Classes: #wxValidator, #wxTextValidator,
#wxGenericValidator
+
The aim of the validator concept is to make dialogs very much easier to write.
A validator is an object that can be plugged into a control (such as a wxTextCtrl), and
mediates between C++ data and the control, transferring the data in either direction
and validating it. It also is able to intercept events generated
by the control, providing filtering behaviour without the need to derive a new control class.
+
You can use a stock validator, such as #wxTextValidator (which does text
control data transfer, validation and filtering) and
#wxGenericValidator (which does data transfer for a range of controls);
or you can write your own.
- @b Example
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+ @section example Example
+
Here is an example of wxTextValidator usage.
@code
In this example, the text validator object provides the following functionality:
-
- It transfers the value of g_data.m_string (a wxString variable) to the wxTextCtrl when
+ @li It transfers the value of g_data.m_string (a wxString variable) to the wxTextCtrl when
the dialog is initialised.
- It transfers the wxTextCtrl data back to this variable when the dialog is dismissed.
- It filters input characters so that only alphabetic characters are allowed.
-
+ @li It transfers the wxTextCtrl data back to this variable when the dialog is dismissed.
+ @li It filters input characters so that only alphabetic characters are allowed.
The validation and filtering of input is accomplished in two ways. When a character is input,
wxTextValidator checks the character against the allowed filter flag (wxFILTER_ALPHA in this case). If
The second type of validation is performed when the dialog is about to be dismissed, so if
the default string contained invalid characters already, a dialog box is shown giving the
error, and the dialog is not dismissed.
- @b Anatomy of a validator
+
+ @section anatomy Anatomy of a validator
+
A programmer creating a new validator class should provide the following functionality.
+
A validator constructor is responsible for allowing the programmer to specify the kind
of validation required, and perhaps a pointer to a C++ variable that is used for storing the
data for the control. If such a variable address is not supplied by the user, then
the validator should store the data internally.
+
The wxValidator::Validate member function should return
@true if the data in the control (not the C++ variable) is valid. It should also show
an appropriate message if data was not valid.
+
The wxValidator::TransferToWindow member function should
transfer the data from the validator or associated C++ variable to the control.
+
The wxValidator::TransferFromWindow member function should
transfer the data from the control to the validator or associated C++ variable.
+
There should be a copy constructor, and a wxValidator::Clone function
which returns a copy of the validator object. This is important because validators
are passed by reference to window constructors, and must therefore be cloned internally.
+
You can optionally define event handlers for the validator, to implement filtering. These handlers
will capture events before the control itself does.
For an example implementation, see the valtext.h and valtext.cpp files in the wxWidgets library.
- @b How validators interact with dialogs
+
+ @section dialogs How validators interact with dialogs
+
For validators to work correctly, validator functions must be called at the right times during
dialog initialisation and dismissal.
+
When a wxDialog::Show is called (for a modeless dialog)
or wxDialog::ShowModal is called (for a modal dialog),
the function wxWindow::InitDialog is automatically called.
function for each. Thus, data is transferred from C++ variables to the dialog
just as the dialog is being shown.
- If you are using a window or panel instead of a dialog, you will need to
+ @note If you are using a window or panel instead of a dialog, you will need to
call wxWindow::InitDialog explicitly before showing the
window.
call wxWindow::TransferDataFromWindow and
return if this failed. It is then safe to end the dialog by calling EndModal (if modal)
or Show (if modeless).
+
In fact, wxDialog contains a default command event handler for the wxID_OK button. It goes like
this:
So if using validators and a normal OK button, you may not even need to write any
code for handling dialog dismissal.
+
If you load your dialog from a resource file, you will need to iterate through the controls
setting validators, since validators can't be specified in a dialog resource.
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