javax.microedition.lcdui
Class List

java.lang.Object
  |
  +--javax.microedition.lcdui.Displayable
        |
        +--javax.microedition.lcdui.Screen
              |
              +--javax.microedition.lcdui.List

All Implemented Interfaces:

Choice

public class List

extends Screen

implements Choice

The List class is a Screen containing list of choices. Most of the behavior is common with class ChoiceGroup and the common API is defined in interface Choice. When a List is present on the display the user can interact with it indefinitely (for instance, traversing from element to element and possibly scrolling). These traversing and scrolling operations do not cause application-visible events. The system notifies the application when some Command is fired. The notification of the application is done with commandAction .

List, like any Choice, utilizes a dedicated "select" or "go" functionality of the devices. Typically, the select functionality is distinct from the soft-buttons, but some devices may use soft-buttons for the select. In any case, the application does not have a mean to set a label for a select key.

In respect to select functionality here are three types of Lists:

• IMPLICIT where select causes immediate notification of the application if there is a CommandListener registered. The element that has the focus will be selected before any CommandListener for this List is called. An implicit SELECT_COMMAND is a parameter for the notification.
• EXCLUSIVE where select operation changes the selected element in the list. Application is not notified.
• MULTIPLE where select operation toggles the selected state of the focused Element. Application is not notified.

IMPLICIT List can be used to construct menus by placing logical commands to elements. In this case no application defined Commands have to be attached. Application just has to register a CommandListener that is called when user "selects".

Another use might be implementation of a Screen with a default operation that takes place when "select" is pressed. For example, the List may contain email headers, and three operations: read, reply, and delete. Read is consider to be the default operation.

 void initialize() {
     myScreen = new List("EMAIL", List.IMPLICIT);
     readCommand = new Command("read", Command.SCREEN, 1);
     replyCommand = new Command("reply", Command.SCREEN, 1);
     deleteCommand = new Command("delete", Command.SCREEN, 1);
     myScreen.addCommand(readCommand);
     myScreen.addCommand(replyCommand);
     myScreen.addCommand(deleteCommand);
     myScreen.setCommandListener(this);
 }
 

Because the list is of type IMPLICIT, the select operation also calls the method commandAction with parameter SELECT_COMMAND. The implementation of commandAction() can now do the obvious thing and start the read operation:

 public void commandAction (Command c, Displayable d) {
     if (d == myScreen) {
         if (c == readCommand || c == List.SELECT_COMMAND) {
             // show the mail to the user
         }
         // ...
     }
 }
 

It should be noted that this kind of default operation must be used carefully and the usability of the resulting user interface must always kept in mind.

The application can also set the currently selected element(s) prior to displaying the List.

Note: Many of the essential methods have been documented in interface Choice.

Field Summary

static Command

SELECT_COMMAND SELECT_COMMAND is a special command that commandAction can use to recognize the user did the select operation on a IMPLICIT List.

Fields inherited from interface javax.microedition.lcdui.Choice

EXCLUSIVE, IMPLICIT, MULTIPLE

Constructor Summary

List(String title, int listType)
Creates a new, empty List, specifying its title and the type of the list.

List(String title, int listType, String[] stringElements, Image[] imageElements)
Creates a new List, specifying its title, the type of the List, and an array of Strings and Images to be used as its initial contents.

Method Summary

int	append(String stringPart, Image imagePart) Appends an element to the Choice.
void	delete(int elementNum) Deletes the element referenced by elementNum.
Image	getImage(int elementNum) Gets the Image part of the element referenced by elementNum.
int	getSelectedFlags(boolean[] selectedArray_return) Queries the state of a Choice and returns the state of all elements in the boolean array selectedArray_return.
int	getSelectedIndex() Returns the index number of an element in the Choice that is selected.
String	getString(int elementNum) Gets the String part of the element referenced by elementNum.
void	insert(int elementNum, String stringPart, Image imagePart) Inserts an element into the Choice just prior to the element specified.
boolean	isSelected(int elementNum) Gets a boolean value indicating whether this element is selected.
void	set(int elementNum, String stringPart, Image imagePart) Sets the element referenced by elementNum to the specified element, replacing the previous contents of the element.
void	setSelectedFlags(boolean[] selectedArray) Attempts to set the selected state of every element in the Choice.
void	setSelectedIndex(int elementNum, boolean selected) For MULTIPLE, this simply sets an individual element's selected state.
int	size() Gets the number of elements present.

