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package org.omg.CORBA;

import org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.*;

import org.omg.CORBA.portable.IDLEntity;

/**

 * A container for information about a specific CORBA data

 * type.

 *<P>

 * <code>TypeCode</code> objects are used:

 * <UL>

 * <LI>in the Dynamic Invocation Interface -- to indicate the types

 * of the actual arguments or the type of the return value.  <BR>

 * <code>NamedValue</code> objects are used to represent arguments and

 * return values.  One of their components is an <code>Any</code>

 * object, which in turn has as one of its components a

 * <code>TypeCode</code> object.

 * <LI>by an Interface Repository to represent the type specifications

 * that are part of many OMG IDL declarations

 * </UL>

 * <P>

 * The representation of a <code>TypeCode</code> object is opaque,

 * but abstractly, a <code>TypeCode</code> object consists of:

 * <UL>

 * <LI>a <code>kind</code> field, which is set to an instance

 * of the class <code>TCKind</code>

 * <LI>zero or more additional fields appropriate

 * for the particular kind. For example, the

 * <code>TypeCode</code> object

 * describing the OMG IDL type <code>1ong</code> has kind

 * <code>TCKind.tk_long</code> and no additional fields.

 * The <code>TypeCode</code> describing OMG IDL type

 * <code>sequence&lt;boolean, 10&gt;</code> has a <code>kind</code> field

 * with the value

 * <code>TCKind.tk_sequence</code> and also fields with the values

 * <code>boolean</code> and <code>10</code> for the

 * type of sequence elements and the length of the sequence. <p>

 * </UL>

 *

 * <code>TypeCode</code> objects can be obtained in various ways:

 * <OL>

 * <LI>from a call to the method <code>Any.insert_X</code>, where X is

 * a basic IDL type.  This method creates a <code>TypeCode</code> object

 * for type X and assigns it to the <code>Any</code> object's

 * <code>type</code> field.

 * <LI>from invocations of methods in the ORB class

 * <P>For example, the following creates a <code>TypeCode</code>

 * object for a <code>string</code> with a maximum of 30 characters:

 * <PRE>

 *   org.omg.CORBA.TypeCode tcString = orb.create_string_tc(30);

 * </PRE>

 * <P> The following creates a <code>TypeCode</code>

 * object for an <code>array</code> of five <code>string</code>s:

 * <PRE>

 *   org.omg.CORBA.TypeCode tcArray = orb.create_array_tc(

 *                                       5, TCKind.tk_string);

 * </PRE>

 * <P> The following creates a <code>TypeCode</code>

 * object for an interface named "Account":

 * <PRE>

 *   org.omg.CORBA.TypeCode tcInterface = orb.create_interface_tc(

 *                                                 "thisId", "Account");

 * </PRE>

 * <LI>as the return value from the <code>_type</code> method

 * in <code>Holder</code> classes for user-defined

 * IDL types.  These <code>Holder</code> classes are generated

 * by the <code>idltojava</code> compiler.

 * <LI>from a CORBA Interface Repository

 * </OL>

 * <P>

 * Most of the methods in the class <code>TypeCode</code>

 * are accessors, and the information contained in a <code>TypeCode</code>

 * object is specific to a particular type.  Therefore, methods

 * must be invoked

 * only on the kind of type codes to which they apply.  If an

 * accessor method

 * tries to access information from an inappropriate kind of

 * type code, it will throw

 * the exception <code>TypeCodePackage.BadKind</code>.  For example,

 * if the method <code>discriminator_type</code> is called on anything

 * other than a <code>union</code>, it will throw <code>BadKind</code>

 * because only <code>union</code>s have a discriminator.

 * The following list shows which methods apply to which kinds of

 * type codes:

 * <P>

 * These methods may be invoked on all <code>TypeCode</code> kinds:

 * <UL>

 * <LI><code>equal</code>

 * <LI><code>kind</code>

 * </UL>

 * <P>

 * These methods may be invoked on <code>objref</code>, <code>struct</code>,

 * <code>union</code>, <code>enum</code>,

 * <code>alias</code>, <code>exception</code>, <code>value</code>,

 * <code>value_box</code>, <code>native</code>,

 * and <code>abstract_interface</code>:

 * <UL>

 * <LI><code>id</code>

 * <LI><code>name</code>

 * </UL>

 * <P>

 * These methods may be invoked on <code>struct</code>,

 * <code>union</code>, <code>enum</code>,

 * and <code>exception</code>:

