/************************************************************************************
 * Copyright (C) 2008 by Politehnica University of Bucharest and Rutgers University
 * All rights reserved.
 * Refer to LICENSE for terms and conditions of use.
 ***********************************************************************************/
package vnsim.core;

import java.io.Serializable;

import vnsim.core.events.ReceiveEvent;
import vnsim.network.RadioDev;

/**
 * This interface must be implemented by every node that that exists in the
 * simulator and should communicate
 */
public interface Communicator {

	/**
	 * Method called by the engine to obtain the message this node has to transmit  
	 * 
	 * @param messageType Identifies the message type (e.g. 0 - keep alive message)
	 * @return The content of the message
	 */
	public byte[] prepareMessage(int messageType);

	/**
	 * Receive a message.
	 * 
	 * @param bytesReceived The message received
	 * @param sender The sender of the message
	 */
	public void onReceive(byte[] bytesReceived, Serializable message, Communicator sender);
	
	/**
	 * In promiscous mode a node just listens for messages while the nodes
	 * around know of its state. As soon as the state of the node will change
	 * it will start transmitting again.
	 * 
	 * @return True if the node is in promiscous mode
	 */
	public boolean isPromiscuousMode();
	
	/**
	 * Returns true if the message is a periodical message.
	 * 
	 * @param messageType The type of the message
	 * @return
	 */
	public boolean isPeriodicalMessage(int messageType);
	
	/**
	 * Gets the period of the message if it is a periodical message
	 * 
	 * @param messageType The type of the message
	 * @return
	 */
	public int getPeriod(int messageType);
	
	/**
	 * Gets the last time there was a transmission in the air.
	 * 
	 * @return
	 */
	public int getLastMediumTransmition();
	
	public void setLastMediumTransmition(int lastMediumTransmission);

	public boolean mediumAvailable(int crtTime);
	
	public RadioDev getRadio();
	
	public short getPointIdx();

	public short getRoadIdx();
	
	public ReceiveEvent getReceiveEventForTime(int t);

	public void addReceiveEventForTime(ReceiveEvent re);
	
	public void removeReceiveEventForTime(int t);
}