/*
 * CDDL HEADER START
 *
 * The contents of this file are subject to the terms of the
 * Common Development and Distribution License, Version 1.0 only
 * (the "License").  You may not use this file except in compliance
 * with the License.
 *
 * You can obtain a copy of the license at legal-notices/CDDLv1_0.txt
 * or http://forgerock.org/license/CDDLv1.0.html.
 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions
 * and limitations under the License.
 *
 * When distributing Covered Code, include this CDDL HEADER in each
 * file and include the License file at legal-notices/CDDLv1_0.txt.
 * If applicable, add the following below this CDDL HEADER, with the
 * fields enclosed by brackets "[]" replaced with your own identifying
 * information:
 *      Portions Copyright [yyyy] [name of copyright owner]
 *
 * CDDL HEADER END
 *
 *
 *      Copyright 2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
 *      Portions copyright 2012 ForgeRock AS.
 */

package org.forgerock.opendj.ldap;

/**
 * Functions transform input values of type {@code M} to output values of type
 * {@code N}.
 * <p>
 * A {@code Function} can be passed to an {@link AttributeParser} in order to
 * facilitate parsing of attributes. Common implementations can be found in the
 * {@link Functions} class.
 *
 * @param <M>
 *            The type of input values transformed by this function.
 * @param <N>
 *            The type of output values return by this function.
 * @param <P>
 *            The type of the additional parameter to this function's
 *            {@code apply} method. Use {@link java.lang.Void} for functions
 *            that do not need an additional parameter.
 * @see Functions
 * @see AttributeParser
 */
public interface Function<M, N, P> {
    /**
     * Applies this function to the provided input value of type {@code M} ,
     * returning an output value of type {@code N}.
     *
     * @param value
     *            The value to be transformed.
     * @param p
     *            A function specified parameter.
     * @return The result of the transformation.
     */
    N apply(M value, P p);
}