Package com.ccg.values

Value Transfer Classes.

See:
Description

Interface Summary

ValuesConfig	Definition of a values holder which can save/load its set of values.
ValuesEditor	Implemented by Swing editors which are designed for a particular class of objects.
ValuesHolder	Definition of objects which are capable of holding values (settings) for other objects.

Class Summary

ValuesConfigBean	A 'generic' ValuesConfig implementation for beans (uses XML).
ValuesConfigEditor	Complete configuration/value editor for a ValuesEditor and ValuesConfig implementation.
ValuesConfigList	A configuration chooser (and optional editor) which lets the end user pick configurations from a named list.
ValuesConfigModel	A standard ComboBoxModel which is associated with a set of configurations for a particular ValuesConfig class.
ValuesEditorAdapter	Helper class to form a base for those wishing to implement a ValuesEditor.
ValuesEditorBean	A 'generic' ValuesEditor implementation for bean style object.
ValuesFactoryTree	A "factory" used to create and optionally edit objects which have an associated ValuesEditor and ValuesConfig.
ValuesPropertiesAdapter	A base ValuesConfig implementation which stores the values held in standard Java property files.
View	Utility to test a implementation of a ValuesEditor.

Package com.ccg.values Description

Value Transfer Classes.

This package provides a generic design for a method of transferring values (state information) to and from Objects. The design starts with the simple definition of a ValuesHolder and then evolves this into more defintions.

ValuesHolder

The ValuesHolder interface defines the core rules for a values holder. Basically, a values holder is designed to work in conjunction with a specific object class and is designed such that it can transfer values (or state information) to/from any instance of the object class it is designed to work with. The following is my attempt of a UML class diagram of this (bare with me as its 2002-Sep-7 and I'm just learning how to do this):

The following code fragment demonstrates how a values holder could be used to transfer information from one object to another:

static void transfer(Object dst, Object src, ValuesHolder xferAgent) {
  try {
    xferAgent.fromObject(src);
    xferAgent.toObject(dst);
  } catch (Exception e) {
        // Silently ignoring potential exceptions is probably
        // not wise in real life.
  }
}

ValuesConfig

The ValuesConfig definition adds the methods for value holders which have permanent configurations which can be saved, loaded, created and deleted. The following UML class diagram provides an overview:

ValuesEditor

The ValuesEditor adds the methods for value holders which have graphical user interfaces which allow the end user to modify the values of the associated object. The following UML class diagram provides an overview:

ValuesFactoryTree

The ValuesFactoryTree is a working demonstration of putting complementary ValuesConfig and ValuesEditor implementations to work to form a working editor which allows the user to create, view, change, delete and otherwise manage object configurations. The key thing being that the ValuesFactoryTree has no idea about what is actually being editted or how the information is actually being stored - it simply uses the rules put in place by the ValuesConfig and ValuesEditor definitions to form a generic editor that should work for any implementation. The following UML class diagram provides an overview:

License/Use Information

The license text below the dashed line pertains to the "com/ccg" and
"com/include" libraries, documentation, executable binaries, and the
source code as distributed in this package by Paul Blankenbaker
(paul@mekwin.com).

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