Methods inherited from class javax.microedition.lcdui.Screen

getTicker, getTitle, setTicker, setTitle

Methods inherited from class javax.microedition.lcdui.Displayable

addCommand, isShown, removeCommand, setCommandListener

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

equals, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait

Field Detail

SELECT_COMMAND

public static final Command SELECT_COMMAND

SELECT_COMMAND is a special command that commandAction can use to recognize the user did the select operation on a IMPLICIT List. The field values of SELECT_COMMAND are:
- label = "" (an empty string)
- type = SCREEN
- priority = 0
The application should not use these values for recognizing the SELECT_COMMAND. Instead, object identities of the Command and Displayable (List) should be used.

Constructor Detail

List

public List(String title,
            int listType)

Creates a new, empty List, specifying its title and the type of the list.

Parameters:

title - the screen's title (see Screen)

listType - one of IMPLICIT, EXCLUSIVE, or MULTIPLE

Throws:

IllegalArgumentException - if listType is not one of IMPLICIT, EXCLUSIVE, or MULTIPLE.

See Also:

Choice

List

public List(String title,
            int listType,
            String[] stringElements,
            Image[] imageElements)

Creates a new List, specifying its title, the type of the List, and an array of Strings and Images to be used as its initial contents.

The stringElements array must be non-null and every array element must also be non-null. The length of the stringElements array determines the number of elements in the List. The imageElements array may be null to indicate that the List elements have no images. If the imageElements array is non-null, it must be the same length as the stringElements array. Individual elements of the imageElements array may be null in order to indicate the absence of an image for the corresponding List element. Any elements present in the imageElements array must refer to immutable images.

Parameters:

title - the screen's title (see Screen)

listType - one of IMPLICIT, EXCLUSIVE, or MULTIPLE

stringElements - set of strings specifying the string parts of the List elements

imageElements - set of images specifying the image parts of the List elements

Throws:

NullPointerException - if stringElements is null

NullPointerException - if the stringElements array contains any null elements

IllegalArgumentException - if the imageElements array is non-null and has a different length from the stringElements array

IllegalArgumentException - if listType is not one of IMPLICIT, EXCLUSIVE, or MULTIPLE.

IllegalArgumentException - if any image in the imageElements array is mutable

See Also:

Choice.EXCLUSIVE, Choice.MULTIPLE, Choice.IMPLICIT

Method Detail

size

public int size()

Description copied from interface: Choice

Gets the number of elements present.

Specified by:

size in interface Choice

Returns:

the number of elements in the List

getString

public String getString(int elementNum)

Description copied from interface: Choice

Gets the String part of the element referenced by elementNum. The elementNum parameter must be within the range [0..size()-1], inclusive.

Specified by:

getString in interface Choice

Parameters:

elementNum - the index of the element to be queried

Returns:

the string part of the element

Throws:

IndexOutOfBoundsException - if elementNum is invalid

See Also:

getImage(int)

getImage

public Image getImage(int elementNum)

Description copied from interface: Choice

Gets the Image part of the element referenced by elementNum. The elementNum parameter must be within the range [0..size()-1], inclusive.

Specified by:

getImage in interface Choice

Parameters:

elementNum - the number of the element to be queried

Returns:

the image part of the element, or null if there is no image

Throws:

IndexOutOfBoundsException - if elementNum is invalid

See Also:

getString(int), getString(int)

append

public int append(String stringPart,
                  Image imagePart)

Description copied from interface: Choice

Appends an element to the Choice. The added element will be the last element of the Choice. The size of the Choice grows by one.

Specified by:

append in interface Choice

Parameters:

stringPart - the string part of the element to be added

imagePart - the image part of the element to be added, or null if there is no image part

Returns:

the assigned index of the element

Throws:

IllegalArgumentException - if the image is mutable

NullPointerException - if stringPart is null

insert

public void insert(int elementNum,
                   String stringPart,
                   Image imagePart)

Description copied from interface: Choice

Inserts an element into the Choice just prior to the element specified. The size of the Choice grows by one. The elementNum parameter must be within the range [0..size()], inclusive. The index of the last element is size()-1, and so there is actually no element whose index is size(). If this value is used for elementNum, the new element is inserted immediately after the last element. In this case, the effect is identical to append().

Specified by:

insert in interface Choice

Parameters:

elementNum - the index of the element where insertion is to occur

stringPart - the string part of the element to be inserted

imagePart - the image part of the element to be inserted, or null if there is no image part

Throws:

IndexOutOfBoundsException - if elementNum is invalid

IllegalArgumentException - if the image is mutable

NullPointerException - if stringPart is null

delete

public void delete(int elementNum)

Description copied from interface: Choice

Deletes the element referenced by elementNum. The size of the Choice shrinks by one. It is legal to delete all elements from a Choice. The elementNum parameter must be within the range [0..size()-1], inclusive.

