001/*
002 * Copyright (C) 2009 The Guava Authors
003 *
004 * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
005 * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
006 * You may obtain a copy of the License at
007 *
008 * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
009 *
010 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
011 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
012 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
013 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
014 * limitations under the License.
015 */
016
017package com.google.common.collect;
018
019import com.google.common.annotations.Beta;
020import com.google.common.annotations.GwtCompatible;
021
022import java.util.NoSuchElementException;
023
024/**
025 * A descriptor for a <i>discrete</i> {@code Comparable} domain such as all
026 * {@link Integer}s. A discrete domain is one that supports the three basic
027 * operations: {@link #next}, {@link #previous} and {@link #distance}, according
028 * to their specifications. The methods {@link #minValue} and {@link #maxValue}
029 * should also be overridden for bounded types.
030 *
031 * <p>A discrete domain always represents the <i>entire</i> set of values of its
032 * type; it cannot represent partial domains such as "prime integers" or
033 * "strings of length 5."
034 *
035 * <p>See the Guava User Guide section on <a href=
036 * "http://code.google.com/p/guava-libraries/wiki/RangesExplained#Discrete_Domains">
037 * {@code DiscreteDomain}</a>.
038 *
039 * @author Kevin Bourrillion
040 * @since 10.0
041 * @see DiscreteDomains
042 */
043@GwtCompatible
044@Beta
045public abstract class DiscreteDomain<C extends Comparable> {
046  /** Constructor for use by subclasses. */
047  protected DiscreteDomain() {}
048
049  /**
050   * Returns the unique least value of type {@code C} that is greater than
051   * {@code value}, or {@code null} if none exists. Inverse operation to {@link
052   * #previous}.
053   *
054   * @param value any value of type {@code C}
055   * @return the least value greater than {@code value}, or {@code null} if
056   *     {@code value} is {@code maxValue()}
057   */
058  public abstract C next(C value);
059
060  /**
061   * Returns the unique greatest value of type {@code C} that is less than
062   * {@code value}, or {@code null} if none exists. Inverse operation to {@link
063   * #next}.
064   *
065   * @param value any value of type {@code C}
066   * @return the greatest value less than {@code value}, or {@code null} if
067   *     {@code value} is {@code minValue()}
068   */
069  public abstract C previous(C value);
070
071  /**
072   * Returns a signed value indicating how many nested invocations of {@link
073   * #next} (if positive) or {@link #previous} (if negative) are needed to reach
074   * {@code end} starting from {@code start}. For example, if {@code end =
075   * next(next(next(start)))}, then {@code distance(start, end) == 3} and {@code
076   * distance(end, start) == -3}. As well, {@code distance(a, a)} is always
077   * zero.
078   *
079   * <p>Note that this function is necessarily well-defined for any discrete
080   * type.
081   *
082   * @return the distance as described above, or {@link Long#MIN_VALUE} or
083   *     {@link Long#MAX_VALUE} if the distance is too small or too large,
084   *     respectively.
085   */
086  public abstract long distance(C start, C end);
087
088  /**
089   * Returns the minimum value of type {@code C}, if it has one. The minimum
090   * value is the unique value for which {@link Comparable#compareTo(Object)}
091   * never returns a positive value for any input of type {@code C}.
092   *
093   * <p>The default implementation throws {@code NoSuchElementException}.
094   *
095   * @return the minimum value of type {@code C}; never null
096   * @throws NoSuchElementException if the type has no (practical) minimum
097   *     value; for example, {@link java.math.BigInteger}
098   */
099  public C minValue() {
100    throw new NoSuchElementException();
101  }
102
103  /**
104   * Returns the maximum value of type {@code C}, if it has one. The maximum
105   * value is the unique value for which {@link Comparable#compareTo(Object)}
106   * never returns a negative value for any input of type {@code C}.
107   *
108   * <p>The default implementation throws {@code NoSuchElementException}.
109   *
110   * @return the maximum value of type {@code C}; never null
111   * @throws NoSuchElementException if the type has no (practical) maximum
112   *     value; for example, {@link java.math.BigInteger}
113   */
114  public C maxValue() {
115    throw new NoSuchElementException();
116  }
117}