/*
 * The contents of this file are subject to the terms
 * of the Common Development and Distribution License
 * (the "License").  You may not use this file except
 * in compliance with the License.
 *
 * You can obtain a copy of the license at
 * https://jaxp.dev.java.net/CDDLv1.0.html.
 * See the License for the specific language governing
 * permissions and limitations under the License.
 *
 * When distributing Covered Code, include this CDDL
 * HEADER in each file and include the License file at
 * https://jaxp.dev.java.net/CDDLv1.0.html
 * If applicable add the following below this CDDL HEADER
 * with the fields enclosed by brackets "[]" replaced with
 * your own identifying information: Portions Copyright
 * [year] [name of copyright owner]
 */

/*
 * $Id: XMLEntityReader.java,v 1.3 2005/11/03 17:02:21 jeffsuttor Exp $
 * @(#)XPathVariableResolver.java	1.13 05/11/17
 *
 * Copyright 2006 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
 */

package javax.xml.xpath;

import javax.xml.namespace.QName;

/**
 * <p><code>XPathVariableResolver</code> provides access to the set of user defined XPath variables.</p>
 *
 * <p>The <code>XPathVariableResolver</code> and the XPath evaluator must adhere to a contract that
 * cannot be directly enforced by the API.  Although variables may be mutable,
 * that is, an application may wish to evaluate the same XPath expression more
 * than once with different variable values, in the course of evaluating any
 * single XPath expression, a variable's value <strong><em>must</em></strong>
 * not change.</p>
 *
 * @author  <a href="mailto:Norman.Walsh@Sun.com">Norman Walsh</a>
 * @author  <a href="mailto:Jeff.Suttor@Sun.com">Jeff Suttor</a>
 * @version $Revision: 1.3 $, $Date: 2005/07/25 14:46:33 $
 * @since 1.5
 */
public interface XPathVariableResolver {
  /** 
   * <p>Find a variable in the set of available variables.</p>
   * 
   * <p>If <code>variableName</code> is <code>null</code>, then a <code>NullPointerException</code> is thrown.</p>

   * 
   * @param variableName The <code>QName</code> of the variable name.
   * 
   * @return The variables value, or <code>null</code> if no variable named <code>variableName</code>
   *   exists.  The value returned must be of a type appropriate for the underlying object model.
   * 
   * @throws NullPointerException If <code>variableName</code> is <code>null</code>.
   */
  public Object resolveVariable(QName variableName);
}