001/*
002 *    GeoAPI - Java interfaces for OGC/ISO standards
003 *    Copyright © 2004-2023 Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc.
004 *    http://www.geoapi.org
005 *
006 *    Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
007 *    you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
008 *    You may obtain a copy of the License at
009 *
010 *        http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
011 *
012 *    Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
013 *    distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
014 *    WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
015 *    See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
016 *    limitations under the License.
017 */
018package org.opengis.util;
019
020import org.opengis.metadata.citation.Citation;
021
022
023/**
024 * Base interface for all factories. Factories can be grouped in two categories:
025 *
026 * <ul>
027 *   <li>{@linkplain org.opengis.referencing.AuthorityFactory Authority factories}
028 *       creates objects from a compact string defined by an authority.</li>
029 *   <li>{@linkplain org.opengis.referencing.ObjectFactory Object factories}
030 *       allows applications to make objects that cannot be created by an authority
031 *       factory.</li>
032 * </ul>
033 *
034 * Object factories are very flexible, whereas the authority factories are easier to use.
035 *
036 * @departure harmonization
037 *   This interface is not part of the OGC specification. It is added for uniformity,
038 *   in order to provide a common base class for all factories.
039 *
040 * @author  Martin Desruisseaux (IRD)
041 * @version 3.0
042 * @since   1.0
043 */
044public interface Factory {
045    /**
046     * Returns the vendor responsible for creating this factory implementation. Many implementations
047     * may be available for the same factory interface. Implementations can be managed by a
048     * {@linkplain java.util.ServiceLoader service loader}.
049     *
050     * @return the vendor for this factory implementation.
051     */
052    Citation getVendor();
053}