/***********************************************************************
 * EqueueNode.h
 *
 * Interface file for a simple EqueueNode class. This class serves
 * the same function as the Node class from the C++ version, but is
 * equipped with a full set of accessor methods instead of leaving
 * variables public.
 *
 * Written by Paul Bonamy - 9 August 2010
 ***********************************************************************/

#import <Cocoa/Cocoa.h>


/*
 * The NSObject type is akin to Java's Object. It is the topmost
 * class from which most (but not all) other classes inherit.
 * It provides the functionality to do initial memory allocation,
 * as well as some other message and object related things, so
 * Obj-C classes will generally inherit either from it directly,
 * or from something that in turn inherits from NSObject.
 */
@interface EqueueNode : NSObject {
	/*
	 * Variables declared between these curly braces are instance
	 * variables. Each object will have access to its own set of them.
	 */
	int value;
	EqueueNode * next;
	EqueueNode * prev;
}
/*
 * Class methods you want class users to know about go here, between
 * the closing curly brace and the @end. There is no requirement
 * that methods actually be listed here to be used, so this space
 * provides a way of telling your user about the interface they
 * should be using, rather than everything they could be using.
 */

/*
 * The @property keyword was introduced with Objective-C 2.0 (around
 * the time MacOS 10.5 came out.) Paired with @synthesis, it instructs
 * the compiler to create setter and getter methods for the named
 * variables as needed, so we don't need to. The getter will have the 
 * same name as the variable, by default, and the setter will be named
 * setName, where Name is the name of the variable.
 *
 * Note that we have to specify what behavior to use for object pointers.
 * Options are:
 *		(assign) - Do a straight copy of the pointer (this is default)
 *		(retain) - Assign, and, additionally, retain the object
 *      (copy)	 - Create a copy of the object
 *
 * Because the Equeue class is the only thing that's ever going to
 * mess with the EqueueNodes, it's sufficient for us to assign in the
 * setter, as we don't need to worry about someone else releasing the
 * nodes unexpectedly.
 */
@property int value;
@property(assign) EqueueNode *next;
@property(assign) EqueueNode *prev;

/*
 * Method identifications start with either a - or a +. Things starting with
 * a - are instance methods, and are responded to by objects (like normal
 * class methods in C++). Methods starting with a + are known as class methods
 * and are akin to static methods in C++. They have no access to instance
 * variables, and get used for things like building a new object with 
 * initializing data. These are called by sending a message to the class,
 * rather than an object of the same type as the class.
 */

/*
 * The id type returned by init is more or less equivalent to a void * or
 * java Object. It's used to indicate that an object of some sort will be
 * passed back. init should always pass back either itself or nil
 */

-(id)init;

@end