I have created a MEF plugin control that I import into my app. Now, I want the plugin to be able to import parts from the app. I can't figure how setup the catalog in the plugin, so that it can find the exports from the app. Can somebody tell me how this is done? Below is my code which doesn't work when I try to create an AssemblyCatalog with the current executing assembly.
[Export(typeof(IPluginControl))]
public partial class MyPluginControl : UserControl, IPluginControl
[Import]
public string Message { get; set; }
public MyPluginControl()
{
InitializeComponent();
Initialize();
}
private void Initialize()
{
AggregateCatalog catalog = new AggregateCatalog();
catalog.Catalogs.Add(new AssemblyCatalog(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly()));
CompositionContainer container = new CompositionContainer(catalog);
try
{
container.ComposeParts(this);
}
catch (CompositionException ex)
{
Console.WriteLine(ex.ToString());
}
}
}
You don't need to do this.
Just make sure that the catalog you're using when you import this plugin includes the main application's assembly.
When MEF constructs your type in order to export it (to fulfill the IPluginControl import elsewhere), it'll already compose this part for you - and at that point, will import the "Message" string (though, you most likely should assign a name to that "message", or a custom type of some sort - otherwise, it'll just import a string, and you can only use a single "string" export anywhere in your application).
When MEF composes parts, it finds all types matching the specified type (in this case IPluginControl), instantiates a single object, fills any [Import] requirements for that object (which is why you don't need to compose this in your constructor), then assigns it to any objects importing the type.
Related
I'm currently working on a simple GWT project. One of the things I'd like to do is that when the page loads I can dynamically populate the contents of a ListBox based on certain criteria. I actually don't see any handlers for a ListBox to handle the initial render event but I see change handlers.
How does one populate a ListBox contents with data from the server side on pageload with GWT?
Right now I have a class that implements EntryPoint that has a
final ListBox fooList = new ListBox();
I also have a set of beans but I also have a class implementing RemoteService. Since I can't seem to get direct calls to my user defined packages directly in the EntryPoint (which makes sense) how do I populate that ListBox with server side content on initial page load? Right now I'm using a List but I figure if I cant get that to work I can get a DB call to work...
I've tried things in the EntryPoint like:
for (String name : FOOS) {
fooList.addItem(name, name);
}
However FOOS would derive from a server side data and the EntryPoint is supposed to be largerly limited to what can compile to JS! I can't get user defined classes to be recognized on that side as that string is the result of a set of user defined classes.
I also tried creating a method in the class implementing RemoteService that returns a ListBox. This also didn't compile when I tried to call this method. Perhaps I don't fully understand how to call methods in a RemoteService service implementing class.
I've searched a lot and I can't find anything that clearly explains the fundamentals on this. My background is much more ASP.NET and JSPs so perhaps I'm missing something.
I'm using GWT 2.6 is that is relevant.
The usual procedure is the following:
Create a bean class for the data you want to transmit between client and server. Let's call it MyBean.
Place MyBean in the shared package of your project.
This class has to implement either Serializable or IsSerializable, otherwise GWT will complain that it doesn't know how to transmit it.
Create your RemoteService that contains the method you want to use to transmit MyBean from/to the server.
Once you get your data on the client using an AsyncCallback and your RemoteService, fill the ListBox using your beans, e.g. by calling MyBean#getName() or MyBean#toString().
Success!
I based my example on the GWT sample project ( I named it example), just replace the classes and it should work :
public class Example implements EntryPoint {
/**
* Create a remote service proxy to talk to the server-side Greeting
* service.
*/
private final GreetingServiceAsync greetingService = GWT
.create(GreetingService.class);
/**
* This is the entry point method.
*/
public void onModuleLoad() {
final ListBox listBox = new ListBox();
RootPanel.get("sendButtonContainer").add(listBox);
greetingService.getSomeEntries(new AsyncCallback<String[]>() {
#Override
public void onSuccess(String[] result) {
for (int i = 0; i < result.length; i++) {
listBox.addItem(result[i]);
}
}
#Override
public void onFailure(Throwable caught) {
}
});
}
}
This is our EntryPoint, it creates a listbox and calls the server with a AsyncCallback to get some dynamic data. If the call is successfull (onSuccess), the data is written into the listbox.
