source: vbox/trunk/src/libs/xpcom18a4/xpcom/base/nsISupportsBase.h@ 6542

/* ***** BEGIN LICENSE BLOCK *****
 * Version: MPL 1.1/GPL 2.0/LGPL 2.1
 *
 * The contents of this file are subject to the Mozilla Public License Version
 * 1.1 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with
 * the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
 * http://www.mozilla.org/MPL/
 *
 * Software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" basis,
 * WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License
 * for the specific language governing rights and limitations under the
 * License.
 *
 * The Original Code is XPCOM.
 *
 * The Initial Developer of the Original Code is Netscape Communications Corp.
 * Portions created by the Initial Developer are Copyright (C) 2001
 * the Initial Developer. All Rights Reserved.
 *
 * Contributor(s):
 *
 * Alternatively, the contents of this file may be used under the terms of
 * either the GNU General Public License Version 2 or later (the "GPL"), or
 * the GNU Lesser General Public License Version 2.1 or later (the "LGPL"),
 * in which case the provisions of the GPL or the LGPL are applicable instead
 * of those above. If you wish to allow use of your version of this file only
 * under the terms of either the GPL or the LGPL, and not to allow others to
 * use your version of this file under the terms of the MPL, indicate your
 * decision by deleting the provisions above and replace them with the notice
 * and other provisions required by the GPL or the LGPL. If you do not delete
 * the provisions above, a recipient may use your version of this file under
 * the terms of any one of the MPL, the GPL or the LGPL.
 *
 * ***** END LICENSE BLOCK ***** */

#ifndef nsISupportsBase_h__
#define nsISupportsBase_h__

#ifndef nscore_h___
#include "nscore.h"
#endif

#ifndef nsID_h__
#include "nsID.h"
#endif


/*@{*/
/**
 * IID for the nsISupports interface
 * {00000000-0000-0000-c000-000000000046}
 *
 * To maintain binary compatibility with COM's IUnknown, we define the IID
 * of nsISupports to be the same as that of COM's IUnknown.
 */
#define NS_ISUPPORTS_IID                                                      \
  { 0x00000000, 0x0000, 0x0000,                                               \
    {0xc0, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0x46} }

/**
 * Reference count values
 *
 * This is the return type for AddRef() and Release() in nsISupports.
 * IUnknown of COM returns an unsigned long from equivalent functions.
 * The following ifdef exists to maintain binary compatibility with
 * IUnknown.
 */
#if defined(XP_WIN) && PR_BYTES_PER_LONG == 4
typedef unsigned long nsrefcnt;
#else
typedef PRUint32 nsrefcnt;
#endif

/**
 * Basic component object model interface. Objects which implement
 * this interface support runtime interface discovery (QueryInterface)
 * and a reference counted memory model (AddRef/Release). This is
 * modelled after the win32 IUnknown API.
 */
class NS_NO_VTABLE nsISupports {
public:

  /**
   * @name Methods
   */

  //@{
  /**
   * A run time mechanism for interface discovery.
   * @param aIID [in] A requested interface IID
   * @param aInstancePtr [out] A pointer to an interface pointer to
   * receive the result.
   * @return <b>NS_OK</b> if the interface is supported by the associated
   * instance, <b>NS_NOINTERFACE</b> if it is not.
   * <b>NS_ERROR_INVALID_POINTER</b> if <i>aInstancePtr</i> is <b>NULL</b>.
   */
  NS_IMETHOD QueryInterface(REFNSIID aIID, void** aInstancePtr) = 0;
  /**
   * Increases the reference count for this interface.
   * The associated instance will not be deleted unless
   * the reference count is returned to zero.
   *
   * @return The resulting reference count.
   */
  NS_IMETHOD_(nsrefcnt) AddRef(void) = 0;

  /**
   * Decreases the reference count for this interface.
   * Generally, if the reference count returns to zero,
   * the associated instance is deleted.
   *
   * @return The resulting reference count.
   */
  NS_IMETHOD_(nsrefcnt) Release(void) = 0;

  //@}
};
/*@}*/
#endif