 * <UL>

 * <LI><code>member_count</code>

 * <LI><code>member_name</code>

 * </UL>

 * <P>

 * These methods may be invoked on <code>struct</code>,

 * <code>union</code>, and <code>exception</code>:

 * <UL>

 * <LI><code>member_type(int index)</code>

 * </UL>

 * <P>

 * These methods may be invoked on <code>union</code>:

 * <UL>

 * <LI><code>member_label</code>

 * <LI><code>discriminator_type</code>

 * <LI><code>default_index</code>

 * </UL>

 * <P>

 * These methods may be invoked on <code>string</code>,

 * <code>sequence</code>, and <code>array</code>:

 * <UL>

 * <LI><code>length</code>

 * </UL>

 * <P>

 * These methods may be invoked on <code>alias</code>,

 * <code>sequence</code>, <code>array</code>, and <code>value_box</code>:

 * <UL>

 * <LI><code>content_type</code>

 * </UL>

 * <P>

 * Unlike other CORBA pseudo-objects, <code>TypeCode</code>

 * objects can be passed as general IDL parameters. <p>

 * The methods <code>parameter</code> and <code>param_count</code>,

 * which are deprecated, are not mapped.  <p>

 *

 * Java IDL extends the CORBA specification to allow all operations permitted

 * on a <code>struct</code> <code>TypeCode</code> to be permitted

 * on an <code>exception</code> <code>TypeCode</code> as well. <p>

 *

 */

public abstract class TypeCode implements IDLEntity {

    /**

     * Compares this <code>TypeCode</code> object with the given one,

     * testing for equality. <code>TypeCode</code> objects are equal if

     * they are interchangeable and give identical results when

     * <code>TypeCode</code> operations are applied to them.

     *

     * @param tc                the <code>TypeCode</code> object to compare against

     * @return          <code>true</code> if the type codes are equal;

     *                <code>false</code> otherwise

     */

    public abstract boolean equal(TypeCode tc);

    /**

         * Tests to see if the given <code>TypeCode</code> object is

         * equivalent to this <code>TypeCode</code> object.

         * <P>

         *

         *

         * @param tc the typecode to compare with this typecode

         *

         * @return <code>true</code> if the given typecode is equivalent to

         *         this typecode; <code>false</code> otherwise

     *

     */

    public abstract boolean equivalent(TypeCode tc);

    /**

     * Strips out all optional name and member name fields,

     * but leaves all alias typecodes intact.

         * @return a <code>TypeCode</code> object with optional name and

         *         member name fields stripped out, except for alias typecodes,

         *         which are left intact

     * @see <a href="package-summary.html#unimpl"><code>CORBA</code> package

     *      comments for unimplemented features</a>

     */

    public abstract TypeCode get_compact_typecode();

    /**

     * Retrieves the kind of this <code>TypeCode</code> object.

     * The kind of a type code determines which <code>TypeCode</code>

     * methods may legally be invoked on it.

     * <P>

     * The method <code>kind</code> may be invoked on any

     * <code>TypeCode</code> object.

     *

     * @return  the <code>TCKind</code> instance indicating the

     *            value of the <code>kind</code> field of this

     *                  <code>TypeCode</code> object

     */

    public abstract TCKind kind();

    /**

     * Retrieves the RepositoryId globally identifying the type

     * of this <code>TypeCode</code> object.

     * <P>

     * The method <code>id</code> can be invoked on object reference,

     * structure, union, enumeration, alias, exception, valuetype,

     * boxed valuetype, native, and abstract interface type codes.

     * Object reference, exception, valuetype, boxed valuetype,

     * native, and abstract interface <code>TypeCode</code> objects

     * always have a RepositoryId.

     * Structure, union, enumeration, and alias <code>TypeCode</code> objects

     * obtained from the Interface Repository or the method

     * <code>ORB.create_operation_list</code>

     * also always have a RepositoryId. If there is no RepositoryId, the

     * method can return an empty string.

     *

     * @return          the RepositoryId for this <code>TypeCode</code> object

     *                or an empty string if there is no RepositoryID

     * @throws org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.BadKind if the method

     *           is invoked on an inappropriate kind of<code>TypeCode</code>

     *           object

     */

    public abstract String id() throws BadKind;

    /**

     * Retrieves the simple name identifying this <code>TypeCode</code>

     * object within its

     * enclosing scope. Since names are local to a Repository, the

     * name returned from a <code>TypeCode</code> object

     * may not match the name of the

     * type in any particular Repository, and may even be an empty

     * string.

     * <P>

     * The method <code>name</code> can be invoked on object reference,

     * structure, union, enumeration, alias, exception, valuetype,

     * boxed valuetype, native, and abstract interface

     * <code>TypeCode</code> objects.

