001/**
002The contents of this file are subject to the Mozilla Public License Version 1.1 
003(the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. 
004You may obtain a copy of the License at http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/ 
005Software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" basis, 
006WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the 
007specific language governing rights and limitations under the License. 
008
009The Original Code is "Structure.java".  Description: 
010"Part of an HL7 message: either a segment or group" 
011
012The Initial Developer of the Original Code is University Health Network. Copyright (C) 
0132001.  All Rights Reserved. 
014
015Contributor(s): ______________________________________. 
016
017Alternatively, the contents of this file may be used under the terms of the 
018GNU General Public License (the "GPL"), in which case the provisions of the GPL are 
019applicable instead of those above.  If you wish to allow use of your version of this 
020file only under the terms of the GPL and not to allow others to use your version 
021of this file under the MPL, indicate your decision by deleting  the provisions above 
022and replace  them with the notice and other provisions required by the GPL License.  
023If you do not delete the provisions above, a recipient may use your version of 
024this file under either the MPL or the GPL. 
025
026*/
027
028package ca.uhn.hl7v2.model;
029
030import java.io.Serializable;
031
032/**
033 * Part of an HL7 message: either a segment or group.  There are certain methods (e.g. Group.get())
034 * that will always return either a segment or a group.  This interface allows methods like this
035 * to declare a return type of Structure instead of Object.  
036 * @author Bryan Tripp (bryan_tripp@sourceforge.net)
037 */
038public interface Structure extends Serializable {
039
040  /**
041   * Returns the Message object to which this structure belongs.  This should normally be set at
042   * construction time.  A Structure can only belong to a single Message.  This is primarily 
043   * to avoid a situation where intended changes in one message cause unintended changes 
044   * in another that shares one of the same Structure objects.  
045   */
046  public Message getMessage();
047
048  /**
049   * Returns the structure's name. 
050   */
051  public String getName(); 
052  
053  /**
054   * Returns the parent group within which this structure exists (may be root 
055   * message group).  
056   */
057  public Group getParent();
058  
059}