001    /*
002     * Copyright 2006 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.util;
020    
021    import java.io.IOException;
022    
023    import org.w3c.dom.Element;
024    
025    /**
026     * Interface implemented by generic decoders.
027     */
028    public interface Decoder
029    {
030       /**
031        * Create an object using a supplied classloader and DOM element.
032        * @param element the DOM element
033        * @param resolver build-time value resolver
034        * @return the decoded object
035        * @exception IOException if an error occurs in the evaluation 
036        *   of the supplied element
037        */
038        Object decode( Element element, Resolver resolver ) throws IOException;
039    }