001    /*
002     * Copyright 2005 Stephen J. McConnell
003     *
004     * Licensed  under the  Apache License,  Version 2.0  (the "License");
005     * you may not use  this file  except in  compliance with the License.
006     * You may obtain a copy of the License at
007     *
008     *   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
009     *
010     * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
011     * distributed  under the  License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
012     * WITHOUT  WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS  OF ANY KIND, either  express  or
013     * implied.
014     *
015     * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
016     * limitations under the License.
017     */
018    
019    package net.dpml.library;
020    
021    /**
022     * The Dictonary interface exposes operations dealing with named properties.
023     *
024     * @author <a href="http://www.dpml.net">Digital Product Meta Library</a>
025     * @version 1.1.0
026     */
027    public interface Dictionary
028    {
029       /**
030        * Return the property names associated with the dictionary.
031        * @return the array of property names
032        */
033        String[] getPropertyNames();
034        
035       /**
036        * Return the local property names associated with the dictionary.
037        * @return the array of local property names
038        */
039        String[] getLocalPropertyNames();
040    
041       /**
042        * Return a property value.
043        * @param key the property key
044        * @return the property value
045        */
046        String getProperty( String key );
047        
048       /**
049        * Return a property value.
050        * @param key the property key
051        * @param value the default value
052        * @return the property value
053        */
054        String getProperty( String key, String value );
055        
056       /**
057        * Return an boolean property value.
058        * @param key the property key
059        * @param value the default value
060        * @return the property value as an boolean
061        */
062        boolean getBooleanProperty( String key, boolean value );
063        
064       /**
065        * Return an integer property value.
066        * @param key the property key
067        * @param value the default value
068        * @return the property value as an integer
069        */
070        int getIntegerProperty( String key, int value );
071    
072       /**
073        * Evaluate and expand any symbolic references in the supplied value.
074        * @param value the value to resolve
075        * @return the resolved value
076        */
077        String resolve( String value );
078        
079    }