/*
* @(#)Action.java 1.30 03/12/19
*
* Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.
* SUN PROPRIETARY/CONFIDENTIAL. Use is subject to license terms.
*/
package javax.swing;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.beans.*;
/**
* The Action
interface provides a useful extension to the
* ActionListener
* interface in cases where the same functionality may be accessed by
* several controls.
*
* In addition to the actionPerformed
method defined by the
* ActionListener
interface, this interface allows the
* application to define, in a single place:
*
Action
object. When an Action
object is added
* to such a container, the container:
* Action
object to
* customize the component (for example, the icon image and flyover text).
* Action
object to determine
* if it is enabled or disabled, and renders the component in the
* appropriate fashion.
* Action
object so that is
* notified of state changes. When the Action
object changes
* from enabled to disabled,
* or back, the container makes the appropriate revisions to the
* event-generation mechanisms and renders the component accordingly.
* Cut
action object. The text associated with the object is
* specified as "Cut", and an image depicting a pair of scissors is specified
* as its icon. The Cut
action-object can then be added to a
* menu and to a tool bar. Each container does the appropriate things with the
* object, and invokes its actionPerformed
method when the
* component associated with it is activated. The application can then disable
* or enable the application object without worrying about what user-interface
* components are connected to it.
*
* This interface can be added to an existing class or used to create an
* adapter (typically, by subclassing AbstractAction
).
* The Action
object
* can then be added to multiple Action
-aware containers
* and connected to Action
-capable
* components. The GUI controls can then be activated or
* deactivated all at once by invoking the Action
object's
* setEnabled
method.
*
* Note that Action
implementations tend to be more expensive
* in terms of storage than a typical ActionListener
,
* which does not offer the benefits of centralized control of
* functionality and broadcast of property changes. For this reason,
* you should take care to only use Action
s where their benefits
* are desired, and use simple ActionListener
s elsewhere.
*
* @version 1.30 12/19/03
* @author Georges Saab
* @see AbstractAction
*/
public interface Action extends ActionListener {
/**
* Useful constants that can be used as the storage-retrieval key
* when setting or getting one of this object's properties (text
* or icon).
*/
/**
* Not currently used.
*/
public static final String DEFAULT = "Default";
/**
* The key used for storing the String
name
* for the action, used for a menu or button.
*/
public static final String NAME = "Name";
/**
* The key used for storing a short String
* description for the action, used for tooltip text.
*/
public static final String SHORT_DESCRIPTION = "ShortDescription";
/**
* The key used for storing a longer String
* description for the action, could be used for context-sensitive help.
*/
public static final String LONG_DESCRIPTION = "LongDescription";
/**
* The key used for storing a small Icon
, such
* as ImageIcon
, for the action, used for toolbar buttons.
*/
public static final String SMALL_ICON = "SmallIcon";
/**
* The key used to determine the command String
for the
* ActionEvent
that will be created when an
* Action
is going to be notified as the result of
* residing in a Keymap
associated with a
* JComponent
.
*/
public static final String ACTION_COMMAND_KEY = "ActionCommandKey";
/**
* The key used for storing a KeyStroke
to be used as the
* accelerator for the action.
*
* @since 1.3
*/
public static final String ACCELERATOR_KEY="AcceleratorKey";
/**
* The key used for storing a KeyEvent
to be used as
* the mnemonic for the action.
*
* @since 1.3
*/
public static final String MNEMONIC_KEY="MnemonicKey";
/**
* Gets one of this object's properties
* using the associated key.
* @see #putValue
*/
public Object getValue(String key);
/**
* Sets one of this object's properties
* using the associated key. If the value has
* changed, a PropertyChangeEvent
is sent
* to listeners.
*
* @param key a String
containing the key
* @param value an Object
value
*/
public void putValue(String key, Object value);
/**
* Sets the enabled state of the Action
. When enabled,
* any component associated with this object is active and
* able to fire this object's actionPerformed
method.
* If the value has changed, a PropertyChangeEvent
is sent
* to listeners.
*
* @param b true to enable this Action
, false to disable it
*/
public void setEnabled(boolean b);
/**
* Returns the enabled state of the Action
. When enabled,
* any component associated with this object is active and
* able to fire this object's actionPerformed
method.
*
* @return true if this Action
is enabled
*/
public boolean isEnabled();
/**
* Adds a PropertyChange
listener. Containers and attached
* components use these methods to register interest in this
* Action
object. When its enabled state or other property
* changes, the registered listeners are informed of the change.
*
* @param listener a PropertyChangeListener
object
*/
public void addPropertyChangeListener(PropertyChangeListener listener);
/**
* Removes a PropertyChange
listener.
*
* @param listener a PropertyChangeListener
object
* @see #addPropertyChangeListener
*/
public void removePropertyChangeListener(PropertyChangeListener listener);
}