Custom components that accept multiple data types

Question

The components that come with Flex, such as Datagrid, can
accept
multiple data types as a data source. For instance, you can
bind a
Datagrid to XML return from an HTTPService request or you can
build an
array and bind to that. I'd like to build my own component
that does
something similar, but I can't find any examples of this. I
don't
really even know what terms I'd search under to find it.
Can anyone out there give me any idea of how this is done?
Also, I'm a
bit hazy on how the column definitions you set up in the MXML
tag get
received inside the class. I'd appreciate any insight on how
this
works.
Thanks;
Amy

Answer 1

"Amy Blankenship *AdobeCommunityExpert*"
<[email protected]>
wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> "rvollmar" <[email protected]> wrote in
message
> news:[email protected]...
>> For the second part of your post, are you asking how
to set up columns in
>> ActionScript? e.g.
>>
>> private function setColumnConfig1(dg:DataGrid):void{
>> colArray = new Array();
>> var col1:DataGridColumn = new DataGridColumn();
>> var col2:DataGridColumn = new DataGridColumn();
>> var col3:DataGridColumn = new DataGridColumn();
>> var col4:DataGridColumn = new DataGridColumn();
>> var col5:DataGridColumn = new DataGridColumn();
>> var col6:DataGridColumn = new DataGridColumn();
>>
>> col1.dataField = "recordName";
>> col2.dataField = "image";
>> col3.dataField = "recordAmount";
>> col4.dataField = "who";
>> col5.dataField = "where";
>> col6.dataField = "when";
>>
>> col2.itemRenderer = application.ImageRenderer;
>>
>> colArray.push(col1);
>> colArray.push(col2);
>> colArray.push(col3);
>> colArray.push(col4);
>> colArray.push(col5);
>> colArray.push(col6);
>>
>> dg.columns = colArray;
>> }
>>
>> Or were you wondering, when one writes this in mxml:
>>
>> <mx:columns>
>> <mx:DataGridColumn ...>
>> ...
>> </mx:columns>
>>
>> how do you then have the control use that
information?
>
> The latter. But the fact is that I was misreading the
example I was
> looking at.
>
> <?xml version="1.0"?>
> <!-- dpcontrols/DataGridSimpleAttributes.mxml -->
> <mx:Application xmlns:mx="
http://www.adobe.com/2006/mxml">
> <mx:DataGrid>
> <mx:ArrayCollection>
> <mx:Object Artist="Pavement"
> Album="Slanted and Enchanted" Price="11.99" />
> <mx:Object Artist="Pavement"
> Album="Brighten the Corners" Price="11.99" />
> </mx:ArrayCollection>
> </mx:DataGrid>
> </mx:Application>
> I was thinking the ArrayCollection was going to the
columns, but of course
> it is the dataProvider. Am I right in thinking that
internally the
> control has a defaultProperty metatag that enables the
contents of the
> parent DataGrid tag to just come in and populate the
dataProvider through
> PFM?Thanks;Amy
OK, I have looked at the source file, and it looks like the
[DefaultProperty] metatdata tag is at least not used in the
ListBase.as
class. So I am guessing it is either higher or lower in the
heirarchy...?
-Amy