Model-View-Controller (MVC)

22-Apr-12

Design Patterns

The hard problem in object-oriented (O-O) programming is deciding what objects to have, and what their responsibilities are Design Patterns describe recommended designs for common problems

Design patterns are a current hot topic in O-O design The book which started it all is described here:
http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Design_pattern

19-Jun-07

mvc.ppt

3 design patterns

Observer-Observable

also called Publish-Subscribe

Singleton Model-View-Controller

19-Jun-07

mvc.ppt

why Model-View-Controller designs?

in 1870, someone wrote a novel

there is a 2002 audio-tape version of it there is a 1926 hardback edition of it there is a 2005 paperback edition of it in 1987, a film was made of it

one novel but 4 different ways of presenting it

19-Jun-07

mvc.ppt

Model-View-Controller pattern goals

there are often many ways to present the same problem requirements on how a problem is displayed tend to change (i.e., experimentation goes on) the MVC design tries to separate the code that represents the problem from the code that presents the problem to the user

this allows the presentation part to be change more easily

this pattern arose because management has so often demanded that programmers modify presentation

without the correct design, thats hard with this pattern, it becomes much easier
mvc.ppt 5

19-Jun-07

the three roles

the Model contains data that represents the problem the Controller responds to user actions by telling the Model how to change the View displays the current state of the Model to the user

19-Jun-07

mvc.ppt

how do we design it?

the Model is a class that represents the actual problem being solved

it has private fields, and provides accessor (getter and setter) methods the Model should always be a separate class the listeners collectively are the Controller the displayed components are the View the Controller and View are thus a little bit interdependent

if using a GUI

19-Jun-07

mvc.ppt

the View may not be the only possible View

the user has to be able to see, or view, what the program is doing a View is one way of showing what the Model is doing

a View is a passive observer; it should not change the model but it can provide getters for use by Views or by the Controller

the Model should know nothing about any View

a View and a Controller should not communicate directly with each other

19-Jun-07

mvc.ppt

Combining Controller and View

Sometimes the Controller and View are combined, especially in small programs Combining the Controller and View is appropriate if they are very interdependent The Model should always be independent Never mix Model code with GUI code!

why?

ANSWER: you may be required to change the View if you keep View and Model separate, changing the View will be relatively simple
mvc.ppt 9

19-Jun-07

Separation of concerns
Singleton?

How to set up an MVC design:

1.

instantiate the Model first, and only once

Model contains data (instance fields) representing the problem domain Model provides setters and getters for the underlying data the View might consist of GUI components such as buttons or lists configure the View to update automatically when the underlying data in the Model changes

2.

instantiate the View

3.

instantiate the Controller

add listeners for anything the user can do make each listener change the Model as appropriate push or pull methods
mvc.ppt 10

19-Jun-07

The Reverser program

In this program we combine the Controller and the View (indeed, its hard to separate them) The Model, which does the computation (reversing the string) is in a separate class

19-Jun-07

mvc.ppt

11

ReverserGUI.java
public class ReverserGUI extends JFrame {

private ReverserModel model = new ReverserModel(); private JTextField text = new JTextField(30);
public static void main(String[] args) { new ReverserGUI().run(); } // run method and button listener on next slide } // end class

19-Jun-07

mvc.ppt

12

The run method and the listener

private void run() { setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE); setLayout(new GridLayout(2, 1)); getContentPane().add(text); JButton button = new JButton("Reverse"); getContentPane().add(button); button.addActionListener( new Do() ); pack(); setVisible(true); } // end run public class Do implements ActionListener { public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent arg0) { String s = model.reverse( text.getText() ); text.setText(s); } } // end inner class
19-Jun-07 mvc.ppt 13

The model

public class ReverserModel { public String reverse(String s) { StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder(s); builder.reverse(); return builder.toString(); } }

19-Jun-07

mvc.ppt

14

how can a View automatically update?

1.

use a timer and periodically have the View poll the Model

bad in terms of performance requires appropriate timer interval frequent enough polling to display changes seamlessly

2.

use the Observer-Observable pattern between the Model and any GUI components that need to be updated

once you do this, you can forget about the View but, you have to learn the Observer-Observable pattern

19-Jun-07

mvc.ppt

15

Observer and Observable

java.util provides an Observer interface and an Observable class A class that inherits from Observable is an object that can be observed A class that implements Observer is notified when an object that it is observing announces a change An analogy:

An Observable is like a Button An Observer is like a Listener You have to attach a Listener to a Button An Observable is like a bulletin board An Observer is like someone who reads the bulletin board
mvc.ppt 16

Another analogy:

19-Jun-07

Observable

An Observable is an object that can be observed

When an Observable wants the world to know about what it has done, it executes:

setChanged(); notifyObservers(); /* or */ notifyObservers(arg); The arg can be any object

The Observable doesnt know or care who is looking

19-Jun-07

mvc.ppt

17

connecting them

you have attach an Observer to the Observable with:

myObservable.addObserver(myObserver);

An Observer is notified when an object that it is observing announces a change

19-Jun-07

mvc.ppt

18

Observer

a class that implements Observer

public void update(Observable obs, Object arg)

the above method will be invoked whenever the Observable object changes the information being watched

the first argument is a reference to the observable object itself the second argument may be null

19-Jun-07

mvc.ppt

19

Key points

the Model does the business logic

it should be I/O free communication with the Model is via methods this approach gives maximum flexibility in how the model is used

the Controller provides input (control) to the Model a View displays what is going on in the model

It should never display what should be going on in the model For example, if you ask to save a file, the View shouldnt itself tell you that the file has been savedit should tell you what the model reports they are usually a little bit inter-dependent

in small programs, the Controller and View may be combined

19-Jun-07

mvc.ppt

20

the end of this PowerPoint file

Hooray!

19-Jun-07

mvc.ppt

21