001    /*
002     * Copyright 2011 Christian Kumpe http://kumpe.de/christian/java
003     *
004     * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
005     * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
006     * You may obtain a copy of the License at
007     *
008     *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
009     *
010     * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
011     * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
012     * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
013     * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
014     * limitations under the License.
015     */
016    package de.kumpe.hadooptimizer;
017    
018    import java.io.Serializable;
019    import java.util.Collection;
020    
021    /**
022     * A {@link PopulationReader} is used to read the start population during
023     * initialization of the evolution cycles.
024     * 
025     * @param <I>
026     *            the individuals' type
027     * 
028     * @author <a href="http://kumpe.de/christian/java">Christian Kumpe</a>
029     */
030    public interface PopulationReader<I> extends Serializable {
031            /**
032             * @return the initial population for the evolution cycle
033             */
034            Collection<I> read();
035    }