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ControlBase Class Reference

#include <ControlBase.h>

Inheritance diagram for ControlBase:

List of all members.


Detailed Description

Base class for all items in the Controller hierarchy.

These are similar to behaviors in that they can do processing and are told when to start and stop.

However, the important difference is that these have to follow a much tighter set of guidelines for a more refined purpose - user interface. Controls do not directly receive events - the Controller will process events for them and call the appropriate functions at the appropriate times. Controls are expected to fit into a heirarchical scheme, where each control (except the root) has a parent which created it, and may return its own children where appropriate.

Controls can be very powerful, and a class can be both a behavior and a control. This allows integrated user interface to controlling a complex behavior. Some controls may simply need EventListener access instead to perform a few tricks. Mix and match as you see fit. (multiple inheritance can be nice if it's planned for, as these have been)

This base class will do most of the work of maintaining submenus for you, and will call appropriate virtual functions which you are expected to override. Controls generally live in Behaviors/Controls/ as the Controller itself is a behavior, and these controls merely its tools.

The ControlBase pointers which are returned at various points are the responsibility of the creator. Controller will not delete them upon deactivation.

GUI Theory:
There are 3 levels to the user interface.

  1. Robot/Local: Uses the buttons for input, and LEDs and sounds for immediate feedback. No external resources needed
  2. Text: Uses a console to display/request information.
  3. GUI: Uses a graphical interface on a desktop machine

Obviously, higher levels require more technological resources, which also means there's more to go wrong and debug. However, another important distinction between the first level and the others is that the first level does not require the user to lose direct contact with the robot. Requiring the user to move back and forth from robot to computer can be much more frustrating than decoding LED signals or press head buttons. There are also safety issues when triggering behaviors remotely if the robot is out of immediate reach. But of course, having a GUI and text output is extremely valuable in terms of ease of use and efficiency.

So, the lesson is to try to support all 3 levels so that your interfaces will be robust and efficient in a variety of environments. You'll thank yourself when you're demoing on the road and you can't get wavelan up, or the guest machine you're supposed to use doesn't have Java, or whatever.

Todo:
ControlBase's should use ReferenceCounter so memory management is not an issue
See also:
Controller, NullControl

Definition at line 65 of file ControlBase.h.


Public Member Functions

Constructors/Destructors
 ControlBase ()
 Contructor.
 ControlBase (const std::string &n)
 Contructor, initializes with a name.
 ControlBase (const std::string &n, const std::string &d)
 Contructor, initializes with a name.
virtual ~ControlBase ()
 Destructor.
Controller Functions
You probably want to override some of these, call the ControlBase functions from your code if you want default sound effects (or look in Config::controller_config).

