import java.io.Serializable;
/**
- * General identifier interface. It is primarily a marker for all things that
- * identify concepts -- such as names, addresses, classes, etc. We do not
- * require too much, just that the identifiers are serializable (and this
+ * General identifier interface. It is primarily a marker for all things that identify concepts -- such as names,
+ * addresses, classes, etc. We do not require too much, just that the identifiers are serializable (and thus
* transferable).
+ *
+ * <p>Implementations are expected to implement {@link #hashCode()} and {@link #equals(Object)} methods in a way,
+ * which ensures that objects before and after serialization are considered equal.
+ *
+ * <p>Implementations are advised to use the {@link java.io.Externalizable} Proxy pattern to allow future evolution
+ * of their serialization format. For further efficiency, implementations should consider implementing
+ * {@link WritableObject}, so they can be efficiently embedded in other {@link Serializable} and {@code WritableObject}s
+ * objects.
*/
public interface Identifier extends Serializable, Immutable {
+ @Override
+ boolean equals(Object obj);
+
+ @Override
+ int hashCode();
+ @Override
+ String toString();
}