Window classes

Description

All the standard Elgrint classes that represent Graphic User Interface (GUI) visual elements.

Read more...

Classes:

Name	Description
MButton	Two-state selector, which can be pushed or released.
MCheckButton	MButton specialization, which is checked-unchecked-undefined on every push/release cycle.
MDateBox	Displays a calendar, which lets the user select a date within a certain range.
MDialogBox	Opens a simple dialog box with 1-4 response options to select from.
MDropButton	MButton specialization with a side arrow, clicking which opens/closes a custom window.
MEditBox	Lets the user type an arbitrary text (i.e. select a textual value).
MFileDialogBox	Opens a dialog box with an embedded MTreeListBox, which lets the user select an existing file.
MFrame	Defines a resizable and movable container with several plugins.
MHtmlBox	Embeds a web browser into the app. The browser lets the user select a webpage (among other things).
MInfoLabel	Displays temporary textual information about its parent window.
MListBox	Lets the user select one or more items from a linear list, displayed within the window.
MMainFrame	Defines the main app window, derived from MFrame.
MMenuBox	Lets the user select a command from a tree-like system of menu windows.
MMultimediaLabel	Embeds a video/audio player and/or recorder into the app.
MPageBar	Displays a custom page plugin and a set of buttons to select a different page.
MProgressLabel	Reports a progress of some task in a graphical form.
MRadioBox	Lets the user select a numeric value by clicking one of the displayed radio-styled check buttons.
MRangeBox	Lets the user select a numeric value (of type long).
MScreen	The system's topmost window, which serves as a container for MMainFrame windows.
MScrollBar	Lets the user shift the content of the window with the help of two MSlideBox selectors (side sliders).
MSegmentBar	Displays a set of resizable segments, each of which may contain a plugin window.
MSlideBox	Lets the user select a numeric value by dragging a thumb plugin along a rail.
MTreeListBox	Lets the user select an item from a tree-like structure, displayed within the window.
MWindow	The base class of all the window classes (also serves as a container window).

Details

There are 24 predefined window classes in Elgrint including MWindow. The window classes can be grouped into three categories: containers, selectors, and labels.

• Containers are the "bones" of the app. Their main purpose is to contain other (child) windows. They create a convenient (and necessary) infrastructure for other windows. Of course, any window can have child windows, but only containers are specifically designed for that. Containers aren't very interactive themselves, though many do have a certain degree of interactivity. The names of the container classes end with "Bar" or "Frame", except for the special containers: MWindow and MScreen. Frames are usually more complex than bars.
• Selectors are the "muscles" of the app. They are responsible for the bulk of the interaction with the user. In abstract terms, a selector lets the user select a certain value from a multitude of predefined values for that selector. The names of the selector classes end with "Button" or "Box". Buttons have a fixed (and small) number of selectable values. Boxes are more complex. Generally speaking, the more values a selector has, the more complex it is. MEditBox and MHtmlBox are the most complex selectors with practically infinite number of selectable values
• Labels are the "skin" of the app. They decorate the app with non-interactive information in the form of text, graphics, and even sound. Even though labels are generally not interactive, they are by no means static. In fact, all label classes in Elgrint support animation in one form or another. The names of the label classes end with "Label".

The above classification is somewhat arbitrary, since some windows don't exactly fall into a specific category, and, more importantly, it is very easy to change the window's category with just a handful of lines of code. Still, this classification, however arbitrary, can be instructive and insightful. It also provides a useful mnemonic for remembering the predefined classes and their purposes.

Let us know

Please Contact us to report any errors on this page, or to suggest any improvements.