001/*
002 * Copyright 2008-2017 UnboundID Corp.
003 * All Rights Reserved.
004 */
005/*
006 * Copyright (C) 2008-2017 UnboundID Corp.
007 *
008 * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
009 * it under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPLv2 only)
010 * or the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPLv2.1 only)
011 * as published by the Free Software Foundation.
012 *
013 * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
014 * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
015 * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
016 * GNU General Public License for more details.
017 *
018 * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
019 * along with this program; if not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses>.
020 */
021package com.unboundid.util;
022
023
024
025import java.io.Serializable;
026
027import com.unboundid.asn1.ASN1OctetString;
028
029
030
031/**
032 * This interface defines a set of methods for treating a value as either a
033 * string or byte array.
034 */
035@NotExtensible()
036@ThreadSafety(level=ThreadSafetyLevel.INTERFACE_THREADSAFE)
037public interface ByteString
038       extends Serializable
039{
040  /**
041   * Retrieves a byte array containing the binary value for this byte string.
042   *
043   * @return  A byte array containing the binary value for this byte string.
044   */
045  byte[] getValue();
046
047
048
049  /**
050   * Retrieves the value for this byte string as a {@code String}.
051   *
052   * @return  The value for this byte string as a {@code String}.
053   */
054  String stringValue();
055
056
057
058  /**
059   * Appends the value of this byte string to the provided buffer.  It must not
060   * use the {@link ByteStringBuffer#append(ByteString)} method, since that
061   * method relies on this method.
062   *
063   * @param  buffer  The buffer to which the value should be appended.
064   */
065  void appendValueTo(final ByteStringBuffer buffer);
066
067
068
069  /**
070   * Converts this byte string to an ASN.1 octet string.
071   *
072   * @return  An ASN.1 octet string with the value of this byte string.
073   */
074  ASN1OctetString toASN1OctetString();
075}