282 Chapter 11: iTool User Interface Architecture
User Interface Objects iTool Developer’s Guide
User Interface Objects
The iTool user interface object is an instance of the class IDLitUI. The UI object
provides a way for the iTool to communicate with interface elements created using
the IDL widget toolkit. As the center of communication between the user interface
and the underlying iTool functionality, the UI object provides the following
functionality:
• Access to and communication with the underlying iTool object.
• Registration and management of dialogs and other sub-elements of the user
interface that are used by the iTool to perform specific tasks.
• Registration of user interface elements that are part of the iTool display itself.
One of the key features of the iTool user interface is the ability to adapt to the
contents of the tool, sensitizing and desensitizing menu items or displaying dialogs or
user interface panels as necessary. The IDLitUI object makes this adaptability
possible while maintaining the slender link between tool functionality and user
interface. The following features of the IDLitUI object make these features possible:
GetTool Method
The IDLitUI::GetTool method provides the means to retrieve an object reference to
the underlying iTool object from user interface code. The retrieved reference can then
be used to access data stored in iTool objects (property values, for example) and to
call other iTool object methods.
UI Service Registration Methods
The IDLitUI::RegisterUIService and IDLitUI::UnRegisterUIService methods allow
user interface code to register (and unregister) user interface services as being
available for use by the iTool interface.
Note
User interface services are more normally registered by an iTool launch routine,
using the ITREGISTER procedure.
User interface services are discussed in detail in Chapter 13, “Creating a User
Interface Service”.
