1 files changed, 44 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/bundles/org.eclipse.compare/plugins/org.eclipse.compare/compare/org/eclipse/compare/structuremergeviewer/IStructureComparator.java b/bundles/org.eclipse.compare/plugins/org.eclipse.compare/compare/org/eclipse/compare/structuremergeviewer/IStructureComparator.java
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index 000000000..185dc4d60
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+++ b/bundles/org.eclipse.compare/plugins/org.eclipse.compare/compare/org/eclipse/compare/structuremergeviewer/IStructureComparator.java
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed Materials - Property of IBM,
+ * WebSphere Studio Workbench
+ * (c) Copyright IBM Corp 2000, 2001
+ */
+package org.eclipse.compare.structuremergeviewer;
+
+import java.util.Iterator;
+
+import org.eclipse.compare.ITypedElement;
+
+/**
+ * Interface used to compare hierarchical structures.
+ * It is used by the differencing engine.
+ * <p>
+ * Clients typically implement this interface in an adaptor class which 
+ * wrappers the objects to be compared.
+ *
+ * @see org.eclipse.compare.ResourceNode
+ * @see Differencer
+ */
+public interface IStructureComparator {
+
+	/**
+	 * Returns an iterator for all children of this object or <code>null</code>
+	 * if there are no children.
+	 *
+	 * @return an array with all children of this object, or an empty array if there are no children
+	 */
+	Object[] getChildren();
+
+	/**
+	 * Returns whether some other object is "equal to" this one
+	 * with respect to a structural comparison. For example, when comparing
+	 * Java class methods, <code>equals</code> would return <code>true</code>
+	 * if two methods have the same signature (the argument names and the 
+	 * method body might differ).
+	 *
+	 * @param other the reference object with which to compare
+	 * @return <code>true</code> if this object is the same as the other argument; <code>false</code> otherwise
+	 * @see java.lang.Object#equals
+	 */
+	boolean equals(Object other);
+}