1 Introduction

What's in PowerPlant Advanced Topics

What's New in PowerPlant Advanced Topics

What You Should Know

Chapter Organization

Starting Points

2 Debugging in PowerPlant

Introduction to Debugging in PowerPlant

Debugging Strategy

Debugging Classes

LDebugMenuAttachment

LDebugStream

LCommanderTree

LPaneTree

LHeapAction

UHeapUtils

UMemoryEater

UDebugUtils

UDebugNew

UProcess

UVolume

UValidPPob

Debugging Macros

Debugging PowerPlant Projects

Configuring Your Project

Adding the Classes

Installing the Menu

Customizing the Debugging Classes

Summary of Debugging in PowerPlant

Debugging Code Exercise

Where To Go From Here

3 Threads in PowerPlant

Introduction to Threads in PowerPlant

The Thread Strategy

Thread States

Semaphores

Inter-Thread Communication

Thread Classes

LThread

LSimpleThread

UMainThread

LYieldAttachment

LSemaphore

LEventSemaphore

LMutexSemaphore

StMutex

StCritical

LLink

LQueue

LSharedQueue

Implementing Threads in PowerPlant

Initializing Threads

Creating Threads

Running a Thread

Modifying Thread State

Deleting Threads

Data Coherency

Criticality

Context Switching

Using Semaphores

Inter-Thread Communication

Asynchronous Operations

Summary of Threads in PowerPlant

Code Exercise for Threads

4 Networking in PowerPlant

Introduction to Networking in PowerPlant

Where to Learn More About Networking

Software Requirements

Networking Strategy

Generic Network Interface

Other Classes

Strategic Summary

Networking Classes

UNetworkFactory

LInternetAddress

LTCPEndpoint

LUDPEndpoint

Implementing a Network-Savvy Application

Creating a Client

Obtaining an Address

Creating a Client Endpoint

Binding to a Local Port

Connecting to a Server

Sending Data

Receiving Data

Disconnecting from a Server

Handling a Disconnect Request

Creating a Server

Listening for Incoming Connections

Responding to Incoming Connections

Implementing Threads

Connectionless Datagram Communications

Summary of Networking in PowerPlant

Code Exercise for Networking

SimpleClient

SimpleServer

5 Internet Programming in PowerPlant

Introduction to Internet Programming in PowerPlant

Where to Learn More About Internet Protocols

Software Requirements

Internet Programming Strategy

Generic Internet Protocol Interface

Specific Internet Protocol Interfaces

Internet Messages

General Utilities

Strategic Summary

Internet Classes

LInternetProtocol

LInternetResponse

LInternetMessage

Internet Class Utilities

Implementing an Internet Enabled Application

Choosing a Protocol

Creating a Protocol Client

Preparing Content

Addressing the Remote Computer

Creating the Protocol Thread

Creating a Connection

Sending Content to a Server

Receiving Responses From a Server

Listening For Progress Messages

Closing Down a Connection

Handling Abnormal Conditions

Summary of Internet Protocol Usage in PowerPlant

Code Exercise

6 Tables in PowerPlant

Introduction to Tables in PowerPlant

Table Strategy

Table Architecture

General Table Implementation

Table Classes

STableCell

LTableView

LColumnView

LTextColumn

LSmallIconTable

LHierarchyTable

LTextHierTable

LTableGeometry

LTableMonoGeometry

LTableMultiGeometry

LTableSelector

LTableSingleSelector

LTableMultiSelector

LTableStorage

LTableArrayStorage

LCollapsableTree

LNodeArrayTree

LDropFlag

Implementing Tables in PowerPlant

Creating a Table

Managing Rows and Columns

Setting Cell Data

Getting Cell Data

Handling Clicks in a Cell

Responding to Selections

Drawing a Cell

Finding Cells

Finding Data in a Table

Scrolling a Table

Summary of Tables in PowerPlant

Code Exercise for Tables

7 Apple Events in PowerPlant

Introduction to Apple Events in PowerPlant

Where to Learn More About Apple Events

Apple Event Strategy

Apple Event Classes

LModelObject

LModelDirector

LModelProperty

UExtractFromAEDesc

StAEDescriptor

UAEDesc

UAppleEventsMgr

Apple Event Resources

The `aete' Resource

The `aedt' Resource

Editing Apple Event Resources

Implementing Apple Events in PowerPlant

Adding Classes

Adding Properties

Adding Custom Apple Events

Beyond the Basics

Code Exercise for Apple Events

Edit Apple Event Resources

Create a Model Object in the Application

Add Model Properties to the Class

Add a Custom Event to the Application

Improve HandleCreateElementEvent()

8 Actions in PowerPlant

Introduction to Actions in PowerPlant

The Undo Strategy

Action Classes

LCommander

LAction

LUndoer

LTETextAction

Implementing Undo in PowerPlant

Create Action Classes

Attach an Undoer

Post an Action

Implement Multilevel Undo

Summary of Undo in PowerPlant

Code Exercise for Actions

9 Drag and Drop in PowerPlant

Introduction to Drag and Drop in PowerPlant

Drag and Drop Strategy

Drag and Drop Classes

LDragTask

LDropArea

LDragAndDrop

Implementing Drag and Drop in PowerPlant

Looking for the Drag Manager

Handling Clicks

Identifying a Drag

Creating a Drag Task

Tracking a Drag

Receiving a Drop

Providing Custom Drag Behavior

Summary of Drag and Drop in PowerPlant

Code Exercise for Drag and Drop

10 Offscreen Drawing in PowerPlant

Introduction to Offscreen Drawing in PowerPlant

Offscreen Drawing Strategy

Offscreen Drawing Classes

LGWorld

StOffscreenGWorld

LOffscreenView

Implementing Offscreen Drawing in PowerPlant

Using LOffscreenView

Using StOffscreenGWorld Directly

Using LGWorld

Code Exercise for Offscreen Drawing

Index