/*
 * Copyright 2000-2001 Sun Microsystems, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
 * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER.
 *
 * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
 * under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 only, as
 * published by the Free Software Foundation.  Sun designates this
 * particular file as subject to the "Classpath" exception as provided
 * by Sun in the LICENSE file that accompanied this code.
 *
 * This code 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 General Public License
 * version 2 for more details (a copy is included in the LICENSE file that
 * accompanied this code).
 *
 * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License version
 * 2 along with this work; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
 * Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
 *
 * Please contact Sun Microsystems, Inc., 4150 Network Circle, Santa Clara,
 * CA 95054 USA or visit www.sun.com if you need additional information or
 * have any questions.
 */

package javax.sql;

import java.sql.*;

/**
 * An object that implements the <code>RowSetWriter</code> interface,
 * called a <i>writer</i>. A writer may be registered with a <code>RowSet</code>
 * object that supports the reader/writer paradigm.
 * <P>
 * If a disconnected <code>RowSet</code> object modifies some of its data,
 * and it has a writer associated with it, it may be implemented so that it
 * calls on the writer's <code>writeData</code> method internally
 * to write the updates back to the data source. In order to do this, the writer
 * must first establish a connection with the rowset's data source.
 * <P>
 * If the data to be updated has already been changed in the data source, there
 * is a conflict, in which case the writer will not write
 * the changes to the data source.  The algorithm the writer uses for preventing
 * or limiting conflicts depends entirely on its implementation.
 *
 * @since 1.4
 */

public interface RowSetWriter {

  /**
   * Writes the changes in this <code>RowSetWriter</code> object's
   * rowset back to the data source from which it got its data.
   *
   * @param caller the <code>RowSet</code> object (1) that has implemented the
   *         <code>RowSetInternal</code> interface, (2) with which this writer is
   *        registered, and (3) that called this method internally
   * @return <code>true</code> if the modified data was written; <code>false</code>
   *          if not, which will be the case if there is a conflict
   * @exception SQLException if a database access error occurs
   */
  boolean writeData(RowSetInternal caller) throws SQLException;

}