// Class Name: element
//
// Purpose:
//
//   An element is an object that can be described within a ZENO specification.
//   It is a data type that can be passed between operations or constructed
//   by operations.  Elements are either basic or composite, where a composite
//   element is constructed from the concatenation of one or more basic
//   elements.  Concatenation and separation are the basic operations that are
//   defined by the system on elements.

#ifndef ELEMENT_CLASS
#define ELEMENT_CLASS

class element
{
public:
  element();
  virtual ~element();

// how to implement concatenation and separation?  as part of this class
// so that there are virtual concat and sep operations?  there needs to
// be a system defined way of piecing them together that every element
// type can handle...  maybe the chunk approach of an element being able
// to create a copy of itself in a particular memory area that is still
// valid for manipulation or something?


};

#endif