virtual ControlBaseactivate (MotionManager::MC_ID disp_id, Socket *gui)
 Called when the control is activated (or the control system is reactivating).
virtual void pause ()
 called when a control is being overriden by a child, or the control system is deactivating (e-stop being turned off)
virtual void refresh ()
 called when the child has deactivated and this control should refresh its display, or some other event (such as the user pressing the refresh button) has happened to cause a refresh to be needed
virtual void deactivate ()
 called when this control is being popped from the control stack
virtual ControlBasedoSelect ()
 when the user has trigger an "open selection" - default is to return the hilighted control*/
virtual ControlBasedoNextItem ()
 when the user wants to increment the control - default is to hilight the first non-null slot after the last hilight, and return this
virtual ControlBasedoPrevItem ()
 when the user wants to decrement the control - default is to hilight the last non-null slot before the first hilight, and return this
virtual ControlBasedoCancel ()
 when the user wants to cancel - you should almost always return NULL now unless you need to override the cancel in order to confirm something (e.g. "Save changes?")
virtual ControlBasedoReadStdIn (const std::string &prompt=std::string())
 prompt the user for text input on the current input device (cin, tekkotsu console (sout), or GUI)
virtual ControlBasetakeInput (const std::string &msg)
 called when the user has supplied a text string (may or may not have been prompted by doReadStdIn()! May not even be active yet - the user can direct the same input to a set of hilighted menus)
virtual bool validInput (const std::string &msg)
 may be called before takeInput to verify this Control can make sense of msg
Accessors
virtual ControlBasesetName (const std::string &n)
 sets the name of the control
virtual std::string getName () const
 returns the name of the control
virtual ControlBasesetDescription (const std::string d)
 sets the description of the control
virtual std::string getDescription () const
 returns a short description of what the control does
virtual const std::vector
< ControlBase * > & 
getSlots () const
 returns the vector of sub-controls
virtual std::string getSlotName (unsigned int i) const
 returns the string that will appear in slot i
virtual unsigned int slotsSize () const
 returns the number of options available
virtual void setSlot (unsigned int i, ControlBase *o)
 sets i'th element of options to o
virtual void pushSlot (ControlBase *o)
 sets next unused element of options to o
virtual void clearSlots ()
 deletes each slot item and clears the slots
virtual const std::vector
< unsigned int > & 
getHilights () const
 returns a vector of the indicies of hilighted slots
virtual void setHilights (const std::vector< unsigned int > &hi)
 sets the hilighted slots
virtual void hilightFirst ()
 sets the hilight to the first non-null slot
virtual MotionManager::MC_ID getDisplay ()
 returns display being used
virtual ControlBasesetDisplay (MotionManager::MC_ID d)
 sets display to use

Protected Member Functions

virtual void clearMenu ()
 clears the display (if use_VT100 is on)
virtual ControlBaseinvalidInput (const std::string &msg, bool ambiguous)
 called by takeInput if the input doesn't match any slots or matches multiple slots -- the ControlBase implementation displays an error and returns itself
float hilightsAvg () const
 returns the average of the hilighted indicies - used to know to play the "next" sound, or the "prev" sound when the hilight changes

Protected Attributes

std::string name
 the name of this control
std::string description
 the description of this control
std::vector< unsigned int > hilights
 keep sorted - index(es) of current selection - can have multiple if using GUI
std::vector< ControlBase * > options
 vector of controls to select from
bool doRewrite
 toggles using VT100 codes to reposition the cursor at the beginning of the menu
MotionManager::MC_ID display_id
 LedMC to use for displaying selection.
Socketgui_comm
 socket to communicate with the GUI, if it is connected

Private Member Functions

 ControlBase (const ControlBase &)
 you can override, but don't call this...
ControlBaseoperator= (const ControlBase &)
 you can override, but don't call this...

Constructor & Destructor Documentation

ControlBase::ControlBase (  )  [inline]

ControlBase::ControlBase ( const std::string &  n  )  [inline]

Contructor, initializes with a name.

Definition at line 71 of file ControlBase.h.

ControlBase::ControlBase ( const std::string &  n,
const std::string &  d 
) [inline]

Contructor, initializes with a name.

Definition at line 72 of file ControlBase.h.

virtual ControlBase::~ControlBase (  )  [inline, virtual]

Destructor.

Definition at line 75 of file ControlBase.h.

ControlBase::ControlBase ( const ControlBase  )  [private]

you can override, but don't call this...


Member Function Documentation

ControlBase * ControlBase::activate ( MotionManager::MC_ID  disp_id,
Socket gui 
) [virtual]

Called when the control is activated (or the control system is reactivating).

Takes the id number of a LedMC which the control should use, maintained by Controller. Controls share the display which is passed, and may use the socket gui to communicate with the GUI controller, if it is connected.

