MACROMEDIA FLASH 8-USING FLASH - Page 440

440 Data Integration (Flash Professional Only)
You can create custom encoders. The number of encoders allowed is unlimited. Encoders are
defined by XML files found in the Flash Professional 8 Configuration/Encoders folder. The
definition includes the following metadata:
■ An ActionScript class that will be instantiated to encode/decode the data. This class must
be a subclass of mx.databinding.DataAccessor.
■ An Encoder Options dialog box
Schema formatters
A formatter is an object that performs bidirectional conversion of data between a raw data
type and string data. The object has parameters that are settable during authoring and
runtime methods for performing the conversion. The following formatters come with Flash
Professional:
None The default formatter. No formatting is performed.
Boolean This formatter formats a Boolean value as a string. You can set up Boolean options
for strings that mean
true (for example, 1, yes) and strings that mean false (for example, 0,
no).
Compose String This formatter converts a data object to a string. You define the output
format using a string template. The template is arbitrary text that can refer to the data fields in
one of the following ways:
■ <field-name>
■ <field-name.field-name>, using dots to drill down into the data structure
■ <.>, which represents the entire object. This can be used, for example, when the original
object is a string, in which case
<.> is simply the value of the string.
Here are two examples using the Compose String formatter. A formatter could be applied to a
field that is an object with field name, quantity, and price, and the string output could read:
“You ordered <quantity> units of <name> at <$price> each.” In another example,
the formatter could be applied to a field that is a number, and you could define the string
output to read:
“You have <.> messages.”
Custom Formatter This formatter lets you specify a custom formatter by specifying a class
name. The formatter ActionScript class should have the following format:
class MyFormatter extends mx.data.binding.CustomFormatter {
// convert a raw value, returns a formatted value
function format(rawValue){
}
// convert a formatted value, returns a raw value
function unformat(formattedValue){
}
}