/*
 * This file is part of lanterna (http://code.google.com/p/lanterna/).
 *
 * lanterna is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
 * it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by
 * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
 * (at your option) any later version.
 *
 * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
 * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
 * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
 * GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
 *
 * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License
 * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 *
 * Copyright (C) 2010-2020 Martin Berglund
 */
package com.googlecode.lanterna.input;

import java.util.Collection;

In order to convert a stream of characters into objects representing keystrokes, we need to apply logic on this
stream to detect special characters. In lanterna, this is done by using a set of character patterns which are matched
against the stream until we've found the best match. This interface represents a set of such patterns, a 'profile' 
with is used when decoding the input. There is a default profile, DefaultKeyDecodingProfile, which will probably
do what you need but you can also extend and define your own patterns.
Author:
Martin/**
 * In order to convert a stream of characters into objects representing keystrokes, we need to apply logic on this
 * stream to detect special characters. In lanterna, this is done by using a set of character patterns which are matched
 * against the stream until we've found the best match. This interface represents a set of such patterns, a 'profile' 
 * with is used when decoding the input. There is a default profile, DefaultKeyDecodingProfile, which will probably
 * do what you need but you can also extend and define your own patterns.
 *
 * @author Martin
 */
public interface KeyDecodingProfile {
    
Static constant for the ESC key
/**
     * Static constant for the ESC key
     */
    char ESC_CODE = (char) 0x1b;

    
Returns a collection of character patterns that makes up this profile
Returns:
Collection of patterns in this profile/**
     * Returns a collection of character patterns that makes up this profile
     * @return Collection of patterns in this profile
     */
    Collection<CharacterPattern> getPatterns();
}