/*
 * @(#)MidiDevice.java	1.39 05/11/17
 *
 * Copyright 2006 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.
 * SUN PROPRIETARY/CONFIDENTIAL. Use is subject to license terms.
 */

package javax.sound.midi;

import java.util.List;

 /**
 * <code>MidiDevice</code> is the base interface for all MIDI devices.
 * Common devices include synthesizers, sequencers, MIDI input ports, and MIDI
 * output ports.  
 *
 * <p>A <code>MidiDevice</code> can be a transmitter or a receiver of
 * MIDI events, or both. Therefore, it can provide {@link Transmitter}
 * or {@link Receiver} instances (or both). Typically, MIDI IN ports
 * provide transmitters, MIDI OUT ports and synthesizers provide
 * receivers. A Sequencer typically provides transmitters for playback
 * and receivers for recording.
 *
 * <p>A <code>MidiDevice</code> can be opened and closed explicitly as
 * well as implicitly. Explicit opening is accomplished by calling
 * {@link #open}, explicit closing is done by calling {@link
 * #close} on the <code>MidiDevice</code> instance.
 * If an application opens a <code>MidiDevice</code>
 * explicitly, it has to close it explicitly to free system resources
 * and enable the application to exit cleanly. Implicit opening is
 * done by calling {@link javax.sound.midi.MidiSystem#getReceiver
 * MidiSystem.getReceiver} and {@link
 * javax.sound.midi.MidiSystem#getTransmitter
 * MidiSystem.getTransmitter}. The <code>MidiDevice</code> used by
 * <code>MidiSystem.getReceiver</code> and
 * <code>MidiSystem.getTransmitter</code> is implementation-dependant
 * unless the properties <code>javax.sound.midi.Receiver</code>
 * and <code>javax.sound.midi.Transmitter</code> are used (see the
 * description of properties to select default providers in
 * {@link javax.sound.midi.MidiSystem}). A <code>MidiDevice</code>
 * that was opened implicitly, is closed implicitly by closing the
 * <code>Receiver</code> or <code>Transmitter</code> that resulted in
 * opening it. If more than one implicitly opening
 * <code>Receiver</code> or <code>Transmitter</code> were obtained by
 * the application, the decive is closed after the last
 * <code>Receiver</code> or <code>Transmitter</code> has been
 * closed. On the other hand, calling <code>getReceiver</code> or
 * <code>getTransmitter</code> on the device instance directly does
 * not open the device implicitly. Closing these
 * <code>Transmitter</code>s and <code>Receiver</code>s does not close
 * the device implicitly. To use a device with <code>Receiver</code>s
 * or <code>Transmitter</code>s obtained this way, the device has to
 * be opened and closed explicitly.
 *
 * <p>If implicit and explicit opening and closing are mixed on the
 * same <code>MidiDevice</code> instance, the following rules apply:
 *
 * <ul>
 * <li>After an explicit open (either before or after implicit
 * opens), the device will not be closed by implicit closing. The only
 * way to close an explicitly opened device is an explicit close.</li>
 *
 * <li>An explicit close always closes the device, even if it also has
 * been opened implicitly. A subsequent implicit close has no further
 * effect.</li>
 * </ul>
 *
 * To detect if a MidiDevice represents a hardware MIDI port, the
 * following programming technique can be used:
 *
 * <pre>
 * MidiDevice device = ...;
 * if ( ! (device instanceof Sequencer) && ! (device instanceof Synthesizer)) {
 *   // we're now sure that device represents a MIDI port
 *   // ...
 * }
 * </pre>
 *
 * <p>
 * A <code>MidiDevice</code> includes a <code>{@link MidiDevice.Info}</code> object
 * to provide manufacturer information and so on.
 *
 * @see Synthesizer
 * @see Sequencer
 * @see Receiver
 * @see Transmitter
 *
 * @version 1.39, 05/11/17
 * @author Kara Kytle
 * @author Florian Bomers
 */

public interface MidiDevice {


    /**
     * Obtains information about the device, including its Java class and
     * <code>Strings</code> containing its name, vendor, and description.
     *
     * @return device info