The GreetingService interface define the synchronous methods, it is implemented in the GreetingServiceImpl class :
#RemoteServiceRelativePath("greet")
public interface GreetingService extends RemoteService {
String[] getSomeEntries() ;
}
The asynchronous counterpart is the GreetingServiceAsync interface, we used it before to call the server :
public interface GreetingServiceAsync {
void getSomeEntries(AsyncCallback<String[]> callback) ;
}
The GreetingServiceImpl class is located on the server. Here you could call for example a database:
#SuppressWarnings("serial")
public class GreetingServiceImpl extends RemoteServiceServlet implements
GreetingService {
#Override
public String[] getSomeEntries() {
String[] entries = { "Entry 1","Entry 2","Entry 3" };
return entries;
}
}
Now if you want to use some Bean/Pojo between the server and client, replace the String[] in each class/interface with the object name, put the class in the shared package and consider that it implements Serializable/IsSerializable.
I want to achieve two goals:
I want my model to be loaded every time from the DB when it's in a life-cycle (for every request there will be just one request to the DB)
I want my model to be attached dynamically to the page and that wicket will do all this oreable binding for me
In order to achieve these two goals I came to a conclusion that I need to use both CompoundPropertyModel and LoadableDetachableModel.
Does anyone know if this is a good approach?
Should I do new CompoundPropertyModel(myLoadableDetachableModel)?
Yes, you are right, it is possible to use
new CompoundPropertyModel<T>(new LoadableDetachableModel<T> { ... })
or use static creation (it does the same):
CompoundPropertyModel.of(new LoadableDetachableModel<T> { ... })
that has both features of compound model and lazy detachable model. Also detaching works correctly, when it CompoudPropertyModel is detached it also proxies detaching to inner model that is used as the model object in this case.
I use it in many cases and it works fine.
EXPLANATION:
See how looks CompoundPropertyModel class (I'm speaking about Wicket 1.6 right now):
public class CompoundPropertyModel<T> extends ChainingModel<T>
This mean, CompoundPropertyModel adds the property expression behavior to the ChainingModel.
ChainingModel has the following field 'target' and the constructor to set it.
private Object target;
public ChainingModel(final Object modelObject)
{
...
target = modelObject;
}
This take the 'target' reference to tho object or model.
When you call getObject() it checks the target and proxies the functionality if the target is a subclass of IModel:
public T getObject()
{
if (target instanceof IModel)
{
return ((IModel<T>)target).getObject();
}
return (T)target;
}
The similar functionality is implemented for setObject(T), that also sets the target or proxies it if the target is a subclass of IModel
public void setObject(T object)
{
if (target instanceof IModel)
{
((IModel<T>)target).setObject(object);
}
else
{
target = object;
}
}
The same way is used to detach object, however it check if the target (model object) is detachable, in other words if the target is a subclass if IDetachable, that any of IModel really is.
public void detach()
{
// Detach nested object if it's a detachable
if (target instanceof IDetachable)
{
((IDetachable)target).detach();
}
}
Thanks in advance for your assistance. I have the following exported part:
[Export (typeof(INewComponent))] // orignally tried just [Export} here and importing NewComponent below
public class NewComponent : INewComponent
{
// does stuff including an import
}
The Console test program imports the above:
public class Program
{
[Import] // have tried variations on importing "NewComponent NewComponent" etc
public INewComponent NewComponent
{
get;
set;
}
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
var p = new Program();
var catalog = new AssemblyCatalog(typeof(Program).Assembly);
var container = new CompositionContainer(catalog);
container.ComposeParts(p);
}
The Composition fails with these CompositionExceptions (I removed the namespace to protect the guilty :)):
1) No valid exports were found that match the constraint
'((exportDefinition.ContractName == "INewComponent") AndAlso
(exportDefinition.Metadata.ContainsKey("ExportTypeIdentity") AndAlso
"INewComponent".Equals(exportDefinition.Metadata.get_Item("ExportTypeIdentity"))))',
invalid exports may have been rejected.
The Composition works successfully if I do the composition in the main program like this:
public class Program
{
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
INewComponent newComponent = new NewComponent();
var catalog = new AssemblyCatalog(typeof(Program).Assembly);
var container = new CompositionContainer(catalog);
container.ComposeParts(newComponent);
}
}
Thank You
Is your Exported part contained in the same Assembly as Program? If it is in a separate DLL, you need to include that Assembly in your catalog as well, like this:
var aggregateCatalog = new AggregateCatalog();
aggregateCatalog.Catalogs.Add(new AssemblyCatalog(typeof(Program).Assembly));
aggregateCatalog.Catalogs.Add(new AssemblyCatalog(typeof(NewComponent).Assembly));
var container = new CompositionContainer(aggregateCatalog);
// etc...
If that's doesn't work, then there is a nice open source tool called Visual MEFx that can help you analyze your catalog. Here is a short article about setting it up:
Getting Started With Visual MEFx
In your NewComponent class you wrote this:
// does stuff including an import
If there is a problem with that unshown import, then MEF will complain about the Program.NewComponent import instead of the actual deeper cause. This is called "stable composition". Stable composition can be useful, but it also complicates the debugging of a failed composition.
