JITGui a superclass for just in time interfaces
Inherits from: Object
Proxies for synths, tasks and patterns as implemented in JITLib are extremely flexible.
Having guis that represent their changeable states makes it easier to understand
what is going on, especially when using multiple proxies at the same time.
JITGuis follow a special strategy described below - .
See also:
TdefGui, TdefAllGui, (TaskProxyGui)
PdefGui, PdefAllGui, (TaskProxyAllGui)
Previous versions were:
TdefEditor, PdefEditor, (both gone)
still to be done:
(PxPreset,) PxPresetGui
(ProxyChain,) ProxyChainGui
SoftSet ?
Creation
*new (object, numItems, parent, bounds, options, makeSkip)
Create a new JITGui that will be watching an object and display its state.
object - the object to watch
numItems - the number of display items to use, e.g. how many fields for text,
or how many EZSliders for single-number parameters.
parent - a parent view on which to display. If nil, a new window is created;
parent can also be an existing window or a composite view.
bounds - a desired size and position where to display a JITGui. can be nil,
a point, or a rect. JITGuis know their minimum size (minSize),
and if bounds is nil, minSize is used.
if bounds is a point or rect, it will be set to at least minSize.
With a rect one can also supply a position where to display.
If a point,shown size is the maximum of bounds and minSize
options - a list of additional information, e.g. flags about optional buttons.
(this is used is some subclasses)
makeSkip - A flag whether to make a skipjack.
g = JITGui.new(nil, 0); // make one
g.object = 123; // object gets shown asCompileString
g.object = (key: \otto); // if it understands .key, key gets shown
g.object = Pseq([1, 2, 3], inf);
g.close;
Accessing Instance Variables
object the object to watch
numItems the number of display items to use, e.g. how many fields for text,
or how many EZSliders for single-number parameters.
parent a parent view on which the gui is displayed.
bounds the size and position of the JITGui
// Appearance:
skin the GUI skin to use. By default this is GUI.skins.jit.
font the font, also taken from JITGui.skin.
zone a CompositeView inside the parent that holds the JITGui's views.
minSize a JITGuis calculates its own minimum size based on numItems and options.
defPos the default position where the JITGui is shown if it is in its own window.
// specific in the JITGui class:
nameView displays the object's key if available.
csView displays the object's compileString.
// common to all JITGuis:
skipjack the skipjack that watches the object's state so it can be updated.
scroller an EZScroller used for scrolling which of a list of items is shown.
see e.g. TdefGui for usage.
prevState the last observed state kept around for comparison.
Instance Methods
object_ (obj) put an object in the gui - if the gui accepts it.
hasWindow true if the gui has its own window.
moveTo (h, v) if it has its own window, one can move it to some specific location.
close close its window.
How JITGuis work:
A JITGui watches the state of some object(s) by calling its getState method.
It compares the new state with the previous state stored in prevState.
When something has changed, all the concerned gui elements are updated.
Methods that subclasses should implement
You can write your own subclasses to JITGui very efficiently by
implementing appropriate variants of the following methods in your class.
For examples of these methods, see TaskProxyGui, EnvirGui, NodeProxyGui.
setDefaults used to calculate the required onscreen size for the jitGui's zone.
Should determine zone size based on numItems and options.
also, defPos (where to show your jitGui by default) can be set here,
and possibly modifications to the skin used.
accepts (obj) a test whether obj can be shown in the particular kind of JITGui.
Subclasses of JITGui are made for special objects, e.g. Pdefs,
so they should test whether obj is the right kind.
makeViews create all the views of the jitGui inside the zone.
For updating the JITGui, these are essential:
getState ask the object for all aspects of its current state that will be displayed,
and keep them in prevState.
checkUpdate get the object's current state, compare it with prevState, and update
all gui elements that need to be changed. This method is called in the
skipJack.
More methods you may want to overwrite if required:
calcBounds how to calculate the bounds for the zone in which to display
makeWindow how to make a window when no parent is given
makeZone how to initalize the zone within the parent window or view
getName a method for generating a name for the object.
winName a method for generating a name for the JITGui's window.
makeScroller Some objects may have more elements to display than the gui has slots,
e.g. a ProxySpace can have more proxies than the mixer has numItems.
Then, only numItems elements are shown, and the others can be scrolled
to with scroller - an EZScroller next to the slot elements.
The makeScroller method knows where in the zone to put the scroller.