001/*
002 * Entry.java July 2006
003 *
004 * Copyright (C) 2006, Niall Gallagher <niallg@users.sf.net>
005 *
006 * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
007 * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
008 * You may obtain a copy of the License at
009 *
010 *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
011 *
012 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
013 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
014 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or 
015 * implied. See the License for the specific language governing 
016 * permissions and limitations under the License.
017 */
018
019package org.simpleframework.xml.util;
020
021/**
022 * The <code>Entry</code> object represents entries to the dictionary
023 * object. Every entry must have a name attribute, which is used to
024 * establish mappings within the <code>Dictionary</code> object. Each
025 * entry entered into the dictionary can be retrieved using its name. 
026 * <p>
027 * The entry can be serialzed with the dictionary to an XML document.
028 * Items stored within the dictionary need to extend this entry
029 * object to ensure that they can be mapped and serialized with the
030 * dictionary. Implementations should override the root annotation.
031 *
032 * @author Niall Gallagher
033 */ 
034public interface Entry {
035
036   /**
037    * Represents the name of the entry instance used for mappings.
038    * This will be used to map the object to the internal map in
039    * the <code>Dictionary</code>. This allows serialized objects
040    * to be added to the dictionary transparently.
041    * 
042    * @return this returns the name of the entry that is used 
043    */         
044   String getName();
045}