001/*
002 *                    BioJava development code
003 *
004 * This code may be freely distributed and modified under the
005 * terms of the GNU Lesser General Public Licence.  This should
006 * be distributed with the code.  If you do not have a copy,
007 * see:
008 *
009 *      http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/lesser.html
010 *
011 * Copyright for this code is held jointly by the individual
012 * authors.  These should be listed in @author doc comments.
013 *
014 * For more information on the BioJava project and its aims,
015 * or to join the biojava-l mailing list, visit the home page
016 * at:
017 *
018 *      http://www.biojava.org/
019 *
020 */
021package org.biojava.nbio.ontology;
022
023/**
024 * A factory for Ontology instances.
025 *
026 * @author Matthew Pocock
027 */
028
029public interface OntologyFactory {
030        /**
031         * Creates a new Ontology
032         *
033         * @param name  the name to give the ontology
034         * @param description the description for the ontology
035         * @return an Ontology
036         * @throws NullPointerException if either name or description are null
037         * @throws OntologyException if the ontology could not be created
038         */
039        public Ontology createOntology(String name, String description)
040        throws OntologyException;
041}