code: ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  // For information as to what this class does, see the Javadoc, below.       //
  // Copyright (C) 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006,       //
  // 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015 by Peter Spirtes, Richard Scheines, Joseph   //
  // Ramsey, and Clark Glymour.                                                //
  //                                                                           //
  // This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify      //
  // it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by      //
  // the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or         //
  // (at your option) any later version.                                       //
  //                                                                           //
  // This program 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 for more details.                              //
  //                                                                           //
  // You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License         //
  // along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software               //
  // Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307  USA //
  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  
  package edu.cmu.tetrad.util.dist;
  
  import edu.cmu.tetrad.util.TetradSerializable;
  
  /**
   * Interface for a statistical distribution from which random values can
   * be drawn. Methods are provided for setting/getting parameters in the
   * interface. A single random number generator is used throughout Tetrad
   * to ensure randomness.
   *
   * @author Joseph Ramsey jdramsey@andrew.cmu.edu
   */
  @SuppressWarnings({"UnusedDeclaration"})
  public interface Distribution extends TetradSerializable {
      long serialVersionUID = 23L;
  
      /**
       * @return Ibid.
       */
      int getNumParameters();
  
      /**
       * @return Ibid.
       */
      String getName();
  
      /**
       * Sets the index'th parameter to the given value.
       *
       * @param index Ibid. Must be >= 0 and < # parameters.
       * @param value Ibid.
       */
      void setParameter(int index, double value);
  
      /**
       * @param index Ibid. Muist be <= 0 and < # parameters.
       * @return The Ibid.
       */
      double getParameter(int index);
  
      /**
       * The name of the index'th parameter, for display purposes.
       *
       * @param index Ibid. Must be >= 0 and < # parameters.
       * @return Ibid.
       */
      String getParameterName(int index);
  
      /**
       * @return Ibid.
       */
      double nextRandom();
  }
  
  
  
  
  
  