001/**
002 * Copyright (c) 2004-2011 QOS.ch
003 * All rights reserved.
004 *
005 * Permission is hereby granted, free  of charge, to any person obtaining
006 * a  copy  of this  software  and  associated  documentation files  (the
007 * "Software"), to  deal in  the Software without  restriction, including
008 * without limitation  the rights to  use, copy, modify,  merge, publish,
009 * distribute,  sublicense, and/or sell  copies of  the Software,  and to
010 * permit persons to whom the Software  is furnished to do so, subject to
011 * the following conditions:
012 *
013 * The  above  copyright  notice  and  this permission  notice  shall  be
014 * included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
015 *
016 * THE  SOFTWARE IS  PROVIDED  "AS  IS", WITHOUT  WARRANTY  OF ANY  KIND,
017 * EXPRESS OR  IMPLIED, INCLUDING  BUT NOT LIMITED  TO THE  WARRANTIES OF
018 * MERCHANTABILITY,    FITNESS    FOR    A   PARTICULAR    PURPOSE    AND
019 * NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE
020 * LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION
021 * OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE,  ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION
022 * WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
023 *
024 */
025package org.slf4j;
026
027import java.io.Serializable;
028import java.util.Iterator;
029
030/**
031 * Markers are named objects used to enrich log statements. Conforming logging
032 * system Implementations of SLF4J determine how information conveyed by markers
033 * are used, if at all. In particular, many conforming logging systems ignore
034 * marker data.
035 * 
036 * <p>
037 * Markers can contain references to other markers, which in turn may contain 
038 * references of their own.
039 * 
040 * @author Ceki G&uuml;lc&uuml;
041 */
042public interface Marker extends Serializable {
043
044    /**
045     * This constant represents any marker, including a null marker.
046     */
047    public final String ANY_MARKER = "*";
048
049    /**
050     * This constant represents any non-null marker.
051     */
052    public final String ANY_NON_NULL_MARKER = "+";
053
054    /**
055     * Get the name of this Marker.
056     * 
057     * @return name of marker
058     */
059    public String getName();
060
061    /**
062     * Add a reference to another Marker.
063     * 
064     * @param reference
065     *                a reference to another marker
066     * @throws IllegalArgumentException
067     *                 if 'reference' is null
068     */
069    public void add(Marker reference);
070
071    /**
072     * Remove a marker reference.
073     * 
074     * @param reference
075     *                the marker reference to remove
076     * @return true if reference could be found and removed, false otherwise.
077     */
078    public boolean remove(Marker reference);
079
080    /**
081     * @deprecated Replaced by {@link #hasReferences()}.
082     */
083    public boolean hasChildren();
084
085    /**
086     * Does this marker have any references?
087     * 
088     * @return true if this marker has one or more references, false otherwise.
089     */
090    public boolean hasReferences();
091
092    /**
093     * Returns an Iterator which can be used to iterate over the references of this
094     * marker. An empty iterator is returned when this marker has no references.
095     * 
096     * @return Iterator over the references of this marker
097     */
098    public Iterator<Marker> iterator();
099
100    /**
101     * Does this marker contain a reference to the 'other' marker? Marker A is defined 
102     * to contain marker B, if A == B or if B is referenced by A, or if B is referenced
103     * by any one of A's references (recursively).
104     * 
105     * @param other
106     *                The marker to test for inclusion.
107     * @throws IllegalArgumentException
108     *                 if 'other' is null
109     * @return Whether this marker contains the other marker.
110     */
111    public boolean contains(Marker other);
112
113    /**
114     * Does this marker contain the marker named 'name'?
115     * 
116     * If 'name' is null the returned value is always false.
117     * 
118     * @param name The marker name to test for inclusion.
119     * @return Whether this marker contains the other marker.
120     */
121    public boolean contains(String name);
122
123    /**
124     * Markers are considered equal if they have the same name.
125     *
126     * @param o
127     * @return true, if this.name equals o.name
128     *
129     * @since 1.5.1
130     */
131    public boolean equals(Object o);
132
133    /**
134     * Compute the hash code based on the name of this marker.
135     * Note that markers are considered equal if they have the same name.
136     * 
137     * @return the computed hashCode
138     * @since 1.5.1
139     */
140    public int hashCode();
141
142}