AnyData.h

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/*
 * The information in this file is
 * Copyright(c) 2007 Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation
 * and is subject to the terms and conditions of the
 * GNU Lesser General Public License Version 2.1
 * The license text is available from   
 * http://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl.html
 */

#ifndef ANYDATA_H
#define ANYDATA_H

class SessionItemDeserializer;
class SessionItemSerializer;

/**
 *  Container for custom data stored in an Any element.
 *
 *  This class serves as a common base class for custom data classes to be set
 *  into an Any element.  The constructor is protected since this base class
 *  does not contain any actual data and should not be instantiated.
 */
class AnyData
{
public:
   /**
    *  Destroys the custom data object.
    *
    *  The destructor is called by the Any element when the element is
    *  destroyed.  Subclasses should perform any necessary cleanup in their own
    *  destructor.
    */
   virtual ~AnyData()
   {
   }

   /**
    *  Creates a copy of the custom data.
    *
    *  This method is called when the Any::copy() method is called to copy the
    *  data element.  The default implementation of this method returns \b NULL
    *  so subclasses should override this method to create a new instance of
    *  the object and copy the actual data.  Each subclass can define whether
    *  it performs a deep copy or a shallow copy.
    *
    *  @return  A pointer to a new data object containing a copy of this data.
    *           The default implementation returns \b NULL.  If \b NULL is
    *           returned, the Any::copy() method will also return \b NULL.
    */
   virtual AnyData* copy() const
   {
      return 0;
   }

   /**
    *  Serializes the AnyData during save session.
    *
    *  This is equivalent to SessionItem::serialize() for AnyData objects.
    *
    *  @param   serializer
    *           The object to use to save the item as part of the current
    * `         session.
    *
    *  @return  The default implementation simply returns \c true.
    *
    *  @see     SessionItem::serialize()
    */
   virtual bool serialize(SessionItemSerializer& serializer) const
   {
      return true;
   }

   /**
    *  Deserializes the AnyData during restore session.
    *
    *  This is equivalent to SessionItem::deserialize() for AnyData objects.
    *
    *  @param   deserializer
    *           The object to use to restore the item from a saved session.
    *
    *  @return  The default implementation simply returns \c true.
    *
    *  @see     SessionItem::deserialize()
    */
   virtual bool deserialize(SessionItemDeserializer& deserializer)
   {
      return true;
   }

protected:
   /**
    *  Creates the custom data object.
    *
    *  The constructor is protected since this base class does not contain any
    *  actual data and should not be instantiated.
    */
   AnyData()
   {
   }
};

#endif