/*
 * @(#)SourceLocator.java	1.12 04/07/26
 * 
 * Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.
 * SUN PROPRIETARY/CONFIDENTIAL. Use is subject to license terms.
 */
package javax.xml.transform;

/**
 * This interface is primarily for the purposes of reporting where
 * an error occurred in the XML source or transformation instructions.
 */
public interface SourceLocator {

    /**
     * Return the public identifier for the current document event.
     *
     * <p>The return value is the public identifier of the document
     * entity or of the external parsed entity in which the markup that
     * triggered the event appears.</p>
     *
     * @return A string containing the public identifier, or
     *         null if none is available.
     * @see #getSystemId
     */
    public String getPublicId();

    /**
     * Return the system identifier for the current document event.
     *
     * <p>The return value is the system identifier of the document
     * entity or of the external parsed entity in which the markup that
     * triggered the event appears.</p>
     *
     * <p>If the system identifier is a URL, the parser must resolve it
     * fully before passing it to the application.</p>
     *
     * @return A string containing the system identifier, or null
     *         if none is available.
     * @see #getPublicId
     */
    public String getSystemId();

    /**
     * Return the line number where the current document event ends.
     *
     * <p><strong>Warning:</strong> The return value from the method
     * is intended only as an approximation for the sake of error
     * reporting; it is not intended to provide sufficient information
     * to edit the character content of the original XML document.</p>
     *
     * <p>The return value is an approximation of the line number
     * in the document entity or external parsed entity where the
     * markup that triggered the event appears.</p>
     *
     * @return The line number, or -1 if none is available.
     * @see #getColumnNumber
     */
    public int getLineNumber();

    /**
     * Return the character position where the current document event ends.
     *
     * <p><strong>Warning:</strong> The return value from the method
     * is intended only as an approximation for the sake of error
     * reporting; it is not intended to provide sufficient information
     * to edit the character content of the original XML document.</p>
     *
     * <p>The return value is an approximation of the column number
     * in the document entity or external parsed entity where the
     * markup that triggered the event appears.</p>
     *
     * @return The column number, or -1 if none is available.
     * @see #getLineNumber
     */
    public int getColumnNumber();
}