com.artima.place.ui
Interface IconUI

public interface IconUI

A UI role interface implemented by Icon UIs, which enable users to view (or in some way experience) a iconic representation of a service. If a UI descriptor's UI factory produces a UI that implements this interface (i.e., produces a Icon UI), the UI descriptor's role field must reference a String with the value "com.artima.place.IconUI".

The first parameter of any factory method declared in a UI factory type is an object called the "role object." The role object passed to any factory method that produces the Icon UI is the service item (the net.jini.core.lookup.ServiceItem) of the service with which the Icon UI is associated.

Icon UIs should allow clients to configure them before they begin. For example, Icon UIs produced by FrameFactory, JFrameFactory, WindowFactory and JWindowFactory (all members of the net.jini.lookup.ui.factory package) should not be visible when they are returned from the factory method. This allows clients to set the UI's position and size, for example, before making the UI visible by invoking setVisible(true) on the UI.

A client should be able to invoke an icon UI factory method multiple times sequentially. In other words, if a user uses a service represented by an icon UI, a main UI could replace the Icon UI, then exits the main UI, the client can just simply invoke the icon UI factory method again, and get another icon UI for the same service. Icon UIs, therefore, should be written so that they work no matter what state the service object happens to be in when the Icon UI is created.

It is recommended that clients use multiple icon UIs for the same service only sequentially, and avoid creating multiple icon UIs for the same service that operate concurrently with one another. But because some clients may create and use multiple icon UIs at the same time for the same service, providers of services and icon UIs should program defensively, to ensure that multiple icon UIs for the same service at the same time will all work together concurrently.

Field Summary

static java.lang.String

ROLE Convenience constant to use in the role field of UIDescriptors for IconUI role UIs.

Field Detail

ROLE

public static final java.lang.String ROLE

Convenience constant to use in the role field of UIDescriptors for IconUI role UIs. The value of this constant is "com.artima.place.IconUI".