001/*
002 * $Id: LargeElement.java 4784 2011-03-15 08:33:00Z blowagie $
003 *
004 * This file is part of the iText (R) project.
005 * Copyright (c) 1998-2011 1T3XT BVBA
006 * Authors: Bruno Lowagie, Paulo Soares, et al.
007 *
008 * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
009 * it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License version 3
010 * as published by the Free Software Foundation with the addition of the
011 * following permission added to Section 15 as permitted in Section 7(a):
012 * FOR ANY PART OF THE COVERED WORK IN WHICH THE COPYRIGHT IS OWNED BY 1T3XT,
013 * 1T3XT DISCLAIMS THE WARRANTY OF NON INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS.
014 *
015 * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
016 * WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY
017 * or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
018 * See the GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
019 * You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
020 * along with this program; if not, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses or write to
021 * the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
022 * Boston, MA, 02110-1301 USA, or download the license from the following URL:
023 * http://itextpdf.com/terms-of-use/
024 *
025 * The interactive user interfaces in modified source and object code versions
026 * of this program must display Appropriate Legal Notices, as required under
027 * Section 5 of the GNU Affero General Public License.
028 *
029 * In accordance with Section 7(b) of the GNU Affero General Public License,
030 * a covered work must retain the producer line in every PDF that is created
031 * or manipulated using iText.
032 *
033 * You can be released from the requirements of the license by purchasing
034 * a commercial license. Buying such a license is mandatory as soon as you
035 * develop commercial activities involving the iText software without
036 * disclosing the source code of your own applications.
037 * These activities include: offering paid services to customers as an ASP,
038 * serving PDFs on the fly in a web application, shipping iText with a closed
039 * source product.
040 *
041 * For more information, please contact iText Software Corp. at this
042 * address: sales@itextpdf.com
043 */
044package com.itextpdf.text;
045
046/**
047 * Interface implemented by Element objects that can potentially consume
048 * a lot of memory. Objects implementing the LargeElement interface can
049 * be added to a Document more than once. If you have invoked setComplete(false),
050 * they will be added partially and the content that was added will be
051 * removed until you've invoked setComplete(true);
052 * @since       iText 2.0.8
053 */
054
055public interface LargeElement extends Element {
056        
057        /**
058         * If you invoke setComplete(false), you indicate that the content
059         * of the object isn't complete yet; it can be added to the document
060         * partially, but more will follow. If you invoke setComplete(true),
061         * you indicate that you won't add any more data to the object.
062         * @since       iText 2.0.8
063         * @param       complete        false if you'll be adding more data after
064         *                                              adding the object to the document.
065         */
066        public void setComplete(boolean complete);
067        
068        /**
069         * Indicates if the element is complete or not.
070         * @since       iText 2.0.8
071         * @return      indicates if the element is complete according to the user.
072         */
073        public boolean isComplete();
074        
075        /**
076         * Flushes the content that has been added.
077         */
078        public void flushContent();
079}