    001// Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008 The Apache Software Foundation
    002//
    003// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
    004// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
    005// You may obtain a copy of the License at
    006//
    007//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
    008//
    009// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
    010// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
    011// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
    012// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
    013// limitations under the License.
    014
    015package org.apache.tapestry5.services;
    016
    017import org.apache.tapestry5.ioc.annotations.UsesOrderedConfiguration;
    018
    019import java.io.IOException;
    020
    021/**
    022 * A dispatcher is responsible for recognizing an incoming request. Dispatchers form an ordered chain of command, with
    023 * each dispatcher responsible for recognizing requests that it can process.  This is the interface for the
    024 * MasterDispatcher service, which takes an ordered configuration of Dispatchers (that is, the chain of command
    025 * pattern). If no dispatcher processes the request, it will ultimately be passed off to the servlet container.
    026 */
    027@UsesOrderedConfiguration(Dispatcher.class)
    028public interface Dispatcher
    029{
    030    /**
    031     * Analyzes the incoming request and performs an appropriate operation for each.
    032     *
    033     * @return true if a response was delivered, false if the dispatcher did not handle the request (and a search for a
    034     *         handler should continue)
    035     */
    036    boolean dispatch(Request request, Response response) throws IOException;
    037}