org.eclipse.ui.forms
Interface IFormPart
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All Known Subinterfaces:
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IDetailsPage
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All Known Implementing Classes:
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AbstractFormPart,
DetailsPart,
SectionPart
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public interface IFormPart
Classes that implement this interface can be added to the managed form and
take part in the form life cycle. The part is initialized with the form and
will be asked to accept focus. The part can receive form input and can elect
to do something according to it (for example, select an object that matches
the input).
The form part has two 'out of sync' states in respect to the model(s) that
feed the form: dirty and stale. When a part is dirty, it
means that the user interacted with it and now its widgets contain state that
is newer than the model. In order to sync up with the model, 'commit' needs
to be called. In contrast, the model can change 'under' the form (as a result
of some actions outside the form), resulting in data in the model being
'newer' than the content presented in the form. A 'stale' form part is
brought in sync with the model by calling 'refresh'. The part is responsible
for notifying the form when one of these states change in the part. The form
reserves the right to handle this notification in the most appropriate way
for the situation (for example, if the form is in a page of the multi-page
editor, it may do nothing for stale parts if the page is currently not
showing).
When the form is disposed, each registered part is disposed as well. Parts
are responsible for releasing any system resources they created and for
removing themselves as listeners from all event providers.
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Since:
- 3.0
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See Also:
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IManagedForm
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Method Summary
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void
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commit
(boolean onSave)
If part is displaying information loaded from a model, this method
instructs it to commit the new (modified) data back into the model. |
void
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dispose
()
Disposes the part allowing it to release allocated resources. |
void
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initialize
(
IManagedForm form)
Initializes the part. |
boolean
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isDirty
()
Returns true if the part has been modified with respect to the data
loaded from the model. |
boolean
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isStale
()
Tests whether the form part is stale and needs refreshing. |
void
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refresh
()
Refreshes the part completely from the information freshly obtained from
the model. |
void
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setFocus
()
Instructs form part to transfer focus to the widget that should has focus
in that part. |
boolean
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setFormInput
(
Object input)
Notifies the part that an object has been set as overall form's input. |
initialize
void initialize(
IManagedForm form)
- Initializes the part.
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Parameters:
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form - the managed form that manages the part
dispose
void dispose()
- Disposes the part allowing it to release allocated resources.
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isDirty
boolean isDirty()
- Returns true if the part has been modified with respect to the data
loaded from the model.
-
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Returns:
- true if the part has been modified with respect to the data
loaded from the model
commit
void commit(boolean onSave)
- If part is displaying information loaded from a model, this method
instructs it to commit the new (modified) data back into the model.
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Parameters:
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onSave - indicates if commit is called during 'save' operation or for
some other reason (for example, if form is contained in a
wizard or a multi-page editor and the user is about to leave
the page).
setFormInput
boolean setFormInput(
Object input)
- Notifies the part that an object has been set as overall form's input.
The part can elect to react by revealing or selecting the object, or do
nothing if not applicable.
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Returns:
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true if the part has selected and revealed the
input object, false otherwise.
setFocus
void setFocus()
- Instructs form part to transfer focus to the widget that should has focus
in that part. The method can do nothing (if it has no widgets capable of
accepting focus).
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isStale
boolean isStale()
- Tests whether the form part is stale and needs refreshing. Parts can
receive notification from models that will make their content stale, but
may need to delay refreshing to improve performance (for example, there
is no need to immediately refresh a part on a form that is current on a
hidden page).
It is important to differentiate 'stale' and 'dirty' states. Part is
'dirty' if user interacted with its editable widgets and changed the
values. In contrast, part is 'stale' when the data it presents in the
widgets has been changed in the model without direct user interaction.
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Returns:
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true if the part needs refreshing,
false otherwise.
refresh
void refresh()
- Refreshes the part completely from the information freshly obtained from
the model. The method will not be called if the part is not stale.
Otherwise, the part is responsible for clearing the 'stale' flag after
refreshing itself.
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Guidelines for using Eclipse APIs.
Copyright (c) Eclipse contributors and others 2000, 2008. All rights reserved.
