Object Controls

Object Defined Controls

 

Object Defined Controls (ODC) are completely defined by the related object which is responsible for all properties, methods and aspects of the control. The system provides the DEFCTL OBJECT directive to create an ODC:

DEFCTL OBJECT objectid = ctlid

Where:

objectid 

Handle to the object that defines the control. This object will service all property requests and any desired method calls associated with the control.

ctlid 

The number of the control with which the object is to be associated. It must be in the range of from 1 to 32000.

Note:
Once an Object Defined Control is defined, both the object handle and CTL value will logically refer to the same object.

Foundation Classes

PxPlus provides a number of foundation classes for the basic control types in the *plus/ctls directory. These foundation classes can be used to build your own controls that respond to most of the standard system directives and property requests.

This table contains a list of the foundation classes that PxPlus supplies and their related functions:

Class File

Description/Purpose

button.pvc 

This class provides the foundation for a button-style control.

control.pvc 

This is a common class used by all the *plus/ctls control objects and provides generic logic for common properties and functions.

dragdrop.pvc 

This class defines the methods required to handle DRAG and DROP functionality. The actual class does little other than provide the required method prototypes.

itemlist.pvc 

This sub-class is used by those controls that are required to maintain a list of items such as List Boxes.

list_box.pvc 

This class defines a basic List Box.

multi_line.pvc 

This class defines a basic input field Multi-Line.

radios.pvc 

This sub-class is used by the "radio_button.pvc" object class to provide linkages between the various Radio Button ODC's that share the same CTL value.

radio_button.pvc 

The class defines a basic Radio Button control.

These class files are designed to be inherited by your own class definition, which, as a minimum, will have to have a Paint method.

Example:

The following is a sample demo button ODC class definition:

!
! Demo text mode button
!
     def class "mybutton"
     like "*plus/ctls/button"
!
     function _paint()
     c=int(col),l=int(line),w=int(cols),h=int(lines)
!
     ml=l+int((h-1)/2)
     if h<1 or w<0 \
          then return 1
     print 'SA','RM', ! Save attributes
!
     if not(visible) \
          then ml=-1 \
          else if not(enabled) \
                    then print 'B8','black', \
                    else print tbl(backcolour$="",'_colour'(backcolour$),'B?'),tbl(textcolour$="",'colour'(textcolour$),'black'),;
                         if focus \
                              then print 'BR',
!
     while h<>0
          if ml=l \
               then print @(c,l),pad(text$,w,2), \
               else print @(c,l),dim(w),
          l++
          h--
     wend
!
     print 'RA',
     return 1
     end def

Note:
Most of these foundation classes are designed to be used in conjunction with an ODC Server.