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AW: AW: [platform-ui-dev] Difference between Action and Command

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Cu, Gunnar

	-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- 
	Von: Joseph Khalil [mailto:jkhalil@xxxxxxxxxx] 
	Gesendet: Do 07.08.2003 08:40 
	An: platform-ui-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx 
	Cc: 
	Betreff: Re: AW: [platform-ui-dev] Difference between Action and Command
	
	


	I believe that's the best practice
	We can call it "Common Command framework" , and i believe that the EMF
	command framework can be this common command framework , because it's
	generic and does not depened on the EMF technology (does not depened on the
	EMF models)
	
	Best regards,
	Joseph G.M. Khalil
	Software Engineer
	Business Integration Product Development
	Cairo Technology Development Center (TDC)
	-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	
	IBM Egypt
	Address: 72 Gameat Al-Dowal Al-Arabia St., Fifth Floor, Mohandesseen, Giza
	12311, Egypt
	Phone:    +202 761-7394
	        +202 761-7392
	        +202 761-7393, Ext.123
	Email:jkhalil@xxxxxxxxxx
	-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	
	
	                                                                                                                      
	                      "Gunnar Wagenknecht"                                                                            
	                      <G.Wagenknecht@Planet-Wage        To:       <platform-ui-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx>                       
	                      nknecht.de>                       cc:                                                           
	                      Sent by:                          Subject:  AW: [platform-ui-dev] Difference between Action and 
	                      platform-ui-dev-admin@ecli         Command                                                      
	                      pse.org                                                                                         
	                                                                                                                      
	                                                                                                                      
	                      07-08-2003 14:51                                                                                
	                      Please respond to                                                                               
	                      platform-ui-dev                                                                                 
	                                                                                                                      
	                                                                                                                      
	
	
	
	
	Well I think the GEF team is not thinking of this but this is off-topic
	here.
	
	You can't use the Command framework from GEF or EMF here because the
	Eclipse platform can't depend on such specialized technology (EMF or GEF).
	The only possible solution is to create a new and complete undo/redo
	command framework integrated into the Eclipse platform, which can be reused
	by EMF and GEF. That means at least new package names ;)
	
	Cu, Gunnar
	
	      -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
	      Von: Joseph Khalil [mailto:jkhalil@xxxxxxxxxx]
	      Gesendet: Do 07.08.2003 06:45
	      An: platform-ui-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx
	      Cc:
	      Betreff: Re: [platform-ui-dev] Difference between Action and Command
	
	
	
	
	      Hi eclipse dev. team
	
	      I just want to mark something about the command framework
	      Please use the EMF command framework and not to invent your own
	command
	      framework
	      This problem already exists in GEF because they have their own
	command
	      framework , and they are thinking of moving to the EMF command
	framework in
	      the future.
	      so , please don't do the same mistake GEF did in the past
	
	
	      Best regards,
	      Joseph G.M. Khalil
	      Software Engineer
	      Business Integration Product Development
	      Cairo Technology Development Center (TDC)
	
	-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	
	
	      IBM Egypt
	      Address: 72 Gameat Al-Dowal Al-Arabia St., Fifth Floor, Mohandesseen,
	Giza
	      12311, Egypt
	      Phone:    +202 761-7394
	              +202 761-7392
	              +202 761-7393, Ext.123
	      Email:jkhalil@xxxxxxxxxx
	
	-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	
	
	
	
	                            Chris
	                            McLaren/Ottawa/IBM@IBM        To:
	platform-ui-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx
	                            CA                            cc:
	                            Sent by:                      Subject:  Re:
	[platform-ui-dev] Difference between Action and
	                            platform-ui-dev-admin@         Command
	                            eclipse.org
	
	
	                            06-08-2003 22:11
	                            Please respond to
	                            platform-ui-dev
	
	
	
	
	
	      yes. the command is just that: a classification id for a group of
	      semantically related actions. you are dead on that the name,
	description,
	      etc. was added to commands initially (solely, right now, in fact) to
	      support the key bindings preference page. as i mentioned, i'd like to
	see
	      these names and descriptions eventually being used other places as
	well,
	      like menus and toolbars for instance. i like the wording that a
	command
	      'identifies a common class of actions'.
	
	      as for scott's definition of 'action' (i think influenced by swing),
	      scott's 'action name' is equivalent to command ids. we build the
	      equivalent of swing's 'input map' by each plugin contributing
	keybindings
	      for command ids via the commands extension point. the equivalent of
	      swing's 'action map' is the workbench choosing the proper action for
	a
	      command. (which is basically 'retargeting')
	
	      the difference between swing and this mechanism is that we will
	probably
	      put commands on menus and toolbars rather than actions. this will
	decouple
	      menus and toolbars from actions in a way that swing cannot. which
	makes me
	      wonder if the word 'action' is too confusing, considering swing
	user's
	      think of it as the thing put on the menus and toolbars themselves.
	perhaps
	      'handler' might be a less confusing word than 'action'.?
	
	      also, back to undo/redo, i would expect that in an undo/redo
	mechanism, it
	      is the particular action itself that would choose to place undo
	objects on
	      an undo stack following execution. only the particular action knows
	how to
	      undo itself. that's why i felt undo/redo was really a side topic to
	this
	      notion of commands, but i agree the terminology is confusing here as
	well,
	      as this 'undo object' that an action would add to an undo stack is
	often
	      known as a 'command'.
	
	      as the commands extension point was put in in 2.1, it looks like that
	is
	      the only use of the term that is unchangable right now.
	
	      chris.
	
