<!DOCTYPE sect1 PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.4//EN" "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.4/docbookx.dtd">
<sect1 id="common_classes">
	<title>Common Classes and Interfaces</title>
	<para>This section lists classes and interfaces that every RCE
		developer should be familiar with.
	</para>
	<para>Note that at this point, this list is probably incomplete. If you
		come across a class you wish you had known earlier, please let us
		know.
	</para>
	<sect2>
		<title>General</title>
		<para></para>
		<variablelist>
			<varlistentry>
				<term>ResolvableNodeId, InstanceNodeId, InstanceNodeSessionId, LogicalNodeId,
					LogicalNodeSessionId (former: NodeIdentifier)</term>
				<listitem>
					<para>Explanation for NodeIdentifier: This interface represents the "identity" of a node, and
						is used whenever nodes are specified in API calls. In general, these node
						identifiers (or "node ids") are stored and reused by nodes, so they are
						persistent unless the node's operator deletes its settings folder. From a
						developer's perspective, the inner format of these ids is usually not
						relevant.</para>
					<para>TODO: Replace with explanation referring to current node identifier
						approach</para>
					<para>Package: de.rcenvironment.core.communication.common</para>
				</listitem>
			</varlistentry>
		</variablelist>
	</sect2>
	<sect2>
		<title>Components and Workflows</title>
		<para></para>
		<variablelist>
			<varlistentry>
				<term>TypedDatum</term>
				<listitem>
					<para>Represents a chunk of data that is passed between the components of a workflow. This is
						the central abstraction of all data passing, so you will encounter it when
						you start writing or modifying workflow components.</para>
					<para>Package: de.rcenvironment.core.component.datamodel (Note: may be moved in
						5.0.0) </para>
				</listitem>
			</varlistentry>
		</variablelist>
	</sect2>
	<sect2>
		<title>Utilities</title>
		<para></para>
		<variablelist>
			<varlistentry>
				<term>ThreadPool/SharedThreadPool</term>
				<listitem>
					<para>This is a central thread pool that should be used for all asynchronous operations (except
						for the SWT GUI thread itself, and GUI-embedded "background tasks"). Always
						use this instead of creating Thread or Executor/ExecutorService
						instances.</para>
					<para>(TODO add code example(s), explain @TaskDescription, ...)</para>
					<para>Package: de.rcenvironment.core.utils.common.concurrent</para>
				</listitem>
			</varlistentry>
			<varlistentry>
				<term>TempFileUtils</term>
				<listitem>
					<para>This utility class should be used whenever a temporary file or directory should be
						created. Its main benefit is that it allows for managed cleanup of leftover
						temporary files/directories (Note: This is not yet implemented!). Additional
						benefits are convenience functions (like generating a temporary file with a
						given filename or name pattern), central handling of cleanup issues (like
						undeletable files), and making sure that all temporary files are created in
						a consistent location.</para>
					<para>Package: de.rcenvironment.commons (Note: will be moved in 5.0.0) </para>
				</listitem>
			</varlistentry>
		</variablelist>
	</sect2>
</sect1>