Returns:
a ControlBase pointer. Return:
  • this if the control should stay active (if it's not a one-shot command)
  • NULL to return to parent
  • other address to spawn a child control

Reimplemented in BatteryCheckControl, BehaviorActivatorControl, BehaviorReportControl, BehaviorSwitchActivatorControl, BehaviorSwitchControlBase, FileBrowserControl, HelpControl, NullControl, PostureEditor, ProfilerCheckControl, RebootControl, ShutdownControl, SimulatorAdvanceFrameControl, ToggleControl, TorqueCalibrate::TakeMeasurementControl, ValueEditControl< T >, WalkCalibration, and WaypointWalkControl.

Definition at line 10 of file ControlBase.cc.

Referenced by WaypointWalkControl::activate(), WalkCalibration::activate(), ValueEditControl< T >::activate(), TorqueCalibrate::TakeMeasurementControl::activate(), PostureEditor::activate(), FileBrowserControl::activate(), BehaviorSwitchControlBase::activate(), and BatteryCheckControl::activate().

void ControlBase::pause (  )  [virtual]

called when a control is being overriden by a child, or the control system is deactivating (e-stop being turned off)

Reimplemented in BatteryCheckControl, NetworkStatusControl, PostureEditor, SensorObserverControl::RTViewControl, and ValueEditControl< T >.

Definition at line 18 of file ControlBase.cc.

Referenced by WaypointWalkControl::doSelect(), ValueEditControl< T >::pause(), SensorObserverControl::RTViewControl::pause(), PostureEditor::pause(), and NetworkStatusControl::pause().

ControlBase * ControlBase::doNextItem (  )  [virtual]

when the user wants to increment the control - default is to hilight the first non-null slot after the last hilight, and return this

The value which is returned is then activate()ed and pushed on the Controller's stack, so you probably want to return this

Reimplemented in NullControl, and ValueEditControl< T >.

Definition at line 149 of file ControlBase.cc.

ControlBase * ControlBase::doPrevItem (  )  [virtual]

when the user wants to decrement the control - default is to hilight the last non-null slot before the first hilight, and return this

The value which is returned is then activate()ed and pushed on the Controller's stack, so you probably want to return this

Reimplemented in NullControl, and ValueEditControl< T >.

Definition at line 167 of file ControlBase.cc.

ControlBase * ControlBase::doCancel (  )  [virtual]

when the user wants to cancel - you should almost always return NULL now unless you need to override the cancel in order to confirm something (e.g. "Save changes?")

The value which is returned is then activate()ed and pushed on the Controller's stack, you probably want to return NULL

Definition at line 185 of file ControlBase.cc.

ControlBase * ControlBase::doReadStdIn ( const std::string &  prompt = std::string()  )  [virtual]

prompt the user for text input on the current input device (cin, tekkotsu console (sout), or GUI)

The value which is returned is then activate()ed and pushed on the Controller's stack, so you probably want to return this

Reimplemented in NullControl, and StringInputControl.

Definition at line 191 of file ControlBase.cc.

Referenced by StringInputControl::doReadStdIn(), WalkCalibration::processEvent(), and WalkCalibration::takeInput().

ControlBase * ControlBase::takeInput ( const std::string &  msg  )  [virtual]

called when the user has supplied a text string (may or may not have been prompted by doReadStdIn()! May not even be active yet - the user can direct the same input to a set of hilighted menus)

The value which is returned is then activate()ed and pushed on the Controller's stack

Reimplemented in BehaviorSwitchControlBase, FileBrowserControl, NullControl, SavePostureControl, SaveWalkControl, StringInputControl, TorqueCalibrate::TakeMeasurementControl, ValueEditControl< T >, and WalkCalibration.

Definition at line 222 of file ControlBase.cc.

Referenced by doReadStdIn(), Controller::select(), WalkCalibration::takeInput(), NullControl::takeInput(), FileBrowserControl::takeInput(), BehaviorSwitchControlBase::takeInput(), and Controller::takeLine().

bool ControlBase::validInput ( const std::string &  msg  )  [virtual]

may be called before takeInput to verify this Control can make sense of msg

Definition at line 333 of file ControlBase.cc.

virtual ControlBase& ControlBase::setName ( const std::string &  n  )  [inline, virtual]

virtual ControlBase& ControlBase::setDescription ( const std::string  d  )  [inline, virtual]

sets the description of the control

Definition at line 122 of file ControlBase.h.

