When you create a Data Extender for a CME list – for instance to add a column for the Schema as in this example – it all works fine and dandy whenever you do actions that force a List reload.
However, some actions don’t force a list reload (like editing a component in a folder, then saving & closing) and it looks like Anguilla is loading the data for the item that changed using a different mechanism that loads only the data for the item in question (which makes sense).
If I would want my extended list view to behave properly and also load my additional attributes whenever a given item changes (instead of only when the list view is reloaded) what else do I need to do?
I found how Anguilla takes care of this. When you implement a Data Extender, you are extending the information regarding the items displayed in the list, which basically means that you are extending the Data (Model) behind the item in question.
Each Item in Tridion has its own class in the Anguilla Framework, for example a Component has its own Tridion.ContentManager.Component javascript "class".
Having said this, and going back to the example that shows the schema name of the component, we are not actually extending the model, since that information is already available in the component. However, we need to overwrite the methods exposed on each used for displaying information in the lists the item is in, in this case a Component.
So, when we deal with a Data Extender, if we want a full implementation of this functionality, we not only need to define the data extender:
<ext:dataextender
name="IntelligentDataExtender"
type="Com.Tridion.PS.Extensions.IntelligentDataExtender,PS.GUI.Extensions">
<ext:description>Shows extra info</ext:description>
</ext:dataextender>
But also we need to define what's the column we are adding:
<ext:lists>
<ext:add>
<ext:extension name="IntelligentColumnExtender"
assignid="IntelligentDataColumnExtender">
<ext:listDefinition>
<ext:selectornamespaces/>
<ext:columns>
<column
xmlns="http://www.sdltridion.com/2009/GUI/extensions/List"
id="IntelligentData"
type="data"
title="Additional Info"
selector="#ExtendedInfo"
translate="String"/>
</ext:columns>
</ext:listDefinition>
<ext:apply>
<ext:view name="DashboardView" />
</ext:apply>
</ext:extension>
</ext:add>
</ext:lists>
Once we have this, the GUI will display the column we just added: "Additional Info"
Well, now we need to achieve the list refreshing when the item is edited/checked-out and in, etc...
For that, we need to extend the model and implement a few methods in the Object we are extending. In this example I am extending the Page object, so whenever a page is edited, the row in the list we want to update gets refreshed, together with the rest of the cells in the table.
To extend the model we need to define what types are we extending, in this example I am going to use the "Page" class as an example. First of all you need to define the model extension in the config file of your Editor:
<cfg:group name="Com.Tridion.PS.Extensions.UI.Model"
merger="Tridion.Web.UI.Core.Configuration.Resources.DomainModelProcessor"
merge="always">
<cfg:domainmodel name="Com.Tridion.PS.Extensions.UI.Model">
<cfg:fileset>
<cfg:file type="script">/Scripts/PSPage.js</cfg:file>
</cfg:fileset>
<cfg:services />
</cfg:domainmodel>
</cfg:group>
and
<ext:modelextensions>
<cfg:itemtypes>
<cfg:itemtype id="tcm:64" implementation="Com.Tridion.PS.Extensions.UI.PSPage" />
</cfg:itemtypes>
</ext:modelextensions>
As you can see I am extending the Page by using the "Com.Tridion.PS.Extensions.UI.PSPage" class that is defined in the Javascript file "/Scripts/PSPage.js".
The only method that handles the row refreshing is the following:
Com.Tridion.PS.Extensions.UI.PSPage.prototype.getListItemXmlAttributes
= function PSPage$getListItemXmlAttributes(customAttributes) {
var attribs = {};
var p = this.properties;
if (customAttributes) {
for (var attr in customAttributes) {
attribs[attr] = customAttributes[attr];
}
}
//This adds my custom column back when the item is updated
attribs["ExtendedInfo"] = p.extendedInfo;
return this.callBase(
"Tridion.ContentManager.Page",
"getListItemXmlAttributes",
[attribs])
};
As you can see I am implementing the "ExtendedInfo" attribute which is the one displayed in my additional column.
There's more than just adding a Data Extender when dealing with adding a column to our lists. I will write a post in my blog here to provide with a fully working example.
