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+/*
+ * This Source Code Form is subject to the terms of the Mozilla Public
+ * License, v. 2.0.  If a copy of the MPL was not distributed with this
+ * file, You can obtain one at http://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/.
+ *
+ * Copyright 1997 - July 2008 CWI, August 2008 - 2016 MonetDB B.V.
+ */
+
+package nl.cwi.monetdb.mcl.parser;
+
+
+/**
+ * Interface for parsers in MCL.  The parser family in MCL is set up as
+ * a reusable object.  This allows the same parser to be used again for
+ * the same type of work.  While this is a very unnatural solution in
+ * the Java language, it prevents many object creations on a low level
+ * of the protocol.  This favours performance.
+ * 
+ * A typical parser has a method parse() which takes a String, and the
+ * methods hasNext() and next() to retrieve the values that were
+ * extracted by the parser.  Parser specific methods may be available to
+ * perform common tasks.
+ *
+ * @author Fabian Groffen
+ */
+public abstract class MCLParser {
+	/** The String values found while parsing.  Public, you may touch it. */
+	public final String values[];
+	/** The int values found while parsing.  Public, you may touch it. */
+	public final int intValues[];
+	private int colnr;
+
+	/**
+	 * Creates an MCLParser targetted at a given number of field values.
+	 * The lines parsed by an instance of this MCLParser should have
+	 * exactly capacity field values.
+	 *
+	 * @param capacity the number of field values to expect
+	 */
+	protected MCLParser(int capacity) {
+		values = new String[capacity];
+		intValues = new int[capacity];
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Parse the given string, and populate the internal field array
+	 * to allow for next() and hasNext() calls.
+	 *
+	 * @param source the String containing the line to parse
+	 * @return value
+	 * @throws MCLParseException if source cannot be (fully) parsed by
+	 * this parser
+	 * @see #next()
+	 * @see #nextInt()
+	 * @see #hasNext()
+	 */
+	abstract public int parse(String source) throws MCLParseException;
+
+	/**
+	 * Repositions the internal field offset to the start, such that the
+	 * next call to next() will return the first field again.
+	 */
+	final public void reset() {
+		colnr = 0;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Returns whether the next call to next() or nextInt() succeeds.
+	 *
+	 * @return true if the next call to next() or nextInt() is bound to
+	 * succeed
+	 * @see #next()
+	 * @see #nextInt()
+	 */
+	final public boolean hasNext() {
+		return colnr < values.length;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Returns the current field value, and advances the field counter
+	 * to the next value.  This method may fail with a RuntimeError if
+	 * the current field counter is out of bounds.  Call hasNext() to
+	 * determine if the call to next() will succeed.
+	 *
+	 * @return the current field value
+	 * @see #nextInt()
+	 * @see #hasNext()
+	 */
+	final public String next() {
+		return values[colnr++];
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Returns the current field value as integer, and advances the
+	 * field counter to the next value.  This method has the same
+	 * characteristics as the next() method, apart from returning the
+	 * field value as an integer.
+	 *
+	 * @return the current field value as integer
+	 * @see #next()
+	 */
+	final public int nextInt() {
+		return intValues[colnr++];
+	}
+}