Specified by:

delete in interface Choice

Parameters:

elementNum - the index of the element to be deleted

Throws:

IndexOutOfBoundsException - if elementNum is invalid

set

public void set(int elementNum,
                String stringPart,
                Image imagePart)

Description copied from interface: Choice

Sets the element referenced by elementNum to the specified element, replacing the previous contents of the element. The elementNum parameter must be within the range [0..size()-1], inclusive.

Specified by:

set in interface Choice

Parameters:

elementNum - the index of the element to be set

stringPart - the string part of the new element

imagePart - the image part of the element, or null if there is no image part

Throws:

IndexOutOfBoundsException - if elementNum is invalid

IllegalArgumentException - if the image is mutable

NullPointerException - if stringPart is null

isSelected

public boolean isSelected(int elementNum)

Description copied from interface: Choice

Gets a boolean value indicating whether this element is selected. The elementNum parameter must be within the range [0..size()-1], inclusive.

Specified by:

isSelected in interface Choice

Parameters:

elementNum - index to element to be queried

Returns:

selection state of the element

Throws:

IndexOutOfBoundsException - if elementNum is invalid

getSelectedIndex

public int getSelectedIndex()

Description copied from interface: Choice

Returns the index number of an element in the Choice that is selected. For Choice types EXCLUSIVE and IMPLICIT there is at most one element selected, so this method is useful for determining the user's choice. Returns -1 if the Choice has no elements (and therefore has no selected elements).

For MULTIPLE, this always returns -1 because no single value can in general represent the state of such a Choice. To get the complete state of a MULTIPLE Choice, see getSelectedFlags.

Specified by:

getSelectedIndex in interface Choice

Returns:

index of selected element, or -1 if none

See Also:

setSelectedIndex(int, boolean)

getSelectedFlags

public int getSelectedFlags(boolean[] selectedArray_return)

Description copied from interface: Choice

Queries the state of a Choice and returns the state of all elements in the boolean array selectedArray_return. NOTE: this is a result parameter. It must be at least as long as the size of the Choice as returned by size(). If the array is longer, the extra elements are set to false.

This call is valid for all types of Choices. For MULTIPLE, any number of elements may be selected and set to true in the result array. For EXCLUSIVE and IMPLICIT exactly one element will be selected (unless there are zero elements in the Choice).

Specified by:

getSelectedFlags in interface Choice

Parameters:

selectedArray_return - array to contain the results

Returns:

the number of selected elements

Throws:

IllegalArgumentException - if selectedArray_return is shorter than the size of the List

NullPointerException - if selectedArray_return is null

See Also:

setSelectedFlags(boolean[])

setSelectedIndex

public void setSelectedIndex(int elementNum,
                             boolean selected)

Description copied from interface: Choice

For MULTIPLE, this simply sets an individual element's selected state.

For EXCLUSIVE, this can be used only to select any element, that is, the selected parameter must be true . When an element is selected, the previously selected element is deselected. If selected is false , this call is ignored. If element was already selected, the call has no effect.

For IMPLICIT, this can be used only to select any element, that is, the selected parameter must be true . When an element is selected, the previously selected element is deselected. If selected is false , this call is ignored. If element was already selected, the call has no effect.

The call to setSelectedIndex does not cause implicit activation of any Command.

For all list types, the elementNum parameter must be within the range [0..size()-1], inclusive.

Specified by:

setSelectedIndex in interface Choice

Parameters:

elementNum - the index of the element, starting from zero

selected - the state of the element, where true means selected and false means not selected

Throws:

IndexOutOfBoundsException - if elementNum is invalid

See Also:

getSelectedIndex()

setSelectedFlags

public void setSelectedFlags(boolean[] selectedArray)

Description copied from interface: Choice

Attempts to set the selected state of every element in the Choice. The array must be at least as long as the size of the Choice. If the array is longer, the additional values are ignored.

For Choice objects of type MULTIPLE, this sets the selected state of every element in the Choice. An arbitrary number of elements may be selected.

For Choice objects of type EXCLUSIVE and IMPLICIT, exactly one array element must have the value true. If no element is true, the first element in the Choice will be selected. If two or more elements are true, the implementation will choose the first true element and select it.

Specified by:

setSelectedFlags in interface Choice

Parameters:

selectedArray - an array in which the method collect the selection status

Throws:

IllegalArgumentException - if selectedArray is shorter than the size of the List

NullPointerException - if selectedArray is null

See Also:

getSelectedFlags(boolean[])