Referenced by WaypointWalkControl::doSelect(), and TorqueCalibrate::refresh().

virtual std::string ControlBase::getDescription (  )  const [inline, virtual]

virtual const std::vector<ControlBase*>& ControlBase::getSlots (  )  const [inline, virtual]

returns the vector of sub-controls

Definition at line 125 of file ControlBase.h.

Referenced by SensorObserverControl::processEvent(), HelpControl::report(), Controller::select(), and SensorObserverControl::updateRT().

std::string ControlBase::getSlotName ( unsigned int  i  )  const [virtual]

returns the string that will appear in slot i

Definition at line 338 of file ControlBase.cc.

Referenced by refresh().

virtual unsigned int ControlBase::slotsSize (  )  const [inline, virtual]

void ControlBase::setSlot ( unsigned int  i,
ControlBase o 
) [virtual]

sets i'th element of options to o

Definition at line 346 of file ControlBase.cc.

virtual const std::vector<unsigned int>& ControlBase::getHilights (  )  const [inline, virtual]

returns a vector of the indicies of hilighted slots

Definition at line 132 of file ControlBase.h.

void ControlBase::setHilights ( const std::vector< unsigned int > &  hi  )  [virtual]

void ControlBase::hilightFirst (  )  [virtual]

sets the hilight to the first non-null slot

Reimplemented in WalkCalibration.

Definition at line 379 of file ControlBase.cc.

Referenced by activate(), and WalkCalibration::hilightFirst().

virtual MotionManager::MC_ID ControlBase::getDisplay (  )  [inline, virtual]

returns display being used

Definition at line 136 of file ControlBase.h.

virtual ControlBase& ControlBase::setDisplay ( MotionManager::MC_ID  d  )  [inline, virtual]

sets display to use

Definition at line 137 of file ControlBase.h.

void ControlBase::clearMenu (  )  [protected, virtual]

clears the display (if use_VT100 is on)

Definition at line 389 of file ControlBase.cc.

Referenced by deactivate(), doSelect(), refresh(), and takeInput().

ControlBase * ControlBase::invalidInput ( const std::string &  msg,
bool  ambiguous 
) [protected, virtual]

called by takeInput if the input doesn't match any slots or matches multiple slots -- the ControlBase implementation displays an error and returns itself

Parameters:
msg the input originally sent to takeInput()
ambiguous true if the input matched more than one item, false if it didn't match any

Reimplemented in FileInputControl.

Definition at line 396 of file ControlBase.cc.

Referenced by FileInputControl::invalidInput(), and takeInput().

float ControlBase::hilightsAvg (  )  const [protected]

returns the average of the hilighted indicies - used to know to play the "next" sound, or the "prev" sound when the hilight changes

Definition at line 405 of file ControlBase.cc.

Referenced by setHilights().

ControlBase& ControlBase::operator= ( const ControlBase  )  [private]

you can override, but don't call this...

Referenced by ValueSetControl< T >::operator=(), and ValueEditControl< T >::operator=().


Member Data Documentation

std::string ControlBase::description [protected]

the description of this control

Definition at line 155 of file ControlBase.h.

Referenced by getDescription(), and setDescription().

bool ControlBase::doRewrite [protected]

toggles using VT100 codes to reposition the cursor at the beginning of the menu

we don't always want to do this, any time someone else might have written to the display we set this to false so we don't overwrite it.

Definition at line 158 of file ControlBase.h.

Referenced by deactivate(), doSelect(), pause(), refresh(), DumpFileControl::selectedFile(), and takeInput().


The documentation for this class was generated from the following files:

Tekkotsu v4.0
Generated Thu Nov 22 00:58:16 2007 by Doxygen 1.5.4