     *

     * @return          the name identifying this <code>TypeCode</code> object

     *                or an empty string

     * @throws org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.BadKind if the method

     *           is invoked on an inappropriate kind of<code>TypeCode</code>

     *           object

     */

    public abstract String name() throws BadKind;

    /**

     * Retrieves the number of members in the type described by

     * this <code>TypeCode</code> object.

     * <P>

     * The method <code>member_count</code> can be invoked on

     * structure, union, and enumeration <code>TypeCode</code> objects.

     * Java IDL extends the CORBA specification to allow this method to

     * operate on exceptions as well.

     *

     * @return          the number of members constituting the type described

     *                by this <code>TypeCode</code> object

     *

     * @throws org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.BadKind if the method

     *           is invoked on an inappropriate kind of <code>TypeCode</code>

     *           object

     */

    public abstract int member_count() throws BadKind;

    /**

     * Retrieves the simple name of the member identified by

     * the given index. Since names are local to a

     * Repository, the name returned from a <code>TypeCode</code> object

     * may not match the name of the member in any particular

     * Repository, and may even be an empty string.

     * <P>

     * The  method <code>member_name</code> can be invoked on structure, union,

     * and enumeration <code>TypeCode</code> objects.

     * Java IDL extends the CORBA specification to allow this method to

     * operate on exceptions as well.

     *

     * @param index     index of the member for which a name is being reqested

     * @return          simple name of the member identified by the

     *                  index or an empty string

     * @throws org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.Bounds if the index is equal

     *            to or greater than

     *                  the number of members constituting the type

     * @throws org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.BadKind if the method

     *           is invoked on an inappropriate kind of <code>TypeCode</code>

     *           object

     */

    public abstract String member_name(int index)

        throws BadKind, org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.Bounds;

    /**

     * Retrieves the <code>TypeCode</code> object describing the type

     * of the member identified by the given index.

     * <P>

     * The method <code>member_type</code> can be invoked on structure

     * and union <code>TypeCode</code> objects.

     * Java IDL extends the CORBA specification to allow this method to

     * operate on exceptions as well.

     *

     * @param index     index of the member for which type information

     *                is begin requested

     * @return          the <code>TypeCode</code> object describing the

     *                member at the given index

     * @throws org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.Bounds if the index is

     *                equal to or greater than

     *                      the number of members constituting the type

     * @throws org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.BadKind if the method

     *           is invoked on an inappropriate kind of <code>TypeCode</code>

     *           object

     */

    public abstract TypeCode member_type(int index)

        throws BadKind, org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.Bounds;

    /**

     * Retrieves the label of the union member

     * identified by the given index. For the default member,

     * the label is the zero octet.

     *<P>

     * The method <code>member_label</code> can only be invoked on union

     * <code>TypeCode</code> objects.

     *

     * @param index     index of the union member for which the

     *                label is being requested

     * @return          an <code>Any</code> object describing the label of

     *                the requested union member or the zero octet for

     *                the default member

     * @throws org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.Bounds if the index is

     *                equal to or greater than

     *                      the number of members constituting the union

     * @throws org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.BadKind if the method

     *           is invoked on a non-union <code>TypeCode</code>

     *           object

     */

    public abstract Any member_label(int index)

        throws BadKind, org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.Bounds;

    /**

     * Returns a <code>TypeCode</code> object describing

     * all non-default member labels.

     * The method <code>discriminator_type</code> can be invoked only

     * on union <code>TypeCode</code> objects.

     *

     * @return          the <code>TypeCode</code> object describing

     *                the non-default member labels

     * @throws org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.BadKind if the method

     *           is invoked on a non-union <code>TypeCode</code>

     *           object

     */

    public abstract TypeCode discriminator_type()

        throws BadKind;

    /**

     * Returns the index of the

     * default member, or -1 if there is no default member.

     * <P>

     * The method <code>default_index</code> can be invoked only on union

     * <code>TypeCode</code> objects.

     *

     * @return          the index of the default member, or -1 if

     *                  there is no default member

     * @throws org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.BadKind if the method

     *           is invoked on a non-union <code>TypeCode</code>

     *           object

     */

    public abstract int default_index() throws BadKind;

    /**

     * Returns the number of elements in the type described by

     * this <code>TypeCode</code> object.

     * For strings and sequences, it returns the

     * bound, with zero indicating an unbounded string or sequence.

     * For arrays, it returns the number of elements in the array.

     * <P>

     * The method <code>length</code> can be invoked on string, sequence, and

     * array <code>TypeCode</code> objects.

