.
   * @return The formatted factor.
   */
  String format(Factor factor);

  /**
   * Appends a formatted factor to a string buffer. A factor is a
   * base unit/exponent pair).
   * 
   * @param factor The base unit/exponent pair.
   * @param buffer The string buffer to be appended to.
   * @return The string buffer.
   */
  StringBuffer format(Factor factor, StringBuffer buffer);

  /**
   * Formats a unit. If the unit has a symbol or name, then one of them
   * will be used; otherwise, a specification of the unit in terms of
   * underlying units will be returned.
   * 
   * @param unit The unit.
   * @return The formatted unit.
   */
  String format(Unit unit) throws UnitClassException;

  /**
   * Formats a unit using a long form. This always returns a specification
   * for the unit in terms of underlying units: it doesn't return the name
   * or symbol of the unit unless the unit is a base unit.
   * 
   * @param unit The unit.
   * @return The formatted unit.
   */
  String longFormat(Unit unit) throws UnitClassException;

  /**
   * Appends a formatted unit to a string buffer. This is similar to
   * format(Unit) but it appends the specification to a
   * string buffer.
   * 
   * @param unit The unit.
   * @param buffer The string buffer to be appended to.
   * @return The string buffer.
   */
  StringBuffer format(Unit unit, StringBuffer buffer) throws UnitClassException;

  /**
   * Appends a unit formatted according to the long form to a string buffer.
   * This is similar to longFormat(Unit) but it appends the
   * specification to a string buffer.
   * 
   * @param unit The unit.
   * @param buffer The string buffer to be appended to.
   * @return The string buffer.
   */
  StringBuffer longFormat(Unit unit, StringBuffer buffer) throws UnitClassException;
}