/***************************************************************************
tag: Peter Soetens Tue Dec 21 22:43:08 CET 2004 AttributeBase.hpp
AttributeBase.hpp - description
-------------------
begin : Tue December 21 2004
copyright : (C) 2004 Peter Soetens
email : peter.soetens@mech.kuleuven.ac.be
***************************************************************************
* This library 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; *
* version 2 of the License. *
* *
* As a special exception, you may use this file as part of a free *
* software library without restriction. Specifically, if other files *
* instantiate templates or use macros or inline functions from this *
* file, or you compile this file and link it with other files to *
* produce an executable, this file does not by itself cause the *
* resulting executable to be covered by the GNU General Public *
* License. This exception does not however invalidate any other *
* reasons why the executable file might be covered by the GNU General *
* Public License. *
* *
* 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 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 *
* *
***************************************************************************/
#ifndef ORO_ATTRIBUTE_BASE_HPP
#define ORO_ATTRIBUTE_BASE_HPP
#include "DataSourceBase.hpp"
namespace RTT
{
/**
* An attribute is a minimalistic, named placeholder for data.
* It is a light-weight equivalent of a Property.
*/
class AttributeBase
{
protected:
std::string mname;
public:
/**
* Create a nameless AttributeBase.
*/
AttributeBase();
/**
* Create an AttributeBase known by a name.
*
* @param name The name.
*/
AttributeBase(const std::string& name);
virtual ~AttributeBase();
/**
* Get the name of this instance.
*
* @return the name
*/
const std::string& getName() const;
/**
* Returns true if the Attribute was correctly
* initialised.
*/
bool ready() const
{
return this->getDataSource();
}
/**
* Return a DataSource which contains the same contents.
*/
virtual DataSourceBase::shared_ptr getDataSource() const = 0;
/**
* Returns a clone of this AttributeBase.
*/
virtual AttributeBase* clone() const = 0;
/**
* Returns a copy of this AttributeBase. Uses the given
* replacements to copy held DataSources.
* @param instantiate Set to true to get a copy which will return itself
* on any future copy request.
*/
virtual AttributeBase* copy( std::map<const DataSourceBase*, DataSourceBase*>& replacements, bool instantiate ) = 0;
};
}
#endif
