/*
 * @(#)RecordFilter.java	1.13 02/07/24 @(#)
 *
 * Portiona Copyright (c) 2000-2002 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
 *
 * Copyright 2000 Motorola, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
 * This notice does not imply publication.
 */

package javax.microedition.rms; 

/**
 * An interface defining a filter which examines a record to see if it
 * matches (based on an application-defined criteria). The
 * application implements the match() method to select records to
 * be returned by the RecordEnumeration. Returns true if the candidate
 * record is selected by the RecordFilter. This interface
 * is used in the record store for searching or subsetting records.
 * For example:
 * <pre>
 * RecordFilter f = new DateRecordFilter(); // class implements RecordFilter
 * if (f.matches(recordStore.getRecord(theRecordID)) == true)
 *   DoSomethingUseful(theRecordID);
 * </pre>
 *
 * @since MIDP 1.0
 */

public interface RecordFilter
{
    /**
     * Returns true if the candidate matches the implemented criterion.
     *
     * @param candidate the record to consider. Within this method,
     *          the application must treat this parameter as
     *          read-only.
     *
     * @return true if the candidate matches the implemented criterion
     */
    public abstract boolean matches(byte[] candidate);

}