#Datapath Controller The controller is the glue by which the view (or UI) queries the model (application state), and is loosely based on Blender's RNA system. UI code doesn't hold references to model objects; instead it holds special special "data paths". Objects in the model are wrapped in a special API that describes all the type information a UI needs (e.g. property types, icon, tooltips, numeric ranges, etc). Simple paths are used to lookup data in the model (e.g. obj.property.something[bleh]).

Blender's RNA was originally created to provide one wrapper API that could power Blender's UI, scripting, and animation systems.

simple_controller.js

See DataAPI.

Type-In-Place API

Originally path.ux was designed to strictly separate the code that wraps model object from the code that builds UIs. A new API that does both is in the works.

Object Wrapping Example

    //our test class we want to wrap
    class Thing {
      constructor(name, id, location, opacity) {
        this.name = name; //str
        this.id = id; //int
        this.location = location; //enumeration
        this.opacity = opacity; //float
      }
    }

    //enumeration for .location member
    const LocationEnum = {
      LIVING_ROOM : 0,
      BEDROOM : 1,
      DRIVEWAY : 2
    };

    import {DataAPI} from 'simple_controller.js';

    export api = new DataAPI();

    //create a structure mapping to Thing
    let st = api.mapStruct(Thing);

    //define properties and their types
    //these all have the prototype (membername, apiname, ui_name, description)

    st.string("name", "name", "Name", "Name of thing");
    st.int("id", "id", "ID", "Unique ID of thing");
    st.enum("location", "location", "Location", "Location of thing").icons({
      LIVING_ROOM : [some icon id],
      BEDROOM : [some icon id],
      DRIVEWAY : [some icon id],
    });
    st.float("opacity", "opacity", "Opacity", "Transparency of thing").range(0, 1);