001/* The type of structures that store (key, value) pairs.
002
003Copyright (c) 1997-2014 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
024PT_COPYRIGHT_VERSION_2
025COPYRIGHTENDKEY
026
027 */
028
029package ptolemy.data.type;
030
031///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
032////AssociativeType
033
034/**
035This class represents structures that store (key, value) pairs. It prescribes
036a get() method that retrieves the type of the value associated with a given
037key.
038
039@author Marten Lohstroh
040@version $Id$
041@since Ptolemy II 10.0
042@Pt.ProposedRating Red (marten)
043@Pt.AcceptedRating Red
044 */
045public abstract class AssociativeType extends StructuredType {
046
047    ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
048    ////                         public methods                    ////
049    /** Return the type of the specified label. If this type does not
050     *  contain the specified label, return null.
051     *  @param label The specified label.
052     *  @return a Type.
053     */
054    public abstract Type get(String label);
055}