tapestry/tapestry-framework/src/java/org/apache/tapestry/util/IPropertyHolder.java

// Copyright 2004, 2005 The Apache Software Foundation
//
// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
// You may obtain a copy of the License at
//
//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
//
// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
// limitations under the License.

package org.apache.tapestry.util;

import java.util.List;

/**
 * An interface that defines an object that can store named propertys. The names
 * and the properties are Strings.
 * 
 * @author Howard Lewis Ship
 */

public interface IPropertyHolder
{

    /**
     * Returns a List of Strings, the names of all properties held by the
     * receiver. May return an empty list. The List is sorted alphabetically.
     * The List may be modified without affecting this property holder.
     * <p>
     * Prior to release 2.2, this method returned Collection.
     */

    List getPropertyNames();

    /**
     * Sets a named property. The new value replaces the existing value, if any.
     * Setting a property to null is the same as removing the property.
     */

    void setProperty(String name, String value);

    /**
     * Removes the named property, if present.
     */

    void removeProperty(String name);

    /**
     * Retrieves the named property, or null if the property is not defined.
     */

    String getProperty(String name);
}