tapestry-core/src/main/java/org/apache/tapestry5/annotations/OnEvent.java

// Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008 The Apache Software Foundation
//
// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
// You may obtain a copy of the License at
//
//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
//
// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
// limitations under the License.

package org.apache.tapestry5.annotations;

import org.apache.tapestry5.EventConstants;

import java.lang.annotation.Documented;
import java.lang.annotation.ElementType;
import java.lang.annotation.Retention;
import static java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME;
import java.lang.annotation.Target;

/**
 * Marks a method as a handler for a client side event. The handler method will be invoked when a component triggers an
 * event. Filters on the type of event and on the originating component ensure that only the appropriate methods are
 * invoked.
 * <p/>
 * Client events include a <em>context</em> of one or more values. These context values are included in the action URI.
 * The values are optionally supplied to the handler method as parameters. Automatic {@linkplain
 * org.apache.tapestry5.ValueEncoder conversion} from string to the type of the actual parameter occur.
 * <p/>
 * Handlers may return a value. Returning a non-null value will abort the handling of the event, and will usually
 * control the response sent to the client web browser. The details are somewhat specific to the type of event and the
 * component involved.
 * <p/>
 * If a handler is not found within the originating component (or no handler aborts the event handling), then handlers
 * within the containing component will be searched. This continues up the page hierarchy. In some cases, having no
 * handlers (or no aborting handlers) is considered acceptible; in others, it is an error. Again, this is defined by the
 * type of originating component, and the type of event.
 * <p/>
 * <strong>If you fail to provide filters on either component or event type, then your method will be invoked for all
 * component events, possibly including events that bubble up from embedded sub-components. </strong>
 */
@Target(ElementType.METHOD)
@Retention(RUNTIME)
@Documented
public @interface OnEvent
{

    /**
     * The event type to match. The handler will only be invoked if the client event type matches the value. The default
     * value is "action".  Matching is case-insensitive.
     *
     * @see org.apache.tapestry5.EventConstants
     */
    String value() default EventConstants.ACTION;

    /**
     * The local id of the component from which the event originates. If not specified, then the default is to match any
     * component. If an event from a component is not handled in the component's container, it is re-triggered inside
     * the component's grand-container and will appear to originate from the container. Thus events that escape a
     * component will appear to originate in the component's container, and so forth.
     * <p/>
     * <p/>
     * Matching by component id is case insensitive.
     */
    String component() default "";

}