001    /*
002     * Copyright (c) OSGi Alliance (2004, 2008). All Rights Reserved.
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 implied.
013     * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
014     * limitations under the License.
015     */
016    
017    package org.osgi.service.component;
018    
019    import java.util.Dictionary;
020    
021    /**
022     * When a component is declared with the <code>factory</code> attribute on its
023     * <code>component</code> element, the Service Component Runtime will register
024     * a Component Factory service to allow new component configurations to be
025     * created and activated rather than automatically creating and activating
026     * component configuration as necessary.
027     * 
028     * @ThreadSafe
029     * @version $Revision: 5654 $
030     */
031    public interface ComponentFactory {
032            /**
033             * Create and activate a new component configuration. Additional properties
034             * may be provided for the component configuration.
035             * 
036             * @param properties Additional properties for the component configuration
037             *        or <code>null</code> if there are no additional properties.
038             * @return A <code>ComponentInstance</code> object encapsulating the
039             *         component instance of the component configuration. The component
040             *         configuration has been activated and, if the component specifies
041             *         a <code>service</code> element, the component instance has been
042             *         registered as a service.
043             * @throws ComponentException If the Service Component Runtime is unable to
044             *         activate the component configuration.
045             */
046            public ComponentInstance newInstance(Dictionary properties);
047    }