001 /*
002 * $Id: StringValue.java 3297 2009-03-11 13:45:10Z kleopatra $
003 *
004 * Copyright 2006 Sun Microsystems, Inc., 4150 Network Circle,
005 * Santa Clara, California 95054, U.S.A. All rights reserved.
006 *
007 * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
008 * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
009 * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
010 * version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
011 *
012 * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
013 * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
014 * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
015 * Lesser General Public License for more details.
016 *
017 * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
018 * License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
019 * Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA
020 */
021 package org.jdesktop.swingx.renderer;
022
023 import java.io.Serializable;
024
025
026 /**
027 * A simple converter to return a String representation of an object.
028 *
029 * This class is intended to be the "small coin" to configure/format textual
030 * cell content of concrete subclasses of <code>ComponentProvider</code>.
031 * <p>
032 *
033 * F.i. to show a Contributor cell object as "Busywoman, Herta" implement a
034 * custom StringValue and use it in a text rendering provider.
035 *
036 * <pre><code>
037 * StringValue stringValue = new StringValue() {
038 *
039 * public String getString(Object value) {
040 * if (!(value instanceof Contributor))
041 * return TO_STRING.getString(value);
042 * Contributor contributor = (Contributor) value;
043 * return contributor.lastName + ", " + contributor.firstName;
044 * }
045 *
046 * };
047 *
048 * ComponentProvider provider = new LabelProvider(stringValue);
049 * table.setDefaultRenderer(Contributor.class,
050 * new DefaultTableRenderer(provider));
051 * </code></pre>
052 *
053 * <p>
054 *
055 * PENDING: use a full-fledged Format instead?
056 * Would impose a higher burden onto implementors but could be re-used in
057 * editors.
058 *
059 * @author Jeanette Winzenburg
060 *
061 * @see ComponentProvider
062 * @see LabelProvider
063 * @see DefaultTableRenderer
064 * @see DefaultListRenderer
065 * @see DefaultTreeRenderer
066 */
067 public interface StringValue extends Serializable {
068
069 /**
070 * Returns a string representation of the given value. <p>
071 *
072 * PENDING JW: forgot - why not null return guaranteed?
073 *
074 * @param value the object to present as a string
075 * @return a string representation of the given value,
076 * guaranteed to be not null
077 */
078 String getString(Object value);
079 }