| /******************************************************************************* |
| * Copyright (c) 2000, 2007 IBM Corporation and others. |
| * All rights reserved. This program and the accompanying materials |
| * are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Public License v1.0 |
| * which accompanies this distribution, and is available at |
| * http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-v10.html |
| * |
| * Contributors: |
| * IBM Corporation - initial API and implementation |
| *******************************************************************************/ |
| package org.eclipse.ui.forms; |
| |
| /** |
| * 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). |
| * <p> |
| * The form part has two 'out of sync' states in respect to the model(s) that |
| * feed the form: <b>dirty</b> and <b>stale</b>. 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). |
| * <p> |
| * 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. |
| * |
| * @see IManagedForm |
| * @since 3.0 |
| * |
| */ |
| public interface IFormPart { |
| /** |
| * Initializes the part. |
| * |
| * @param form |
| * the managed form that manages the part |
| */ |
| void initialize(IManagedForm form); |
| |
| /** |
| * Disposes the part allowing it to release allocated resources. |
| */ |
| void dispose(); |
| |
| /** |
| * Returns true if the part has been modified with respect to the data |
| * loaded from the model. |
| * |
| * @return true if the part has been modified with respect to the data |
| * loaded from the model |
| */ |
| boolean isDirty(); |
| |
| /** |
| * If part is displaying information loaded from a model, this method |
| * instructs it to commit the new (modified) data back into the model. |
| * |
| * @param 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). |
| */ |
| void commit(boolean onSave); |
| |
| /** |
| * 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. |
| * |
| * @return <code>true</code> if the part has selected and revealed the |
| * input object, <code>false</code> otherwise. |
| */ |
| boolean setFormInput(Object input); |
| |
| /** |
| * 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). |
| */ |
| void setFocus(); |
| |
| /** |
| * 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). |
| * <p> |
| * 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. |
| * |
| * @return <code>true</code> if the part needs refreshing, |
| * <code>false</code> otherwise. |
| */ |
| boolean isStale(); |
| |
| /** |
| * 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. |
| */ |
| void refresh(); |
| } |