001/* An interface for serializing state.
002
003Copyright (c) 2011 The Regents of the University of California.
004All rights reserved.
005Permission is hereby granted, without written agreement and without
006license or royalty fees, to use, copy, modify, and distribute this
007software and its documentation for any purpose, provided that the above
008copyright notice and the following two paragraphs appear in all copies
009of this software.
010
011IN NO EVENT SHALL THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BE LIABLE TO ANY PARTY
012FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
013ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE AND ITS DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF
014THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
015SUCH DAMAGE.
016
017THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES,
018INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
019MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE SOFTWARE
020PROVIDED HEREUNDER IS ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF
021CALIFORNIA HAS NO OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE MAINTENANCE, SUPPORT, UPDATES,
022ENHANCEMENTS, OR MODIFICATIONS.
023
024*/
025
026package org.kepler.provenance;
027
028import ptolemy.actor.Actor;
029
030/* An interface for for serializing state.
031 * 
032 * @author Daniel Crawl, Sven Koehler
033 * @version $Id: StateSerializer.java 27688 2011-06-07 01:13:23Z crawl $
034 */
035public interface StateSerializer
036{
037
038    /** Serialize the state of an actor. May return null if e.g., actor is
039     *  stateless or state cannot be accessed.
040     */
041    byte[] serializeActor(Actor actor);
042}