package hirondelle.starfield.catalog.parser; import hirondelle.starfield.physics.Star; /** <b>Create a Star object from a single record in a star catalog.</b> Assumes that a single line in the file corresponds to a single star. */ public interface RecordParser { /** Parse a single line from a star catalog into the parts needed for the starfield calculation. In many cases the data will have to be massaged a bit to get the exact data needed by the Star class. <P><b>Parsers must return null if the line cannot be parsed into a Star object.</b> This can happen when the data is wonky for some reason. For example, the Yale Bright Star Catalog has a number of entries that are essentially blank. <P>All angles must be converted to radians. Be careful of the sign of the declination. */ Star parse(String aLine); }