/**
 *  ServingXML
 *  
 *  Copyright (C) 2006  Daniel Parker
 *    daniel.parker@servingxml.com 
 * 
 * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); 
 * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. 
 * You may obtain a copy of the License at 
 * 
 * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 * 
 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, 
 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. 
 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and 
 * limitations under the License. 
 * 
 **/

package com.servingxml.io.cache;

/**
 * This interface defines the protocol for a key used to uniqely identify resources. 
 *
 * 
 * @author Daniel A. Parker (daniel.parker@servingxml.com)
 */

public interface Key {
  
  /**
   * Compares this key to the specified object.
   *
   * @param anObject the object being tested for equality.
   *
   * @return <code>true</code> if the two keys are equal, <code>false</code> otherwise.
   */
  boolean equals(Object anObject);

  /**
   * Returns a hash code value for this key.
   *
   * @return a hash code value for this key.
   */
  int hashCode();
}

