Extending OpenDoc (OD PG)

Inside Macintosh: OpenDoc Programmer's Guide / Part 2 - Programming

Chapter 10 - Extending OpenDoc
This is the last of eight chapters that discuss the OpenDoc programming interface in detail. This chapter describes how you can use or alter portions of the OpenDoc class library to enhance the capabilities of your part editors.
Before reading this chapter, you should be familiar with the concepts presented in Chapter 1, "Introduction to OpenDoc," and Chapter 2, "Development Overview." For additional concepts related to your part editor's runtime environment, see Chapter 11, "OpenDoc Runtime Features."
This chapter discusses the following ways in which you can extend OpenDoc:

By creating OpenDoc extension objects for your part editor, you can add programming interfaces to your parts for any purpose. The semantic interface support in OpenDoc, described in Chapter 9, "Semantic Events and Scripting," is an example of the use of extension objects.
By creating a settings extension, you can give users access to editor-specific settings through the Part Info dialog box.
By creating specialized dispatch modules, you can define new kinds of user events that your parts can respond to.
By creating specialized focus modules, you can define new categories of foci (shared resources) that your parts can acquire and exchange.
By creating a subclass of ODTransform, you can extend the ways in which your part transforms the images it draws.
By creating a shell plug-in, a modification of the functions of the document shell, you can add additional document-wide capabilities to OpenDoc.
By patching (replacing) specific OpenDoc objects, you can modify some of the fundamental capabilities of OpenDoc.

Chapter Contents

The OpenDoc Extension Interface

Extension Objects

Using an Extension

Implementing Extensions

The Settings Extension

Custom Event Types

Creating a Dispatch Module

Using a Dispatch Module as a Monitor

Custom Focus Types

Creating a Focus Module

Focus Modules for Nonexclusive Foci

Custom Transform Objects

Shell Plug-Ins

Patching OpenDoc

Writing a Patch

Installing a Patch

Potential Patch Conflicts