1 /*
   2  * Copyright (c) 1999, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
   3  * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER.
   4  *
   5  * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
   6  * under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 only, as
   7  * published by the Free Software Foundation.  Oracle designates this
   8  * particular file as subject to the "Classpath" exception as provided
   9  * by Oracle in the LICENSE file that accompanied this code.
  10  *
  11  * This code is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
  12  * ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
  13  * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License
  14  * version 2 for more details (a copy is included in the LICENSE file that
  15  * accompanied this code).
  16  *
  17  * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License version
  18  * 2 along with this work; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
  19  * Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
  20  *
  21  * Please contact Oracle, 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood Shores, CA 94065 USA
  22  * or visit www.oracle.com if you need additional information or have any
  23  * questions.
  24  */
  25 
  26 package javax.naming;
  27 
  28 /**
  29   * This interface is implemented by an object that can provide a
  30   * Reference to itself.
  31   *<p>
  32   * A Reference represents a way of recording address information about
  33   * objects which themselves are not directly bound to the naming system.
  34   * Such objects can implement the Referenceable interface as a way
  35   * for programs that use that object to determine what its Reference is.
  36   * For example, when binding an object, if an object implements the
  37   * Referenceable interface, getReference() can be invoked on the object to
  38   * get its Reference to use for binding.
  39   *
  40   * @author Rosanna Lee
  41   * @author Scott Seligman
  42   * @author R. Vasudevan
  43   *
  44   * @see Context#bind
  45   * @see javax.naming.spi.NamingManager#getObjectInstance
  46   * @see Reference
  47   * @since 1.3
  48   */
  49 public interface Referenceable {
  50     /**
  51       * Retrieves the Reference of this object.
  52       *
  53       * @return The non-null Reference of this object.
  54       * @exception NamingException If a naming exception was encountered
  55       *         while retrieving the reference.
  56       */
  57     Reference getReference() throws NamingException;
  58 }