001    // This file is part of the Attempto Java Packages.
002    // Copyright 2008, Attempto Group, University of Zurich (see http://attempto.ifi.uzh.ch).
003    //
004    // The Attempto Java Packages is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the
005    // terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation,
006    // either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
007    //
008    // The Attempto Java Packages is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
009    // WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
010    // PURPOSE. See the GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
011    //
012    // You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License along with the Attempto
013    // Java Packages. If not, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/.
014    
015    package ch.uzh.ifi.attempto.preditor.text;
016    
017    /**
018     * This interface describes a text element (a word or phrase) that is used by the
019     * predictive editor. Every text element contains a text and a grammatical category.
020     * 
021     * @author Tobias Kuhn
022     */
023    public interface TextElement {
024            
025            /**
026             * Returns the text of this text element.
027             * 
028             * @return The text.
029             */
030            public String getText();
031            
032            /**
033             * Returns the grammatical category of this text element.
034             * 
035             * @return The grammatical category.
036             */
037            public String getCategory();
038            
039            /**
040             * Checks the preceding and next text element. This is needed for words that change their form
041             * depending on the context, e.g. for capitalization or for the indefinite article "a"/"an".
042             * 
043             * @param precedingTextElement
044             */
045            public void checkNeighborTextElements(TextElement precedingTextElement, TextElement nextTextElement);
046            
047            public boolean equals(Object obj);
048    
049    }