package edu.vt.marian.search;

import java.util.*;
import java.io.*;

import edu.vt.marian.common.*;


/**
 * ClassManager for any class of nodes.
 *
	@author	Robert France
 * @see	ClassManager
 * @see	LinkClassManager
 * @see edu.vt.marian.common.InfoDesc
 * @see	WtdObjSet
 */

public interface NodeClassManager extends ClassManager
{
	/**
	   Create (or find in the local cache) a set of matches to description.
	   @param	description	An abstract description of a set of nodes
					in this class, including their "context":
					significant links with other parts of the
					collection network.
	   @return	A WtdObjSet of instances of this class, weighted by how
			well they match the description.
	*/
	public WtdObjSet match(InfoDesc description);


	/**
	   Is this the ID of an instance currently in this class?
	 */
	public boolean isInClass(FullID id);

	/**
	   Return the Java Object that implements the instance of this class
		picked out by id.
	   @param	id	The FullID for an object of this class.
	   @return	the (Java form of the) real object, or 'null' if id
			does not describe an instance currently in this class.
	 */
	public Object idToObject(FullID id);

	/**
	   Do idToObject() for a bunch of FullIDs.
	   @param	ids	A Vector of FullIDs for objects of this class.
	   @return	A Vector of real (Java) objects, in one-to-one
			correspondence with their FullIDs in ids.
	   <B>NOTE:</B> Should a FullID in ids not pick out a valid instance
			of this class, the corresponding element of the return
			vector is set to 'null'.
	 */
	public Vector idsToObjects(Vector ids);
}