I hope it makes sense.
Well, Jaime correctly described how CME updates changed items in Lists. But I want to add some additional information on how List controls, domain model List and Items are interact with each other. This might help you building your own extension with similar functionality.
Most of the domain model List items inherit from Tridion.ContentManager.ListTcmItems class. On the moment when any List item, based on mentioned class, is loaded it will be registered in Lists Registry (and un-registered when the List is unloaded). This will allow Model to use registered Lists as source of static data for Items and to update changed Items data in these Lists.
Update Item static data
For example, we have loaded ListCategories and there is only one Category in the List:
var pub = $models.getItem("tcm:0-1-1");
var list = pub.getListCategories();
list.load();
// After list is loaded
list.getXml();
That getXml() returns an XML like (simplified):
<tcm:ListCategories>
<tcm:Item ID="tcm:1-4-512" Type="512" Title="Keys" />
</tcm:ListCategories>
After that, if you try to get some static data for Category "Keys" it will be already set:
var category = $models.getItem("tcm:1-4-512");
category.isLoaded(); // return false
category.isStaticLoaded(); // return false
category.getTitle(); // return undefined
category.getStaticTitle(); // return "Keys"!
That is possible because $models.getItem call will do two things: it will return an existing (or create a new) domain model object and call $models.updateItemData method with it. This method call will go through all registered Lists in the Lists Registry and for all Lists whose TimeStamp bigger than Item's Last Update TimeStamp will call list.updateItemData with the model object.
The updateItemData method will check if the passed Item is in the list and if it is, then the Item will be updated with the static data that is available from the List.
Updating data of changed Items in the List
When a domain model Item is modified (updated, removed, created new) one of these methods is called:
$models.itemUpdated
$models.itemRemoved
These methods will go through the Lists in Lists Registry and call list.itemUpdated (or list.itemRemoved). These methods will check is passed Item is contained in their List and if so they will update the List xml from the Item data.
For that purpose there is a getListItemXmlNode method in the Tridion.ContentManager.Item class. This method will build List xml node based on the array of attributes, provided by getListItemXmlAttributes method on the Item. That's what Jaime mentioned in his answer.
If the List xml was updated, one of these events will be fired on List object:
itemadd
itemupdate
itemremove
Listening to these events on a List object in your view will allow you to timely update your List Control.
So if you want this mechanism to work with your extension, stick to these rules:
If you are creating new domain model List object - it should inherit Tridion.ContentManager.ListTcmItems class or it should implement the getId(), itemUpdated(item), itemsUpdated(item), itemRemoved(item) and updateItemData(item) methods
If you want to see changes in List control - attach handlers to corresponding events on the domain model List object and update your List control
If you are creating new domain model Item - it should inherit Tridion.ContentManager.Item class and you should improve getListItemXmlAttributes method to return correct array of attributes for the List
The CME will indeed update the items in the list dynamically after the save occurs, without going to the server.
To do so, it calls a method named "getListItemXml" which returns the update XML element for the list. It will then update or add this element, which will update or add the item in the list view.
getListItemXml is a method of the different Model objects.
So how do you take advantage of this? I'm not sure.
Perhaps you could overwrite the method (or maybe getListItemXmlAttributes is best) with your own to add the additional data?
There is also an "itemupdate" event fired whenever an item is updated in the list.
You can hook into that by doing something like this:
var myEventHandler = function(event)
{
$log.message("Item updated. TridionEvent object passed: " + event);
}
var view = $display.getView();
var list = view.getListObject("uri-of-Folder");
list.addEventListener("itemupdate", myEventHandler);
I suppose you could use that to update the list entry for the item after the fact.
Be sure to call removeEventHandler at some point too.
None of this is optimal, obviously.
But I don't know of any extension point that would solve this particular problem.
I think I would (attempt to) implement this by monitoring the items in a folder periodically and updating that list after this polling mechanism had detected a change in that folder.
For example, I would write some javascript timeout or interval that runs in the background and checks the items in the current folder. If it detects a change, it triggers the update of the list.
