#region Copyright notice and license
// Protocol Buffers - Google's data interchange format
// Copyright 2015 Google Inc.  All rights reserved.
// https://developers.google.com/protocol-buffers/
//
// Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
// modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are
// met:
//
//     * Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
// notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
//     * Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above
// copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer
// in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the
// distribution.
//     * Neither the name of Google Inc. nor the names of its
// contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from
// this software without specific prior written permission.
//
// THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
// "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
// LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR
// A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT
// OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
// SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT
// LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,
// DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY
// THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
// (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE
// OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
#endregion

namespace Google.Protobuf
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Generic interface for a deeply cloneable type.
    /// </summary>
    /// <remarks>
    /// <para>
    /// All generated messages implement this interface, but so do some non-message types.
    /// Additionally, due to the type constraint on <c>T</c> in <see cref="IMessage{T}"/>,
    /// it is simpler to keep this as a separate interface.
    /// </para>
    /// </remarks>
    /// <typeparam name="T">The type itself, returned by the <see cref="Clone"/> method.</typeparam>
    public interface IDeepCloneable<T>
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Creates a deep clone of this object.
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns>A deep clone of this object.</returns>
        T Clone();
    }
}