001    /*
002     *    GeoAPI - Java interfaces for OGC/ISO standards
003     *    http://www.geoapi.org
004     *
005     *    Copyright (C) 2007-2013 Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc.
006     *    All Rights Reserved. http://www.opengeospatial.org/ogc/legal
007     *
008     *    Permission to use, copy, and modify this software and its documentation, with
009     *    or without modification, for any purpose and without fee or royalty is hereby
010     *    granted, provided that you include the following on ALL copies of the software
011     *    and documentation or portions thereof, including modifications, that you make:
012     *
013     *    1. The full text of this NOTICE in a location viewable to users of the
014     *       redistributed or derivative work.
015     *    2. Notice of any changes or modifications to the OGC files, including the
016     *       date changes were made.
017     *
018     *    THIS SOFTWARE AND DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS," AND COPYRIGHT HOLDERS MAKE
019     *    NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED
020     *    TO, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR THAT
021     *    THE USE OF THE SOFTWARE OR DOCUMENTATION WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY THIRD PARTY
022     *    PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS, TRADEMARKS OR OTHER RIGHTS.
023     *
024     *    COPYRIGHT HOLDERS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL OR
025     *    CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF ANY USE OF THE SOFTWARE OR DOCUMENTATION.
026     *
027     *    The name and trademarks of copyright holders may NOT be used in advertising or
028     *    publicity pertaining to the software without specific, written prior permission.
029     *    Title to copyright in this software and any associated documentation will at all
030     *    times remain with copyright holders.
031     */
032    package org.opengis.feature.type;
033    
034    import org.opengis.referencing.crs.CoordinateReferenceSystem;
035    
036    /**
037     * Describes an instance of a geometry attribute.
038     * <p>
039     * This interface adds no additional methods, the point of it is convenience
040     * to type narrow {@link #getType()} to {@link GeometryType}.
041     * </p>
042     * @author Justin Deoliveira, The Open Planning Project
043     *
044     */
045    public interface GeometryDescriptor extends AttributeDescriptor {
046        /**
047         * Override of {@link AttributeDescriptor#getType()} which type narrows
048         * to {@link GeometryType}.
049         */
050        GeometryType getType();
051    
052        /**
053         * The coordinate reference system in which these geometries are defined.
054         * <p>
055         * This method may return <code>null</code>, but this should only occur in
056         * cases where the actual crs is not known. A common case is when a shapefile
057         * does not have an accompanied .prj file.
058         * </p>
059         */
060        CoordinateReferenceSystem getCoordinateReferenceSystem();
061    }