/*
  ==============================================================================

   This file is part of the JUCE library - "Jules' Utility Class Extensions"
   Copyright 2004-10 by Raw Material Software Ltd.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   JUCE can be redistributed and/or modified under the terms of the GNU General
   Public License (Version 2), as published by the Free Software Foundation.
   A copy of the license is included in the JUCE distribution, or can be found
   online at www.gnu.org/licenses.

   JUCE is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
   WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR
   A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for more details.

  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   To release a closed-source product which uses JUCE, commercial licenses are
   available: visit www.rawmaterialsoftware.com/juce for more information.

  ==============================================================================
*/

#ifndef __JUCE_INPUTSOURCE_JUCEHEADER__
#define __JUCE_INPUTSOURCE_JUCEHEADER__

#include "juce_InputStream.h"

//==============================================================================
/**
    A lightweight object that can create a stream to read some kind of resource.

    This may be used to refer to a file, or some other kind of source, allowing a
    caller to create an input stream that can read from it when required.

    @see FileInputSource
*/
class JUCE_API  InputSource
{
public:
    //==============================================================================
    InputSource() throw()       {}

    /** Destructor. */
    virtual ~InputSource()      {}

    //==============================================================================
    /** Returns a new InputStream to read this item.

        @returns            an inputstream that the caller will delete, or 0 if
                            the filename isn't found.
    */
    virtual InputStream* createInputStream() = 0;

    /** Returns a new InputStream to read an item, relative.

        @param relatedItemPath  the relative pathname of the resource that is required
        @returns            an inputstream that the caller will delete, or 0 if
                            the item isn't found.
    */
    virtual InputStream* createInputStreamFor (const String& relatedItemPath) = 0;

    /** Returns a hash code that uniquely represents this item.
    */
    virtual int64 hashCode() const = 0;

    //==============================================================================
    juce_UseDebuggingNewOperator
};


#endif   // __JUCE_INPUTSOURCE_JUCEHEADER__
