/**
The contents of this file are subject to the Mozilla Public License Version 1.1 
(the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. 
You may obtain a copy of the License at http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/ 
Software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" basis, 
WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the 
specific language governing rights and limitations under the License. 

The Original Code is "Structure.java".  Description: 
"Part of an HL7 message: either a segment or group" 

The Initial Developer of the Original Code is University Health Network. Copyright (C) 
2001.  All Rights Reserved. 

Contributor(s): ______________________________________. 

Alternatively, the contents of this file may be used under the terms of the 
GNU General Public License (the  “GPL”), in which case the provisions of the GPL are 
applicable instead of those above.  If you wish to allow use of your version of this 
file only under the terms of the GPL and not to allow others to use your version 
of this file under the MPL, indicate your decision by deleting  the provisions above 
and replace  them with the notice and other provisions required by the GPL License.  
If you do not delete the provisions above, a recipient may use your version of 
this file under either the MPL or the GPL. 

*/

package ca.uhn.hl7v2.model;

import java.io.Serializable;

/**
 * Part of an HL7 message: either a segment or group.  There are certain methods (e.g. Group.get())
 * that will always return either a segment or a group.  This interface allows methods like this
 * to declare a return type of Structure instead of Object.  
 * @author Bryan Tripp (bryan_tripp@sourceforge.net)
 */
public interface Structure extends Serializable {

  /**
   * Returns the Message object to which this structure belongs.  This should normally be set at
   * construction time.  A Structure can only belong to a single Message.  This is primarily 
   * to avoid a situation where intended changes in one message cause unintended changes 
   * in another that shares one of the same Structure objects.  
   */
  public Message getMessage();

  /**
   * Returns the structure's name. 
   */
  public String getName(); 
  
  /**
   * Returns the parent group within which this structure exists (may be root 
   * message group).  
   */
  public Group getParent();
  
}