Class UIAjaxComponent
- java.lang.Object
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- com.orchestranetworks.ui.UIAjaxComponent
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public abstract class UIAjaxComponent extends Object
Abstract class for implementing an Ajax component. A user interface service or a user interface editor (defined using a
UIBeanEditor
) can dynamically perform certain operations using an Ajax component.Use cases
An Ajax component may be used when dynamic operations must be performed inside a user interface service or a user interface editor.
If the Ajax component is used by a user interface editor, then it must be defined in the data model declaring the
UIBeanEditor
. If the Ajax component is used by a user interface service, then it must be either defined in the data model or the module declaring the service.Component Declaration
Declaring an Ajax component in a data model
The component must be declared as a global element in the data model, as follows:
<xs:complexType name="MyAjaxComponentName"> <xs:annotation> <xs:appinfo> <osd:ajaxComponent class="com.foo.MyAjaxComponent"/> </xs:appinfo> </xs:annotation> </xs:complexType>
Where
com.foo.MyAjaxComponent
is the fully qualified name of a class extending this class. The declaration may also use parameters:<osd:ajaxComponent class="com.foo.MyAjaxComponent"> <param1>...</param1> <param2>...</param2> </osd:ajaxComponent>
param1
andparam2
are JavaBean properties ofcom.foo.MyAjaxComponent
class.For more information, see the JavaBean specification.
Declaring an Ajax component in a module
An Ajax component can also be used by a service defined in a module. The component must be declared in the
module.xml
file associated with the corresponding module.The component is declared as follows:
<ajaxComponents> <ajaxComponent name="MyAjaxComponentName" className="com.foo.MyAjaxComponent"/> </ajaxComponents>
The element
ajaxComponents
must declare all Ajax components available to the services defined in this module.com.foo.MyAjaxComponent
is the fully qualified name of a class extending this class.Interactions between client and server
The client-server interaction process consists of the following steps:
- Client side: calls an Ajax component on a user action in a user interface service or a user interface editor
using
UIResourceLocator.getURLForAjaxComponent(String)
. - Server side: receives the Ajax call (HTTP request) and the specified class implementing this interface is
instantiated through its default constructor. If there are the JavaBean property
setters, they are called (in the example above,
setParam1(...)
andsetParam2(...)
). - Server side: the method
doAjaxResponse(UIAjaxContext)
is invoked on the instantiated object. - Server side: the response generated by the Ajax component is sent back to the calling user interface service or user interface editor.
- Client side: receives the Ajax response and refreshes HTML according to the response.
How-to
The use of an Ajax component implies correctly handling the HTTP request and HTTP response using JavaScript code.
To facilitate the use of Ajax components, EBX® provides the JavaScript prototype
EBX_AJAXResponseHandler
for sending the request and handling the response.This prototype defines the method
sendRequest(urlToAjaxComponent)
for sending the Ajax request. The URL to the Ajax component can found by calling the methodUIResourceLocator.getURLForAjaxComponent(String)
(in the context of aUIBeanEditor
, aUIAjaxContext
, or aServiceContext
).The following methods must be redefined and are mandatory in JavaScript classes that will use the
EBX_AJAXResponseHandler
prototype.-
handleAjaxResponseSuccess(responseContent)
: this method defines the operations to perform if the Ajax response has been generated successfully. The parameterresponseContent
contains the plain-text response generated by this component. -
handleAjaxResponseFailed(responseContent)
: this method defines the operations to perform if the Ajax response has failed, namely in case of a network error or server-side exception indoAjaxResponse(UIAjaxContext)
. The parameterresponseContent
contains the plain-text response generated by this component.
The following JavaScript example shows how to use this prototype:
// Definition of the custom Ajax handler MyAjaxHandler = function(anyParameters){ // Not mandatory, but for potential storage of parameters (eg. an id of an HTML element) this.initialParameters = anyParameters; // This method is mandatory this.handleAjaxResponseSuccess = function(responseContent){ // Operations to perform if the Ajax response has been successfully generated. }; // This method is mandatory this.handleAjaxResponseFailed = function(responseContent){ // Operations to perform if the Ajax response has failed. }; }; // Specifies that the custom Ajax handler uses the prototype provided by EBX® MyAjaxHandler.prototype = new EBX_AJAXResponseHandler(); // Defines the function that sends the Ajax request. // This function can be attached to a JavaScript event (i.e. onclick, onkeydown etc.). function callAjaxComponent(anyParameters, anyRequestParameter){ // Initializes the custom Ajax handler var myAjaxHandler = new MyAjaxHandler(anyParameters); // Some parameters can be added to the request, then retrieved on the server side using
UIAjaxContext.getOptionalRequestParameterValue(String)
var requestParameter = "¶meter=" + anyRequestParameter; // Sends the request to the given Ajax component. // The URL to the Ajax component is obtained callingUIResourceLocator.getURLForAjaxComponent(String)
myAjaxHandler.sendRequest(urlToAjaxComponent + requestParameter); };When the function
sendRequest(urlToAjaxComponent)
is called, the request is sent to the server and the methoddoAjaxResponse(UIAjaxContext)
of the corresponding Ajax component is called. The server sends the response from the Ajax component to the client code, and the functionhandleAjaxResponseSuccess
orhandleAjaxResponseFailed
will be automatically called to handle the response.IMPORTANT NOTES
- It is strongly discouraged to perform updates in an Ajax component. If this is done, inconsistencies may occur in the calling user-defined service or user-defined editor. The dirty read mechanism must be considered when using Ajax components. That is, all updates that may be done in this component will not be visible in the caller component. Thus, Ajax components should only be used for handling dynamic requests in a read-only mode.
- The plain-text response generated by this component is wrapped in custom XML content. It is thus strongly advised to use the provided JavaScript prototype for handling the response generated by the Ajax component.
Error handling
If the method
doAjaxResponse(UIAjaxContext)
throws anException
, the exception's message will be added tokernel.log
. On the client side, the methodhandleAjaxResponseFailed(responseContent)
will be invoked.Error, warning and info messages can also be added to the client-side message box by calling
UIAjaxContext.addUserMessage(UserMessage)
.Multi-threading
The EBX® container ensures that an instance of this class is executed by no more than one thread at any given time.
- Since:
- 5.2.0
- See Also:
UIResourceLocator.getURLForAjaxComponent(String)
, UI Developer Guide
- Client side: calls an Ajax component on a user action in a user interface service or a user interface editor
using
-
-
Constructor Summary
Constructors Constructor Description UIAjaxComponent()
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Method Summary
All Methods Instance Methods Abstract Methods Modifier and Type Method Description abstract void
doAjaxResponse(UIAjaxContext aResponse)
When the client sends an HTTP request targeting this component, this method is invoked.
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Method Detail
-
doAjaxResponse
public abstract void doAjaxResponse(UIAjaxContext aResponse)
When the client sends an HTTP request targeting this component, this method is invoked. The implementation must supply the Ajax response.- See Also:
UIBodyWriter.add(String)
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