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Overview |
The ObjectComboBox suite consists of one bean - the ObjectComboBox Bean.
This bean presents a graphical interface to the user and allows the user to select or edit the items in a list. The ObjectComboBox is a text field with an attached drop-down list box. It can add not only string items but also object items of any kind into the list directly. It may be editable and/or searchable. Editable means the user can enter any desired text into the text field and searchable means ObjectComboBox will highlight an item if the name of item matches the string that the user has typed in.
This document is intended to be used by application builders who would like to build Java applications which provide ObjectComboBox functionality.
The application developer is expected to be familiar with the Java language and the JavaBeans architecture. The developer should be familiar with building applications by linking beans in an application builder tool. Familiarity with the functionality of ObjectComboBox would be advantageous, though not mandatory if the developer does not intend to extend the functionality provided by the bean.
Conventions | Description | Example |
Text in bold | buttons and field names of dialog boxes | OK, Cancel, Port, Socks Server, etc. |
Text in italics | names of dialog boxes, figures, reference to chapters and other sections, task name etc. | Confirm dialog, Figure 1, Overview, etc. |
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list of points |
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Numbered list 1, 2, 3, .... | sequential steps |
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Text in Bold and Italics | name of the file | ObjectComboBox .zip, readme.html |
Text in Courier font | names of classes, methods, events, part of code included in the document, etc. | ActionPerformed |
Conventions | Description | Example |
Select | Click the left mouse button | Select the File menu. |
Keys | Represented |
Control | Ctrl |
Image | Used to |
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represent a Note information |
Overview - introduces the user to the ObjectComboBox bean. Provides information like intended audience, guide organization and copyrights.
Component Description - describes the ObjectComboBox component in general. Gives information on domain concepts, list of bean in the suite and deployment scenarios.
Installation Instructions - describes the hardware and software required for installing and using the ObjectComboBox component, and also describes how to install the bean and prepare it for use.
Usage Instructions - provides information on bean usage, wiring scenarios and serialization.
Alternating Wiring Scenarios - describes special wiring scenarios that may involve beans within and outside the component suite.
Individual Bean Documentation - provides links to individual bean documentation which describes each bean in the suite with respect to its events, properties, methods etc.
User Interface - describes the various user interface components like menus, dialog boxes etc. of the ObjectComboBox component.
Error Messages - lists the various error messages that may appear when using the bean.
Demo Application - describes the demo application and provides instructions on how to run the demo application.
References - provides links to internet sites which give substantial reference documentation.
Glossary - gives a brief explanation of some of the technical terms used in the document.
Copyright © 1998 IBM Corp.
All rights reserved.
IBM and VisualAge are trademarks of International Business Machines in the United States and/or other countries.
* Java and all Java-based trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc, in the U.S. and other countries.
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Component Description |
The ObjectComboBox is a graphical interface to the user and allows the user to select or edit the items in a list.
This bean presents a graphical interface to the user and allows the user to select or edit the items in a list. The ObjectComboBox is a text field with an attached drop-down list box. It can add not only string items but also object items of any kind into the list directly. It may be editable and/or searchable. Editable means the user can enter any desired text into the text field and searchable means ObjectComboBox will highlight an item if the name of item matches the string that the user has typed in.
The ObjectComboBox suite consists of :
The ObjectComboBox can be used to select or edit the items in a list. For example: Programmer creates a demo application that demonstrates how the ObjectComboBox bean will work. If user adds items or selects items in run time mode, the text area will display the corresponding messages.
see Demo Application
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Installation Instructions |
This bean is designed to be compliant with 100% Pure Java requirements, and can therefore be executed on any hardware platform that supports the Java Environment.
36 KB(48 KB for Visual Cafe 2.0) of disk space is required to install the ObjectComboBox Bean Jar files. Additional hard disk space would be required to install the Java Development Kit, Bean Development Kit or any Java Application Builder Tool which may be used to build / compile applications using this bean.
The ObjectComboBox bean is designed to work with Java Development Kit Version 1.1 and above.
This bean may be linked to other beans and tested in the BeanBox testing tool from JavaSoft.
Any Java Application Builder (e.g., VisualAge for Java from IBM Corp, VisualCafé from Symantec Corp., Java Workshop from SunSoft) with JavaBeans support may be used to develop applications using this bean.
There are no platform-specific issues for the ObjectComboBox suite. Any operating system that supports Java can be used.
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Usage Instructions |
The jar files of the ObjectComboBox bean should be added to the jars directory of the BeanBox. To use any component in other IDEs, import the corresponding .jar file. The wiring scenarios are described below.
No special procedure is involved in integrating all the beans in the suite, because this suite has just one bean.
The ObjectComboBox bean is serializable.
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Alternate Wiring Scenarios |
In this scenario, application builder would use the ObjectComboBox bean in the application(in VisualAge for Java 1.0).
Wiring the ObjectComboBox requires the following events:
1. Application Design Time:
2.Run Time:
The user runs the application.
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Individual Bean Documentation |
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User Interface |
This section describes the user interface of the ObjectComboBox bean.
As shown in Figure 1, the ObjectComboBox bean is rather a simple bean, just like the ComboBox in Windows system.
Figure 1 - ObjectComboBox
The ObjectComboBox contains a Text Field and a Drop-down List. Whenever the Enter key is pressed, the record in the Text Field is added to the Drop-down list as the last item. Note that when the user attempts to add the same record twice, the ObjectComboBox ignores the latter. If the record entered to the Text Field is a part of one of the items in the list, the ObjectComboBox highlights the item in the Text Field.
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Error Messages |
No special error messages might occur while using the ObjectComboBox bean.
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Demo Application |
The demo directory contains all the necessary files for running the demo. The main demo file is Demo.class. This demo application demonstrates how the ObjectComboBox component works.
To run the demo application provided with this package, follow the steps given below :
WINDOWS CLASSPATH
After installing the software, update the CLASSPATH environment variable as follows :
Set the CLASSPATH to point to
.;ObjectComboBox\lib\objectcombobox.jar
To change the CLASSPATH, open the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and make the change to the CLASSPATH statement. (Be sure to make a backup of the AUTOEXEC.BAT before making any changes).
Set the CLASSPATH to point to
.;ObjectComboBox\lib\objectcombobox.jar
For example, if objectcombobox is installed under C:\ then set CLASSPATH as (add the following line to the end of the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.)
.;c:\ObjectComboBox\lib\objectcombobox.jar;%CLASSPATH%
AIX CLASSPATH
After installing the software, update the CLASSPATH environment variable as follows :
Set the CLASSPATH to point to
.:ObjectComboBox\lib\objectcombobox.jar
For example, if objectcombobox is installed under the home directory then set CLASSPATH as - (add the following line to the end of the .profile file.)
export CLASSPATH = .:ObjectComboBox\lib\objectcombobox.jar:$CLASSPATH
OS/2 CLASSPATH
After installing the software, update the CLASSPATH environment variable as follows :
Set the CLASSPATH to point to
ObjectComboBox\lib\objectcombobox.jar
For example, if objectcombobox is installed under C:\ then set CLASSPATH as (append the following to the CLASSPATH environment variable of the CONFIG.SYS file.)
.;c:\ObjectComboBox\lib\objectcombobox.jar;%CLASSPATH%
Reboot the machine for the changes to take effect
Running the demo application
The whole source code is Demo.java.
This demo application demonstrates how the ObjectComboBox component works. If the user adds items or selects items at run time, the text area will display the corresponding messages.
The Main Screen :
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References |
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Glossary of Terms |
This document is last updated in v1.0 on 04/06/1998