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.library;
020    
021    import net.dpml.library.info.TypeDirective;
022    
023    /**
024     * Interface implemented by type datastructure builders.
025     */
026    public interface TypeBuilder
027    {
028       /**
029        * Return the id of the type produced by the builder.
030        * @return the type id
031        */
032        String getID();
033        
034       /**
035        * Construct a type instance using a supplied classloader and type
036        * production directive.
037        * @param classloader the base classloader
038        * @param type the type production directive
039        * @return the type instance
040        * @exception Exception if an error occurs
041        */
042        Type buildType( ClassLoader classloader, TypeDirective type ) throws Exception;
043    }