You can follow the instructions in the MEF documentation about Diagnosing Composition Errors to home in on the actual cause.
In a small program, you can also try to call container.GetExportedValue<ISomeExport>() for a few exports until you find the one that is causing problems.
I'm having problems with the NetBeans Nodes API.
I have this line of code:
Node n = (new MyNode(X)).getChildren().getNodeAt(Y);
The call to new MyNode(X) with the same X always initializes a MyNode the same way, independent of the context.
When I place it by itself (say, in an menu action), it successfully gets the Yth child, but if I put it in an event where other Node/Children stuff happens, it returns null.
MyNode's Children implementation is a trivial subclass of Children.Keys, which is approximately:
// Node
import org.openide.nodes.AbstractNode;
class MyNode extends AbstractNode {
MyNode(MyKey key) {
super(new MyNodeChildren(key));
}
}
// Children
import java.util.Collections;
import org.openide.nodes.Children;
import org.openide.nodes.Node;
public class MyNodeChildren extends Children.Keys<MyKey> {
MyKey parentKey;
MyNodeChildren(MyKey parentKey) {
super(true); // use lazy behavior
this.parentKey = parentKey;
}
#Override
protected Node[] createNodes(MyKey key) {
return new Node[] {new MyNode(key)};
}
#Override
protected void addNotify() {
setKeys(this.parentKey.getChildrenKeys());
}
#Override
protected void removeNotify() {
setKeys(Collections.EMPTY_SET);
}
}
// MyKey is trivial.
I assume this has something to do with the lazy behavior of Children.Keys. I have the sources for the API, and I've tried stepping through it, but they're so confusing that I haven't figured anything out yet.
NetBeans IDE 7.0.1 (Build 201107282000) with up-to-date plugins.
Edit: More details
The line with the weird behavior is inside a handler for an ExplorerManager selected-nodes property change. The weird thing is that it still doesn't work when the MyNode instance isn't in the heirarchy that the ExplorerManager is using (it's not even the same class as the nodes in the ExplorerManager), and isn't being used for anything else.
Accessing the nodes instead of the underlying model is actually necessary for my use case (I need to do stuff with the PropertySets), the MyNode example is just a simpler case that still has the problem.
It is recommended to use org.openide.nodes.ChildFactory to create child nodes unless you have a specific need to use one of the Children APIs. But for the common cases the ChildFactory is sufficient.
One thing to keep in mind when using the Nodes API is that it is only a presentation layer that wraps your model and used in conjunction with the Explorer API makes it available to the various view components in the NetBeans platform such as org.openide.explorer.view.BeanTreeView.
Using a model called MyModel which may look something like:
public class MyModel {
private String title;
private List<MyChild> children;
public MyModel(List<MyChild> children) {
this.children = children;
}
public String getTitle() {
return title;
}
public List<MyChild> getChildren() {
return Collections.unmodifiableList(children);
}
}
You can create a ChildFactory<MyModel> that will be responsible for creating your nodes:
public class MyChildFactory extends ChildFactory<MyModel> {
private List<MyModel> myModels;
public MyChildFactory(List<MyModel> myModels) {
this.myModels = myModels;
}
protected boolean createKeys(List<MyModel> toPopulate) {
return toPopulate.addAll(myModels);
}
protected Node createNodeForKey(MyModel myModel) {
return new MyNode(myModel);
}
protected void removeNotify() {
this.myModels= null;
}
}
Then, implementing MyNode which is the presentation layer and wraps MyModel:
public class MyNode extends AbstractNode {
public MyNode(MyModel myModel) {
this(myModel, new InstanceContent());
}
private MyNode(MyModel myModel, InstanceContent content) {
super(Children.create(
new MyChildrenChildFactory(myModel.getChildren()), true),
new AbstractLookup(content)); // add a Lookup
// add myModel to the lookup so you can retrieve it latter
content.add(myModel);
// set the name used in the presentation
setName(myModel.getTitle());
// set the icon used in the presentation
setIconBaseWithExtension("com/my/resouces/icon.png");
}
}
And now the MyChildrenChildFactory which is very similar to MyChildFactory except that it takes a List<MyChild> and in turn creates MyChildNode:
public class MyChildFactory extends ChildFactory<MyChild> {
private List<MyChild> myChildren;
public MyChildFactory(List<MyChild> myChildren) {
this.myChildren = myChildren;
}
protected boolean createKeys(List<MyChild> toPopulate) {
return toPopulate.addAll(myChildren);
}
protected Node createNodeForKey(MyChild myChild) {
return new MyChildNode(myChild);
}
protected void removeNotify() {
this.myChildren = null;
}
}
Then an implementation of MyChildNode which is very similar to MyNode:
public class MyChildNode extends AbstractNode {
public MyChildNode(MyChild myChild) {
// no children and another way to add a Lookup
super(Children.LEAF, Lookups.singleton(myChild));
// set the name used in the presentation
setName(myChild.getTitle());
// set the icon used in the presentation
setIconBaseWithExtension("com/my/resouces/child_icon.png");
}
}
And we will need the children's model, MyChild which is very similar to MyModel:
public class MyChild {
private String title;
public String getTitle() {
return title;
}
}
Finally to put it all to use, for instance with a BeanTreeView which would reside in a TopComponent that implements org.openide.explorer.ExplorerManager.Provider:
// somewhere in your TopComponent's initialization code:
List<MyModel> myModels = ...