     *

     * @return          the bound for strings and sequences, or the

     *                      number of elements for arrays

     * @throws org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.BadKind if the method

     *           is invoked on an inappropriate kind of <code>TypeCode</code>

     *           object

     */

    public abstract int length() throws BadKind;

    /**

     * Returns the <code>TypeCode</code> object representing the

     * IDL type for the members of the object described by this

     * <code>TypeCode</code> object.

     * For sequences and arrays, it returns the

     * element type. For aliases, it returns the original type. Note

     * that multidimensional arrays are represented by nesting

     * <code>TypeCode</code> objects, one per dimension.

     * For boxed valuetypes, it returns the boxed type.

     *<P>

     * The method <code>content_type</code> can be invoked on sequence, array,

     * alias, and boxed valuetype <code>TypeCode</code> objects.

     *

     * @return  a <code>TypeCode</code> object representing

     *            the element type for sequences and arrays, the

     *          original type for aliases, or the

     *            boxed type for boxed valuetypes.

     * @throws org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.BadKind if the method

     *           is invoked on an inappropriate kind of <code>TypeCode</code>

     *           object

     */

    public abstract TypeCode content_type() throws BadKind;

    /**

         * Returns the number of digits in the fixed type described by this

         * <code>TypeCode</code> object. For example, the typecode for

         * the number 3000.275d could be <code>fixed<7,3></code>, where

         * 7 is the precision and 3 is the scale.

         *

         * @return the total number of digits

     * @throws org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.BadKind if this method

     *           is invoked on an inappropriate kind of <code>TypeCode</code>

     *           object

         *

     */

    public abstract short fixed_digits() throws BadKind ;

    /**

         * Returns the scale of the fixed type described by this

         * <code>TypeCode</code> object. A positive number indicates the

         * number of digits to the right of the decimal point.

         * For example, the number 3000d could have the

         * typecode <code>fixed<4,0></code>, where the first number is

         * the precision and the second number is the scale.

         * A negative number is also possible and adds zeroes to the

         * left of the decimal point.  In this case, <code>fixed<1,-3></code>,

         * could be the typecode for the number 3000d.

         *

         * @return the scale of the fixed type that this

         *         <code>TypeCode</code> object describes

     * @throws org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.BadKind if this method

     *           is invoked on an inappropriate kind of <code>TypeCode</code>

     *           object

     */

    public abstract short fixed_scale() throws BadKind ;

    /**

     * Returns the constant that indicates the visibility of the member

     * at the given index.

     *

     * This operation can only be invoked on non-boxed value

     * <code>TypeCode</code> objects.

     *

     * @param index an <code>int</code> indicating the index into the

     *               value

     * @return either <code>PRIVATE_MEMBER.value</code> or

     *          <code>PUBLIC_MEMBER.value</code>

     * @throws org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.BadKind if this method

     *           is invoked on a non-value type <code>TypeCode</code>

     *           object

     * @throws org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.Bounds

     *           if the given index is out of bounds

     * @see <a href="package-summary.html#unimpl"><code>CORBA</code> package

     *      comments for unimplemented features</a>

     */

    abstract public short member_visibility(int index)

        throws BadKind, org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.Bounds ;

    /**

     * Returns a constant indicating the modifier of the value type

     * that this <code>TypeCode</code> object describes.  The constant

     * returned must be one of the following: <code>VM_NONE.value</code>,

     * <code>VM_ABSTRACT.value</code>, <code>VM_CUSTOM.value</code>,

     * or <code>VM_TRUNCATABLE.value</code>,

     *

     * @return a constant describing the value type

     *         that this <code>TypeCode</code> object describes

     * @throws org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.BadKind

     *           if this method

     *           is invoked on a non-value type <code>TypeCode</code>

     *           object

     * @see <a href="package-summary.html#unimpl"><code>CORBA</code> package

     *      comments for unimplemented features</a>

     */

    abstract public short type_modifier() throws BadKind ;

    /**

     * Returns the <code>TypeCode</code> object that describes the concrete base type

     * of the value type that this <code>TypeCode</code> object describes.

     * Returns null if it doesn't have a concrete base type.

     *

     * @return the <code>TypeCode</code> object that describes the

     * concrete base type of the value type

     * that this <code>TypeCode</code> object describes

     * @throws org.omg.CORBA.TypeCodePackage.BadKind if this method

     *           is invoked on a non-boxed value type <code>TypeCode</code> object

     * @see <a href="package-summary.html#unimpl"><code>CORBA</code> package