Re: [wxCode-users] How to provide dialogs in components

[Francesco M. <f18...@ya...>]

Hi,

>>how should we provide dialog windows in our components ?
>>Using XRC files, or just hard-coded classes that build the UI ?
> I hard code them, the complicated pages are created using wxDesigner.
> I try to make them reasonably extensible if at all possible. For
> example, in wxStEdit I have a preferences dialog with 7 notebook
> pages. Each page can be used independently of the others and of the
> dialog that contains them. All I do is forward the Ok, Cancel, etc
> buttons to the page before the dialog deals with them and if the page
> handles it fine, if not, fine too.
>  
> I think it's a good idea to at least separate the "page(s)" of the
> dialog from the dialog since then it'll be reusable. You can also
> provide flags to make it possible for users to get different varieties
> or add a virtual function "CreateDialog" (or whatever) so that people
> can subclass it and override it's behavior. In this case everyone will
> have to call the "CreateDialog" function after creation (you can't
> have virtual functions in the constructor).
yes; that's exactly the approach I've taken with keybinder: I created 
some "build flags" to allow customization of appearance dialog and also 
I've divided the dialog construction in various virtual functions which 
should make easier dialog-customization....

> 
> XRC makes your user link to the XRC lib so I prefer not to use that.
> It also won't make it any easier for them to reuse or change things
> anyway.
even if I think that it would be easier for the user to fine-tune the 
appearance of the dialog, I agree with you and Otto on the hardcode 
approach since it does not force the user to link to the XRC lib and is 
a (little) faster.
Still I think that in future XRC will play a more important role in wx 
GUI programming...

Francesco