/*
 Copyright (c) 1998-2005 The Regents of the University of California
 All rights reserved.
 Permission is hereby granted, without written agreement and without
 license or royalty fees, to use, copy, modify, and distribute this
 software and its documentation for any purpose, provided that the above
 copyright notice and the following two paragraphs appear in all copies
 of this software.

 IN NO EVENT SHALL THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BE LIABLE TO ANY PARTY
 FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
 ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE AND ITS DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
 SUCH DAMAGE.

 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES,
 INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
 MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE SOFTWARE
 PROVIDED HEREUNDER IS ON AN  BASIS, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF
 CALIFORNIA HAS NO OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE MAINTENANCE, SUPPORT, UPDATES,
 ENHANCEMENTS, OR MODIFICATIONS.

 PT_COPYRIGHT_VERSION_2
 COPYRIGHTENDKEY
 */
package diva.util;

import java.util.Iterator;

/**
 * An object that can be annotated with arbitrary
 * objects whose keys are strings.
 *
 * @author Michael Shilman
 * @version $Id: PropertyContainer.java 38798 2005-07-08 20:00:01Z cxh $
 */
public interface PropertyContainer {
    /**
     * Return the property corresponding to
     * the given key, or null if no such property
     * exists.
     */
    public Object getProperty(String key);

    /** Get an iterator over the names of the properties.
     */
    public Iterator propertyNames();

    /**
     * Set the property corresponding to
     * the given key.
     */
    public void setProperty(String key, Object value);

    // XXX removeProperty
}