Copyright ã1995 by NeXT Computer, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.

DBFormatter

Inherits From:	Object

Declared In:	dbkit/DBFormatter.h

Class Description

DBFormatter is an abstract superclass; each of its subclasses provides a mechanism that formats and displays data in a DBTableView.  The Database Kit provides three DBFormatter subclasses:

·	DBImageFormatter scales, aligns, and displays images. 
·	DBTextFormatter displays uneditable text.
·	DBEditableFormatter displays editable text. 

The central method in a DBFormatter is drawFieldAt::inside:inView:withAttributes::usePositions::.  This method defines the way in which a DBFormatter formats and displays data.  It's invoked automatically by the DBTableView when it wants to display a value.  The default implementation of this method does nothing; each subclass must implement it in a meaningful way.

Instance Variables

id value;

value	The value to be formatted

Method Types

Getting and displaying a value 	- getValueAt::withAttributes::usePositions::
- drawFieldAt::inside:inView:withAttributes::
usePositions::

Batching format requests	- beginBatching:
- resetBatching:
- endBatching

Instance Methods

beginBatching:

- beginBatching:(id <DBTableVectors>)attrs

Tells the DBFormatter that a formatting session is about to begin.  You never invoke this method directly; it's invoked automatically by the DBTableView just before it sends the first in a series of drawFieldAt::... messages.  The end of the formatting session is signalled by the endBatching message and it's restarted through resetBatching:.

The default implementation of beginBatching: does nothing.  You can reimplement this method in a subclass to perform pre-formatting initialization.  The return value is ignored.  The argument to this method (and to resetBatching:) is currently unused (it's always nil).

drawFieldAt::inside:inView:withAttributes::usePositions::

- drawFieldAt:(unsigned int)row
:(unsigned int)column
inside:(NXRect *)frame 
inView:view
withAttributes:(id <DBTableVectors>)rowAttrs
:(id <DBTableVectors>)columnAttrs
usePositions:(BOOL)useRow
:(BOOL)useColumn

Retrieves a value from the data source, formats it, and displays it.  The DBFormatter implementation of this actually does nothing and returns self; it's up to the subclasses to implement this method in meaningful ways.

Typically, an implementation follows these steps:

5.	The value is retrieved.  This is done by forwarding the method's arguments to getValueAt::..., thus: 

 [self getValueAt:row :column 
          withAttributes:rowAttrs :columnAttrs
          usePositions:useRow :useColumn];

6.	The value that's set by getValueAt::... (keep in mind that the method sets the value instance variable) is formatted for display.

7.	The formatted value is displayed inside frame, which is given in view's coordinate system.  Note well that the focus will be locked on view before this message is sentÐyou don't have to lock focus yourself.

endBatching

- endBatching

Notifies the DBFormatter that a formatting session is over.  See the beginBatching: method for more information. 

See also:  - beginBatching:, - resetBatching:

getValueAt::withAttributes::usePositions::

- getValueAt:(unsigned int) row 
:(unsigned int) column
withAttributes:(id <DBTableVectors>) rowAttrs 
:(id <DBTableVectors>) columnAttrs 
usePositions:(BOOL) useRowPos 
:(BOOL) useColumnPos

Retrieves a value from the data source, places it in the DBFormatter's value instance variable, and then returns the variable.  You never invoke this method from your application; however, if you create a subclass of DBFormatter, you'll need to invoke it from the implementation of drawFieldAt::..., as explained in the description of that method.  You shouldn't need to reimplement this method in a subclass.  

resetBatching:

- resetBatching:(id <DBTableVectors>)attrs

Tells the DBFormatter to restart a formatting session.  See the beginBatching: method for more information. 

See also:  - beginBatching:, - endBatching