Alternatively, you could also try to intercept the action that changed your list (e.g. the creation of a new item), maybe by means of an event system, and as such update your list. I don't think this is much different than the first approach, as I think it still implies some level of polling from the GUI side.
Related
I have say class/ojbect one which I am returning as details. But then there is a second class that is related to the first that I want to list (and have an option to look at the details). How do I get return both of those?
Example is like in an item as the main piece but there may be details or other items that are related to the main item. I will select them with a linq query but then how do I return them to the same view?
Do I need to have some sort of partial or other form to display the second object type?
I don't see where returning the view I can return both.
My thought for right now is to create a new class that contains both of the object types but I know there has to be a better way.
My thought for right now is to create a new class that contains both of the object types but I know there has to be a better way.
That is the right way. Create a ViewModel class that contains all the data that view needs and pass it to view.
You can either pass it to View through ViewState or ViewBag (depending on which MVC version you are using).
for the first object "main object" return it as the model of this view and for the details
put them into ViewState and cast them back within the view
working with flex 4 and implementing filtering using ITreeDataDescriptor.
Filtering worked as expected like the following code snippet
however, i am trying to create a on-demand type of filter where user would type in the search clause in a TextInput, and as the user types, the tree nodes would be filtered on the fly.
my implementation now is have user click on the search button and then reapply the dataDescriptor then reload the data. A big problem is that the whole tree collapses after setting the dataProvider again.
any suggestion on how the on-demand filter can be achieved?
var dataFilter:ServicePricingFilter = new MyFilter();
dataFilter.searchString = this.txtSearchKeyword.text;
this.treeService.dataDescriptor = new MyDataDescriptor(dataFilter);
this.treeService.dataProvider = getTreeData();
I think you shouldn't set the dataprovider every time but use insted the filterFunction property available for ListCollectionView classes (ArrayCollection, XMLListCollection,...)
looked at the post Florian mentioned.
on-demand filtering is done by using ITreeDataDescriptor and a filterFunction.
on keyup event of the search TextInput, call invalidateList() function on the tree.
see the source code provided for the following post
http://www.davidarno.org/2009/04/01/how-to-filter-all-nodes-of-a-flex-tree-component/
Grails offers the ability to automatically create and bind domain objects to a hasMany List, as described in the grails user guide.
So, for example, if my domain object "Author" has a List of many "Book" objects, I could create and bind these using the following markup (from the user guide):
<g:textField name="books[0].title" value="the Stand" />
<g:textField name="books[1].title" value="the Shining" />
<g:textField name="books[2].title" value="Red Madder" />
In this case, if any of the books specified don't already exist, Grails will create them and set their titles appropriately. If there are already books in the specified indices, their titles will be updated and they will be saved. My question is: is there some easy way to tell Grails to remove one of those books from the 'books' association on data bind?
The most obvious way to do this would be to omit the form element that corresponds to the domain instance you want to delete; unfortunately, this does not work, as per the user guide:
Then Grails will automatically create
a new instance for you at the defined
position. If you "skipped" a few
elements in the middle ... Then Grails
will automatically create instances in
between.
I realize that a specific solution could be engineered as part of a command object, or as part of a particular controller- however, the need for this functionality appears repeatedly throughout my application, across multiple domain objects and for associations of many different types of objects. A general solution, therefore, would be ideal. Does anyone know if there is something like this included in Grails?
removeFrom*
Opposite of the addTo method in that it removes instances from an association.
Examples
def author = Author.findByName("Stephen King")
def book = author.books.find { it.title = 'The Stand' }
author.removeFromBooks(book)
Just ran into this issue myself. It's easy to solve. Grails uses java.util.Set to represent lists. You can just use the clear() method to wipe the data, and then add in the ones you want.
//clear all documents
bidRequest.documents.clear()
//add the selected ones back
params.documentId.each() {
def Document document = Document.get(it)
bidRequest.documents.add(document)
log.debug("in associateDocuments: added " + document)
};
//try to save the changes
if (!bidRequest.save(flush: true)) {
return error()
} else {
flash.message = "Successfully associated documents"
}
I bet you can do the same thing by using the "remove()" method in the case that you don't want to "clear()" all the data.
