/*************************************************************************
 *
 *  OpenOffice.org - a multi-platform office productivity suite
 *
 *  $RCSfile: XSortable.idl,v $
 *
 *  $Revision: 1.9 $
 *
 *  last change: $Author: rt $ $Date: 2005-09-08 09:16:05 $
 *
 *  The Contents of this file are made available subject to
 *  the terms of GNU Lesser General Public License Version 2.1.
 *
 *
 *    GNU Lesser General Public License Version 2.1
 *    =============================================
 *    Copyright 2005 by Sun Microsystems, Inc.
 *    901 San Antonio Road, Palo Alto, CA 94303, USA
 *
 *    This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
 *    modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
 *    License version 2.1, as published by the Free Software Foundation.
 *
 *    This library 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
 *    Lesser General Public License for more details.
 *
 *    You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
 *    License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
 *    Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston,
 *    MA  02111-1307  USA
 *
 ************************************************************************/
#ifndef __com_sun_star_util_XSortable_idl__
#define __com_sun_star_util_XSortable_idl__

#ifndef __com_sun_star_uno_XInterface_idl__
#include <com/sun/star/uno/XInterface.idl>
#endif

#ifndef __com_sun_star_beans_PropertyValue_idl__
#include <com/sun/star/beans/PropertyValue.idl>
#endif


//=============================================================================

module com {  module sun {  module star {  module util {

//=============================================================================

/** makes it possible to sort the contents of this object.

    <p>The available properties describing the sort criterias are
    defined in the sort descriptor implemented by the object that
    implements this interface.</p>

    <p>There are older deprecated sort descriptors:</p>
    <ul>
        <li>com::sun::star::util::SortDescriptor</li>
        <li>com::sun::star::table::TableSortDescriptor</li>
        <li>com::sun::star::text::TextSortDescriptor</li>
    </ul>

    <p>And a new set of sort descriptors:</p>
    <ul>
        <li>com::sun::star::util::SortDescriptor2</li>
        <li>com::sun::star::table::TableSortDescriptor2</li>
        <li>com::sun::star::text::TextSortDescriptor2</li>
    </ul>

    <p>Both types may be implemented by the same object.
    When calling the sort method however properties from different
    descriptors must not be mixed.</p>
 */
published interface XSortable: com::sun::star::uno::XInterface
{
    //-------------------------------------------------------------------------
    /** @returns
            a sequence of properties which allows to specify/modify the
            sort criteria.

            <p>The set of properties is specific to the type of object that
            implements this interface. Therefore they can usually be used
            only for objects of that same type.</p>

        @see com::sun::star::util::SortDescriptor
        @see com::sun::star::table::TableSortDescriptor
        @see com::sun::star::text::TextSortDescriptor
        @see com::sun::star::util::SortDescriptor2
        @see com::sun::star::table::TableSortDescriptor2
        @see com::sun::star::text::TextSortDescriptor2

     */
    sequence< com::sun::star::beans::PropertyValue > createSortDescriptor();

    //-------------------------------------------------------------------------
    /** sorts the contents of the object according to the specified
        properties.

        <p>The specified properties are usually the same or a subset of
        those obtained by calling <member>createSortDescriptor</member>
        on the same type of object.<p>

        @see com::sun::star::util::SortDescriptor
        @see com::sun::star::table::TableSortDescriptor
        @see com::sun::star::text::TextSortDescriptor
        @see com::sun::star::util::SortDescriptor2
        @see com::sun::star::table::TableSortDescriptor2
        @see com::sun::star::text::TextSortDescriptor2
     */
    void sort( [in] sequence< com::sun::star::beans::PropertyValue > xDescriptor );

};

//=============================================================================

}; }; }; };

#endif
