/*
 * Copyright (c) 2012, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
 * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER.
 *
 * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
 * under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 only, as
 * published by the Free Software Foundation.
 *
 * This code is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
 * ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
 * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License
 * version 2 for more details (a copy is included in the LICENSE file that
 * accompanied this code).
 *
 * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License version
 * 2 along with this work; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
 * Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
 *
 * Please contact Oracle, 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood Shores, CA 94065 USA
 * or visit www.oracle.com if you need additional information or have any
 * questions.
 */
package com.oracle.truffle.api.frame;

/**
 * Represents a packed frame that represents a virtual frame. A packed frame instance can be retrieved with the
 * {@link VirtualFrame#pack()} method. It can be converted back into a virtual frame using {@link PackedFrame#unpack()}.
 * Instances of this type must not be stored in a field or cast to {@link java.lang.Object}.
 */
public interface PackedFrame {

    /**
     * Unpacks this frame and converts it back to a virtual frame.
     * @return the virtual frame that was the content of this packed frame
     */
    VirtualFrame unpack();
}