For a good explanation of deleting a collection of child objects with GORM have a look at the Deleting Children section of this blog post - GORM gotchas part 2
It's recommended reading, as are parts 1 and 3 of the series.
I am just starting to learn Grails myself and saw your question as an interesting research exercise for me. I do not think you can use the conventional data binding mechanism - as it fills in the blanks using some kind of Lazy map behind the scenes. So for you to achieve your goal your "save" method (or is it a function?) is unlikely to contain anything like:
def Book = new Book(params)
You need a mechanism to modify your controller's "save" method.
After some research, I understand you can modify your scaffolding template which is responsible for generating your controller code or runtime methods. You can get a copy of all the templates used by Grails by running "grails install-templates" and the template file you would need to modify is called "Controller.groovy".
So in theory, you could modify the "save" method for your whole application this way.
Great! You would think that all you need to do now is modify your save method in the template so that it iterates through the object entries (e.g. books) in the params map, saving and deleting as you go.
However, I think your required solution could still be quite problematic to achieve. My instinct tells me that there are many reasons why the mechanism you suggest is a bad idea.
For one reason, off the top of my head, imagine you had a paginated list of books. Could that mean your "save" could delete the entire database table except the currently visible page? Okay, let us say you manage to work out how many items are displayed on each page, what if the list was sorted so it was no longer in numerical order - what do you delete now?
Maybe multiple submit buttons in your form would be a better approach (e.g. save changes, add, delete). I have not tried this kind of thing in Grails but understand actionSubmit should help you achieve multiple submit buttons. I certainly used to do this kind of thing in Struts!
HTH
I'm just running into this same issue.
My application's domain is quite simple: it has Stub objects which have a hasMany relationship with Header objects. Since the Header objects have no life of their own, they're entirely managed by the Stub controller and views.
The domain class definitions:
class Stub {
List headers = new ArrayList();
static hasMany = [headers:Header]
static mapping = {headers lazy: false}
}
class Header {
String value
static belongsTo = Stub
}
I've tried the "clear and bind" method but the end result is that the "cleared" objects are left over in the database and grails will just create new instances for the ones that were not removed from the relationship. It does seem to work from an user's perspective, but it will leave lots of garbage objects in the database.
The code in the controller's update() method is:
stubInstance.headers.clear()
stubInstance.properties = params
An example: while editing the -many side of this relationship I have (for a given Stub with id=1):
<g:textField name="headers[0].value" value="zero" id=1 />
<g:textField name="headers[1].value" value="one" id=2 />
<g:textField name="headers[2].value" value="two" id=3 />
in the database there are 3 Header instances:
id=1;value="zero"
id=2;value="one"
id=3;value"two"
after removing header "one" and saving the Stub object the database will have headers:
id=1;value="zero"
id=2;value="one"
id=3;value"two"
id=4;value="zero"
id=5;value="two"
and the Stub object will now have an association with Headers with id=4 and id=5...
Furthermore, without the clearing of the list, if an index is not present in the submitted request.headers list, on data binding grails will keep the existing object at that location unchanged.
The solution that occurs to me is to bind the data, then check the Stub's headers for elements that are not present in the submitted list and remove them.
This looks like a pretty simple scenario, isn't there any built-in functionality to address it?
It's a bit overkill to have to write your own synchronization logic for maintaining relationships, especially when the quirks that make it non-trivial are caused by grails itself.
What about deletion, shouldn't the clear()'ed elements be gone from the database? Am I missing something in the relationship or domain object definitions?
class Stub {
List headers = new ArrayList();
static hasMany = [headers:Header]
static mapping = {
headers lazy: false
**headers cascade: "all-delete-orphan"**
}
}
class Header {
String value
static belongsTo = Stub
}
I have added the cascade property on the owning side of relationship and Now if you try to save the stub, it will take care of removing deleted items from the collection and delete them from the DataBase.
I'm currently building the client side of a Flex/PHP project using the Presentation Model pattern.
