/*
 * Encog(tm) Core v3.1 - Java Version
 * http://www.heatonresearch.com/encog/
 * http://code.google.com/p/encog-java/
 
 * Copyright 2008-2012 Heaton Research, Inc.
 *
 * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
 * You may obtain a copy of the License at
 *
 *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 *
 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 * limitations under the License.
 *   
 * For more information on Heaton Research copyrights, licenses 
 * and trademarks visit:
 * http://www.heatonresearch.com/copyright
 */
package org.encog.ml.data;

import java.util.Collection;

/**
 * A sequence set is a collection of data sets. Where each individual data set
 * is one "unbroken sequence" within the sequence set. This allows individual
 * observations to occur individually, indicating a break between them.
 * 
 * The sequence set, itself, is a data set, so it can be used with any Encog
 * trainer. However, not all trainers are aware of sequence sets. Further, some
 * machine learning methods are unaffected by them. Sequence sets are typically
 * used with Hidden Markov Models (HMM)'s.
 */
public interface MLSequenceSet extends MLDataSet {
	
	/**
	 * Cause a "break" in the data by creating a the beginning of a new sequence.
	 */
	void startNewSequence();

	/**
	 * @return Get a count of the number of sequences.
	 */
	int getSequenceCount();

	/**
	 * Get an individual sequence.
	 * @param i The index of the sequence.
	 * @return The sequence.
	 */
	MLDataSet getSequence(int i);

	/**
	 * @return A list of all of the sequences.
	 */
	Collection<MLDataSet> getSequences();

	/**
	 * Add a new sequence.
	 * @param sequence The sequence to add.
	 */
	void add(MLDataSet sequence);
}
