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 "Rule.java".  Description: 
010"A testable rule to which HL7 messages should conform" 
011
012The Initial Developer of the Original Code is University Health Network. Copyright (C) 
0132002.  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
027package ca.uhn.hl7v2.validation;
028
029import java.io.Serializable;
030
031/**
032 * <p>
033 * A testable rule to which HL7 messages (at least certain specific message)
034 * should conform. 
035 * <p>
036 * There are three kinds of rules:
037 * <ul>
038 * <li>PrimitiveTypeRule: Called when the values of simple datatypes are set,
039 * like the existing hard-coded datatype validations (e.g.
040 * TNFollowsNorthAmericanFormat).</li>
041 * <li>MessageRule: Called when complete message content is to be checked on a
042 * parsed message (e.g. conformance profile).</li>
043 * <li>EncodingRule: Applied to an encoded message (e.g. validation against a
044 * .xml Schema, a rule that prohibits empty tags, etc.).</li>
045 * </ul>
046 * </p>
047 * 
048 * @author Bryan Tripp
049 */
050public interface Rule<T> extends Serializable {
051
052        /**
053         * Returns a text description of the rule. This description may be used as a
054         * message in exceptions generated if validation against the rule fails, or
055         * in a user interface for rule configuration.
056     *
057     * @return rule description
058         */
059        public String getDescription();
060
061        /**
062         * Returns a string indicating the section of the HL7 standard from which this rule
063         * is derived (if applicable). Like the description, this may be used in an
064         * exception message or configuration UI.
065     *
066     * @return HL7 specification section reference
067         */
068        public String getSectionReference();
069        
070        /**
071         * Applies to rule to an object to be checked
072         * 
073         * @param value object to be checked
074         * @return an (potentially empty) array of ValidationExceptions
075         */
076        public ValidationException[] apply(T value);
077
078}