001/* Copyright (C) 2013 TU Dortmund
002 * This file is part of AutomataLib, http://www.automatalib.net/.
003 * 
004 * AutomataLib is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
005 * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
006 * License version 3.0 as published by the Free Software Foundation.
007 * 
008 * AutomataLib is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
009 * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
010 * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
011 * Lesser General Public License for more details.
012 * 
013 * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
014 * License along with AutomataLib; if not, see
015 * http://www.gnu.de/documents/lgpl.en.html.
016 */
017package net.automatalib.commons.util.strings;
018
019import java.io.IOException;
020
021/**
022 * Interface that allows outputting to an {@link Appendable} (e.g., a
023 * {@link StringBuilder}) instead of simply using {@link Object#toString()}.
024 * 
025 * @author Malte Isberner <malte.isberner@gmail.com>
026 *
027 */
028public interface Printable {
029        /**
030         * Outputs the current object.
031         * @param a the appendable.
032         * @throws IOException if an error occurs during appending.
033         */
034        public void print(Appendable a) throws IOException;
035}