/*
 * Copyright (C) 1999-2004 <a href="mailto:mandarax@jbdietrich.com">Jens Dietrich</a>
 *
 * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
 * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
 * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
 * version 2 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
 *
 * This library 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
 * Lesser General Public License for more details.
 *
 * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
 * License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
 * Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA
 */
package org.mandarax.sql;

/**
 * Defition of a type adapter mapping SQL to java types.
 * @author <A HREF="mailto:mandarax@jbdietrich.com">Jens Dietrich</A>
 * @version 3.3.1 <9 August 2004>
 * @since 1.5
 */
public interface SQLTypeMapping extends java.io.Serializable {

    /**
     * Get the java class representing objects of a certain type.
     * @return a class
     * @param sqlType a sql type as defined in java.sql.Types
     * @param colIndex the index of the column, usually ignored, but alows customized mapping for certain columns
     */
    Class getType(int sqlType, int colIndex);

    /**
     * Get the type mapping used. This is the map that is used in the  java.sql.ResultSet#getObject() method.
     * Can be null, then getObject() without the map parameter will be used.
     * @return a map containing type mappings
     */
    java.util.Map getTypeMapping();

    /**
     * Another chance to interrupt the mapping process if one does not want to develop
     * an entire mapping. postMap will be applied after the object has been read from the result set.
     * Many implementation will just return the parameter.
     * @return the mapped object
     * @param obj the object that should be mapped
     */
    Object postMap(Object obj);
}
