/*
 * Copyright (C) 2005-2007 Alfresco Software Limited.
 *
 * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
 * modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License
 * as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2
 * of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

 * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
 * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
 * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
 * GNU General Public License for more details.

 * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
 * along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software
 * Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301, USA.

 * As a special exception to the terms and conditions of version 2.0 of 
 * the GPL, you may redistribute this Program in connection with Free/Libre 
 * and Open Source Software ("FLOSS") applications as described in Alfresco's 
 * FLOSS exception.  You should have recieved a copy of the text describing 
 * the FLOSS exception, and it is also available here: 
 * http://www.alfresco.com/legal/licensing
 */

package org.alfresco.service.cmr.attributes;

import java.util.Map;

/**
 * An implementation of this is passed into an AttrQuery to aid it
 * in generating the actual predicate.
 * @author britt
 */
public interface AttrQueryHelper
{
    /**
     * Get the next integer suffix for named arguments.
     * @return The next integer suffix.
     */
    public int getNextSuffix();
    
    /**
     * As an AttrQuery is generating the predicate, it
     * tells this helper about its parameter names and bindings.
     * @param name The name of the parameter
     * @param value The binding.
     */
    public void setParameter(String name, String value);
    
    /**
     * Get the parameter bindings for a generated predicate.
     * @return The parameter bindings.
     */
    public Map<String, String> getParameters();
}