	
	
	
	
	      Randy Hudson/Raleigh/IBM@IBMUS
	      Sent by: platform-ui-dev-admin@xxxxxxxxxxx
	      08/06/2003 02:32 PM
	      Please respond to platform-ui-dev
	
	
	              To:     platform-ui-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx
	              cc:
	              Subject:        Re: [platform-ui-dev] Difference between
	Action and
	      Command
	
	
	
	
	      Sorry, I was a little confused and thought some new concept was
	brewing.
	
	      To clarify, a "command" is not an interface or java type anywhere,
	just an
	      extension point.  In fact, it is nothing but an Action descriptor ID,
	      which is later used to identify a common "class" of Actions.  But,
	since
	      the keybindings preference page needs a way to
	label/categorize/configure
	      the keybindings, there are a few more properties for a command
	extension
	      point.
	
	      Perhaps "Action Class" (meaning some group of related actions) is a
	term
	      which would help people understand commands as they are used here.
	
	      Sorry for the mix-up.  It looks like eclipse.core has another meaning
	for
	      Command too ;-)
	
	      -Randy
	
	
	
	
	      "Chris McLaren" <Chris_McLaren@xxxxxxxxxx>
	      Sent by: platform-ui-dev-admin@xxxxxxxxxxx
	      08/06/2003 02:01 PM
	      Please respond to platform-ui-dev
	
	              To:        platform-ui-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx
	              cc:
	              Subject:        Re: [platform-ui-dev] Difference between
	Action
	      and Command
	
	
	
	      The definitions are close. The term 'command', introduced in 2.1 as
	part
	      of the commands extension point, is used to describe a request from a
	      user. I define an 'action' as the object which executes a command.
	
	      This distinction means:
	
	      1. Commands have unique ids, names (used in menu labels, etc),
	      descriptions (used in tooltips), help ids.
	      2. Commands can have keybindings assigned to them.
	      3. Commands can be bound to particular contexts.
	      4. Commands can have various images bound to them (for use in menus
	and
	      toolbars)
	      5. Commands, via the context mechanism, decide whether or not it
	should be
	
	      visible in the menus or toolbars.
	      6. Actions do the actual work for a command. Based on the active
	part,
	      perspective, etc, the workbench chooses the best action to which to
	      delegate the actual execution of the command.
	      7. The action that the workbench has chosen decides whether it is
	enabled
	      or not ('can be executed'), and affects the enabled state where
	commands
	      appear on menus and toolbars.
	      8. The action can optionally override the name, description, or help
	id to
	
	      provide more specific information than the command itself usually
	provides
	
	      in those places in the UI which accept these overrides, such as the
	menus
	      and toolbars. e.g. The current action for 'Copy' might override the
	name
	      to 'Copy Image', but should not override it to say 'Cut'. Other parts
	of
	      the UI would always use the proper name of the command. e.g. the
	names and
	
	      descriptions of the commands as presented in the keybindings UI
	should not
	
	      use any overridden names or descriptions provided by the current
	actions,
	      if any.
	
	      When I say 'command-centric' I'm thinking the following ideas:
	
	      1. That perhaps menus and toolbars should be explicitly defined in
	terms
	      of commands. Rather than have the action specify a menu or toolbar
	path,
	      the command should be bound to particular menus and toolbars, and the
	      action should only worry about handling command execution when it is
	      asked. I am currently exploring a 'menus' extension point to
	explicity
	      define reusable and compositable menus in terms of commands.
	      2. Keybindings and other means of command execution (i.e.
	scripting..)
	      should only be concerned with the command itself and not the action.
	
	      As far any naming confusion with an undo/redo mechanism, I'm not so
	      concerned. Perhaps we will see that ideas are one in the same when
	the
	      time comes to add a proper undo/redo stack to eclipse. The primary
	goal
	      right now is to unwind some of the more tangled knots in the current
	      action architecture. I am working on a 'Commands' proposal now, as
	well as
	
	      perhaps as separate proposal for a 'menus' extension point which
	should
	      help here.
	
	      Chris
	
	
	
	
	
	
	      Randy Hudson/Raleigh/IBM@IBMUS
	      Sent by: platform-ui-dev-admin@xxxxxxxxxxx
	      08/06/2003 01:21 PM
	      Please respond to platform-ui-dev
	
	
	             To:     platform-ui-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx
	             cc:
	             Subject:        [platform-ui-dev] Difference between Action
	and
	      Command
	
	
	
	
	      In the recently announced "contexts" proposal:
	      "As Eclipse moves from an action-centric model to command-centric
	model,
	      action sets would disappear entirely"
	
	      To me "action" and "command" are the same thing.  What is the
	difference
	      here between a command and an action?  Where can I read more on the
	new
	      "command" stuff?
	      Won't this be confusing since the term "command" is widely used to
	mean a
	      change which can be undone and redone?  There is also a bugzilla open
	      tracking the proposal to add undo/redo to the workbench.
	
	      -Randy
	
	
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