/*

 * Copyright 2000-2001 Sun Microsystems, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.

 * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER.

 *

 * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it

 * under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 only, as

 * published by the Free Software Foundation.  Sun designates this

 * particular file as subject to the "Classpath" exception as provided

 * by Sun in the LICENSE file that accompanied this code.

 *

 * This code is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT

 * ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or

 * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License

 * version 2 for more details (a copy is included in the LICENSE file that

 * accompanied this code).

 *

 * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License version

 * 2 along with this work; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,

 * Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.

 *

 * Please contact Sun Microsystems, Inc., 4150 Network Circle, Santa Clara,

 * CA 95054 USA or visit www.sun.com if you need additional information or

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 */

package java.security.cert;

/**

 * A specification of <code>CertStore</code> parameters.

 * <p>

 * The purpose of this interface is to group (and provide type safety for)

 * all <code>CertStore</code> parameter specifications. All

 * <code>CertStore</code> parameter specifications must implement this

 * interface.

 * <p>

 * Typically, a <code>CertStoreParameters</code> object is passed as a parameter

 * to one of the {@link CertStore#getInstance CertStore.getInstance} methods.

 * The <code>getInstance</code> method returns a <code>CertStore</code> that

 * is used for retrieving <code>Certificate</code>s and <code>CRL</code>s. The

 * <code>CertStore</code> that is returned is initialized with the specified

 * parameters. The type of parameters needed may vary between different types

 * of <code>CertStore</code>s.

 *

 * @see CertStore#getInstance

 *

 * @since       1.4

 * @author      Steve Hanna

 */

public interface CertStoreParameters extends Cloneable {

    /**

     * Makes a copy of this <code>CertStoreParameters</code>.

     * <p>

     * The precise meaning of "copy" may depend on the class of

     * the <code>CertStoreParameters</code> object. A typical implementation

     * performs a "deep copy" of this object, but this is not an absolute

     * requirement. Some implementations may perform a "shallow copy" of some

     * or all of the fields of this object.

     * <p>

     * Note that the <code>CertStore.getInstance</code> methods make a copy

     * of the specified <code>CertStoreParameters</code>. A deep copy

     * implementation of <code>clone</code> is safer and more robust, as it

     * prevents the caller from corrupting a shared <code>CertStore</code> by

     * subsequently modifying the contents of its initialization parameters.

     * However, a shallow copy implementation of <code>clone</code> is more

     * appropriate for applications that need to hold a reference to a

     * parameter contained in the <code>CertStoreParameters</code>. For example,

     * a shallow copy clone allows an application to release the resources of

     * a particular <code>CertStore</code> initialization parameter immediately,

     * rather than waiting for the garbage collection mechanism. This should

     * be done with the utmost care, since the <code>CertStore</code> may still

     * be in use by other threads.

     * <p>

     * Each subclass should state the precise behavior of this method so

     * that users and developers know what to expect.

     *

     * @return a copy of this <code>CertStoreParameters</code>

     */

    Object clone();

}