001 /**
002 The 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.
004 You may obtain a copy of the License at http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/
005 Software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" basis,
006 WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the
007 specific language governing rights and limitations under the License.
008
009 The Original Code is "Type.java". Description:
010 "An HL7 datatype"
011
012 The Initial Developer of the Original Code is University Health Network. Copyright (C)
013 2001. All Rights Reserved.
014
015 Contributor(s): ______________________________________.
016
017 Alternatively, the contents of this file may be used under the terms of the
018 GNU General Public License (the �GPL�), in which case the provisions of the GPL are
019 applicable instead of those above. If you wish to allow use of your version of this
020 file only under the terms of the GPL and not to allow others to use your version
021 of this file under the MPL, indicate your decision by deleting the provisions above
022 and replace them with the notice and other provisions required by the GPL License.
023 If you do not delete the provisions above, a recipient may use your version of
024 this file under either the MPL or the GPL.
025
026 */
027
028 package ca.uhn.hl7v2.model;
029
030 import ca.uhn.hl7v2.HL7Exception;
031 import java.io.Serializable;
032
033 /**
034 * An HL7 datatype. Datatypes normally implement either Composite or Primitive.
035 * @author Bryan Tripp (bryan_tripp@sourceforge.net)
036 */
037 public interface Type extends Serializable {
038
039 /** Returns the name of the type (used in XML encoding and profile checking) */
040 public String getName();
041
042 /**
043 * Returns an object containing any extra (non-standard) components that
044 * have been added to this type at run-time. This object can also be used
045 * to add components.
046 */
047 public ExtraComponents getExtraComponents();
048
049 /**
050 * @return the message to which this Type belongs
051 */
052 public Message getMessage();
053
054 /**
055 * <p>
056 * Parses the string into this type and replaces the current contents with
057 * the parsed value. This method accepts HL7 encoded text and treats its
058 * input as such.
059 * </p>
060 * <p>
061 * Note that this method is subtly different from calling {@link Primitive#setValue(String)}, but
062 * can be quite powerful. For example, using the argument of "milk&cookies" on an ST datatype:
063 * <ul>
064 * <li>
065 * If you are using {@link Primitive#setValue(String)}, the ampersand is treated as an actual ampersand
066 * in the text, and the field will be treated as a single field which is encoded as "milk\T\cookies" (\T\ is the
067 * escape sequence for the subcomponent delimiter).
068 * </li>
069 * <li>
070 * If you are using parse(String), the ampersand is treated as a subcomponent delimiter, meaning that
071 * the value is set to "milk", and a second component is added with the value of "cookies".
072 * </li>
073 * </ul>
074 * </p>
075 * <p>
076 * This method makes use of the parser which is stored within the enclosing {@link #getMessage() Message}.
077 * At this time, only PipeParsers are supported.
078 * </p>
079 */
080 public void parse(String string) throws HL7Exception;
081
082
083 /**
084 * Encodes this type using HL7 encoding.
085 */
086 public String encode() throws HL7Exception;
087
088
089 /**
090 * Clears all data from this type
091 */
092 void clear();
093 }