/*
 * The Apache Software License, Version 1.1
 *
 *
 * Copyright (c) 1999 The Apache Software Foundation.  All rights 
 * reserved.
 *
 * Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
 * modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
 * are met:
 *
 * 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
 *    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer. 
 *
 * 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
 *    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in
 *    the documentation and/or other materials provided with the
 *    distribution.
 *
 * 3. The end-user documentation included with the redistribution,
 *    if any, must include the following acknowledgment:  
 *       "This product includes software developed by the
 *        Apache Software Foundation (http://www.apache.org/)."
 *    Alternately, this acknowledgment may appear in the software itself,
 *    if and wherever such third-party acknowledgments normally appear.
 *
 * 4. The names "Xalan" and "Apache Software Foundation" must
 *    not be used to endorse or promote products derived from this
 *    software without prior written permission. For written 
 *    permission, please contact apache@apache.org.
 *
 * 5. Products derived from this software may not be called "Apache",
 *    nor may "Apache" appear in their name, without prior written
 *    permission of the Apache Software Foundation.
 *
 * THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED
 * WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES
 * OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
 * DISCLAIMED.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE APACHE SOFTWARE FOUNDATION OR
 * ITS CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
 * SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT
 * LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF
 * USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND
 * ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY,
 * OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT
 * OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
 * SUCH DAMAGE.
 * ====================================================================
 *
 * This software consists of voluntary contributions made by many
 * individuals on behalf of the Apache Software Foundation and was
 * originally based on software copyright (c) 1999, Lotus
 * Development Corporation., http://www.lotus.com.  For more
 * information on the Apache Software Foundation, please see
 * <http://www.apache.org/>.
 */
package org.apache.xalan.stree;

import org.xml.sax.ContentHandler;
import javax.xml.transform.TransformerException;

/**
 * This class allows a node to implement an interface that will
 * allow it to dispatch a SAX ContentHandler event to a ContentHandler.
 * This is especially useful in those cases where you want the
 * node to be able to dispatch a character event, but don't want
 * to cause it to make a string.
 */
public interface SaxEventDispatch
{
  /** The URL to pass to the Node#supports method, to see if the 
   * node supports this interface. */
  public static final String SUPPORTSINTERFACE =
    "http://xml.apache.org/xalan/features/feed-events";

  /**
   * If a node supports this interface, it can directly call an 
   * appropriate method on the passed ContentHandler.  For instance, 
   * a text node will call the characters method.  This is for 
   * optimization purposes, when the node may have information not 
   * easily accessible, which it can pass directly to the sax event. 
   * For instance, the text node may be able to directly pass a 
   * char array, and thus not have to create a String object 
   * at all.
   *
   * @param ch A non-null reference to a ContentHandler.
   *
   * @throws org.xml.sax.SAXException
   */
  public void dispatchCharactersEvent(ContentHandler ch) 
        throws org.xml.sax.SAXException;
}