/**
 * $RCSfile$
 * $Revision$
 * $Date$
 *
 * Copyright (C) 2004 Jive Software. All rights reserved.
 *
 * This software is published under the terms of the GNU Public License (GPL),
 * a copy of which is included in this distribution.
 */

package org.jivesoftware.util.cache;

/**
 * Interface that defines the necessary behavior for objects added to a Cache.
 * Objects only need to know how big they are (in bytes). That size
 * should be considered to be a best estimate of how much memory the Object
 * occupies and may be based on empirical trials or dynamic calculations.<p>
 *
 * While the accuracy of the size calculation is important, care should be
 * taken to minimize the computation time so that cache operations are
 * speedy.
 *
 * @author Jive Software
 * @see org.jivesoftware.util.cache.Cache
 */
public interface Cacheable extends java.io.Serializable {

    /**
     * Returns the approximate size of the Object in bytes. The size should be
     * considered to be a best estimate of how much memory the Object occupies
     * and may be based on empirical trials or dynamic calculations.<p>
     *
     * @return the size of the Object in bytes.
     */
    public int getCachedSize();
}
