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1   /*
2    *  Copyright 2002-2004 The Apache Software Foundation
3    *
4    *  Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
5    *  you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
6    *  You may obtain a copy of the License at
7    *
8    *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
9    *
10   *  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
11   *  distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
12   *  WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
13   *  See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
14   *  limitations under the License.
15   */
16  package net.sf.collections15;
17  
18  import net.sf.collections15.functors.FunctorException;
19  
20  /***
21   * Defines a functor interface implemented by classes that create objects.
22   * <p/>
23   * A <code>Factory</code> creates an object without using an input parameter. If
24   * an input parameter is required, then {@link net.sf.collections15.Transformer}
25   * is more appropriate.
26   * <p/>
27   * Standard implementations of common factories are provided by {@link
28   * net.sf.collections15.functors.factory.FactoryUtils}. These include factories
29   * that return a constant, a copy of a prototype or a new instance.
30   *
31   * @author Arron Bates
32   * @author Stephen Colebourne
33   * @version $Revision: 1.2 $ $Date: 2004/10/17 01:02:42 $
34   * @since Commons Collections15 1.0
35   */
36  public interface Factory <E>
37  {
38  
39      /***
40       * Create a new object.
41       *
42       * @return a new object
43       *
44       * @throws net.sf.collections15.functors.FunctorException
45       *          (runtime) if the factory cannot create an object
46       */
47      public E create() throws FunctorException;
48  }