// defined as a property in you TC
explorerManager = new ExplorerManager();
// this is the important bit and we're using true
// to tell it to create the children asynchronously
Children children = Children.create(new MyChildFactory(myModels), true);
explorerManager.setRootContext(new AbstractNode(children));
Notice that you don't need to touch the BeanTreeView and in fact it can be any view component that is included in the platform. This is the recommended way to create nodes and as I've stated, the use of nodes is as a presentation layer to be used in the various components that are included in the platform.
If you then need to get a child you can use the ExplorerManager which you can retrieve from the TopComponent using the method ExplorerManager.Provier.getExplorerManager() which was implemented due to the fact that your TopComponent implemented ExplorerManager.Provider and is in fact the way that a view component itself gets the nodes:
ExplorerManager explorerManager = ...
// the AbstractNode from above
Node rootContext = explorerManager.getRootContext();
// the MyNode(s) from above
Children children = rootContext.getChildren().getNodes(true);
// looking up the MyModel that we added to the lookup in the MyNode
MyModel myModel = nodes[0].getLookup().lookup(MyModel.class);
However, you must be aware that using the Children.getNodes(true) method to get your nodes will cause all of your nodes and their children to be created; which weren't created due to the fact that we told the factory that we wanted it to create the children asynchronously. This is not the recommended way to access the data but instead you should keep a reference to the List<MyModel> and use that if at all possible. From the documentation for Children.getNodes(boolean):
...in general if you are trying to get useful data by calling this method, you are probably doing something wrong. Usually you should be asking some underlying model for information, not the nodes for children.
Again, you must remember that the Nodes API is a presentation layer and is used as an adapter between your model and your views.
Where this becomes a powerful technique is when using the same ChildFactory in different and diverse views. You can reuse the above code in many TopComponents without any modifications. You can also use a FilterNode if you need to change only a part of the presentation of a node without having to touch the original node.
Learning the Nodes API is one of the more challenging aspects of learning the NetBeans platform API as you have undoubtedly discovered. Once you have some mastery of this API you will be able to take advantage of much more of the platforms built in capabilities.
Please see the following resources for more information on the Nodes API:
NetBeans Nodes API Tutorial
Great introduction to the Nodes API by Antonio Vieiro
Part 5: Nodes API and Explorer & Property Sheet API by Geertjan Wielenga
JavaDocs for the Nodes API
Timon Veenstra on the NetBeans Platform Developers mailing list solved this for me.
Actions on the explorerManager are guarded to ensure consistency. A
node selection listener on an explorer manager for example cannot
manipulate the same explorer manager while handling the selection
changed event because that would require a read to write upgrade. The
change will be vetoed and die a silent death.
Are you adding the MyNode root node to the explorer manager on
initialization, or somewhere else in a listener?
My problem line is in an ExplorerManager selection change listener. I guess the Children.MUTEX lock is getting set by ExplorerManager and preventing the Children.Keys instance from populating its Nodes...?
Anyways, I moved my Node access into a EventQueue.invokeLater(...), so it executes after the selection changed event finishes, and that fixed it.
Can you import using a class that inherits from Lazy rather than Lazy itself? I am exporting using a derivitive of ExportAttribute that contains metadata.
[FeatureExport(/* Feature Metadata Parameters */)]
public class Feature : IFeature
{
// Feature Properties
}
public class FeatureReference : Lazy<IFeature, IFeatureMetadata>
{
}
public class Consumer
{
[ImportMany]
public IEnumerable<FeatureReference> FeatureReferences { get; set; }
}
Is this possible? Would it work? I could try it myself, but I'm in development so I don't actually have any code written.
No, it won't work I'm afraid. You would need to implement your own programming model extension (either a custom part/catalog or possibly via ReflectionModelServices) to make this work.
MEF would have to create the FeatureReference object in order to set it, and considering that FeatureReference might have any constructor imaginable, you can guess why this isn't supported.