What I'm trying to achieve:
I currently have a view displaying non-editable information about a domain object called Node. Depending on if the Node is editable and the user has the right privileges, an additional view becomes available where it's possible to make changes to this object. Any changes made are only committed to the server once the user decides to "Save Changes". If changes are made to a NodeA and the user navigates away to a different NodeB without saving them, NodeA is reverted to its original state.
Design:
I have a PM for the info view holding a reference to the current Node. The PM for the edit view is extended from this info PM, adding methods to make changes to the wrapped Node object. Both PMs has the same Node reference injected into them and all fields in the info/edit views are bound to the Node via their PMs.
The problem:
When the user makes changes to NodeA but doesn't commit them, I can't seem to think of an elegant solution to revert back to the original state. Basically, what I've thought of so far is to hold separate value copies on the edit PM, either clone-creating a new Node reference or through an identical set of Node properties. Of these two the former seems like the better idea because the Node already houses domain logic, but I wonder whether creating clones of unique domain objects is a bad practice, even if it's used in a limited scope.
I handle similar cases by storing the original data in an XML property of the Value Object ("VO"), and reset all of the other property values when the VO is needed.
So, when it is first needed to be viewed, I go get the XML:
<Node>
<prop1>value</prop1>
<prop2>value</prop2>
<prop3>value</prop3>
<prop4>value</prop4>
</Node>
When I retrieve the XML, in my result handler, the first thing I do is create an instance of my VO, and set the XML property, and then call a public function in a separate class to set the VO's properties:
private function getNodeResultHandler(event:ResultEvent):void
{
var myNode:Node = new Node();
myNode.xmlData = new XML(event.result);
nodeUtils.setNodeProperties(myNode);
}
public class nodeUtils
{
public function setNodeProperties(node:Node):void
{
var nodeXmlData:XML = node.xmlData;
myNode.prop1 = nodeXmlData.prop1;
myNode.prop2 = nodeXmlData.prop2;
myNode.prop3 = nodeXmlData.prop3;
myNode.prop4 = nodeXmlData.prop4;
}
}
Then, any time you switch your view to edit mode, you call that same function to reset the properties to the values stored in the XML.
The only other thing you need to do is reset that XML any time the user commits changes to the VO. I usually handle this by passing back the VO's data in the same format on a Save and Get, and then saving the XML just as above.
I usually do this in a Cairngorm MVC application, so I have event/command chains to handle all of this, but you can put this functionality in any number of classes, or in the VO class itself, whichever is easiest for you to maintain.
Each view should have it's own instance of your Presentation Model class. Just maintain it in memory if the user has not saved it when moving to another view. Cloning accomplishes basically the same thing through a more convoluted process.
I have a local SQLite database that contains a tree (as Nested Sets). In an AIR application, I want to display that tree in a tree control and provide means to change the nodes' names and copy, move, add or delete nodes.
Now, I'm hiccupping a little on where to put which code. Obviously, I have a class which will perform operations like load / update / insert / delete against the database. This would load the whole tree into some storage variable and save changes made by the user back to the db.
Should this class be the dataProvider, the dataDescriptor or an extension of the Tree control itself? And when the user requests an operation like adding a node, should that update the dataProvider and let the database handler react on an event, or should it call the database handler's method and then update the dataProvider? I'd say that the latter is better, because it's easier to not update the Tree's data if something goes wrong with the db query.
There's methods to add and remove nodes in the DefaultDataDescriptor and in the Tree class (protected methods in the latter), should I use / extend those or ignore them?
The reason I'm confused about this is that, according to the docs, a Tree control uses the object stored in its 'dataDescriptor' property to parse and manipulate the actual data which is stored inside its 'dataProvider' property.
This seems to make sense, until you realize that unless you subclass it, it's never the Tree control that manipulates data (with the exception of drag&drop, if that's enabled), and it's not the dataDescriptor, either. Rather, in all examples, manipulating data happens directly via the dataProvider object and that triggers event handlers in the Tree control.
What is it I don't get here?
Take a look at mx.controls.treeClasses.HierarchicalCollectionView. It is not part of the public API, but its full source is available as part of Flex. The Tree controller uses this class internally to handle various data sources.