/*
 *                 Sun Public License Notice
 *
 * The contents of this file are subject to the Sun Public License
 * Version 1.0 (the "License"). You may not use this file except in
 * compliance with the License. A copy of the License is available at
 * http://www.sun.com/
 *
 * The Original Code is NetBeans. The Initial Developer of the Original
 * Code is Sun Microsystems, Inc. Portions Copyright 1997-2003 Sun
 * Microsystems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
 */

package org.netbeans.modules.j2ee.deployment.common.api;

/** 
 * This interface is used to communicate information about changes in
 * ejb remote interfaces and deployment descriptors in support of
 * incremental and iterative deployment.  An instance of this interface
 * is supplied by a development module and passed to a plugin module
 * during an incremental deploy.  The plugin can use this information 
 * to potentially skip steps in the deploy process.  For example, if
 * no ejbs have changed, the stub generation step may be skipped.
 * @author  George Finklang
 */
public interface EjbChangeDescriptor {

   /* @returns true if signatures of the remote interfaces of any ejbs have
    * changed, or if any part of the deployment descriptor that relates to
    * ejb code generation has changed. */
   public boolean ejbsChanged();
   
   /* @returns String array of the names of the ejbs that have changed */
   public String[] getChangedEjbs();
}