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@jsvision/ui / View

Abstract Class: View ​

Defined in: ui/src/view/view.ts:63

Abstract widget base. Subclass it and implement draw; Group (the built-in container) is the only concrete subclass shipped here.

Example ​

ts
import { View, Group, createRenderRoot, type DrawContext } from '@jsvision/ui';
import { resolveCapabilities } from '@jsvision/core';

class Clock extends View {
  constructor(private readonly read: () => string) { super(); }
  draw(ctx: DrawContext): void {
    ctx.fill(' ', ctx.color('statusBar'));
    ctx.text(1, 0, this.read(), ctx.color('statusBar'));
  }
}

const clock = new Clock(() => new Date().toLocaleTimeString());
const root = new Group();
root.add(clock);

const caps = resolveCapabilities({ env: {}, platform: 'linux' }).profile;
createRenderRoot({ width: 40, height: 3 }, { caps }).mount(root);

Extended by ​

Constructors ​

Constructor ​

new View(): View

Returns ​

View

Properties ​

bounds ​

bounds: Rect

Defined in: ui/src/view/view.ts:65

Parent-relative integer rect; written by the layout pass — read it in draw/hit-testing.

castsShadow ​

castsShadow: boolean = false

Defined in: ui/src/view/view.ts:78

When true, the renderer paints a drop shadow on the cells just below and to the right of this view, in paint order (a later sibling's shadow falls over an earlier one). Default false. The Desktop sets it per window.

centered ​

centered: boolean = false

Defined in: ui/src/view/view.ts:86

When true, the layout pass recentres this view within its parent after layout — origin = (parent - self) / 2 on both axes. Intended for absolutely-placed views (a modal dialog, a message box) whose size is fixed and whose origin would otherwise be placed by the caller. Default false; Dialog sets it when centered.

focusable ​

focusable: boolean = false

Defined in: ui/src/view/view.ts:94

Whether this view can receive keyboard focus. Effective focusability also requires the view to be visible and enabled with no hidden/disabled ancestor. Default false; the focus manager drives the state.focused flag.

layout ​

layout: LayoutProps = {}

Defined in: ui/src/view/view.ts:69

Layout props for this view (direction, size, padding, absolute placement, …).

postProcess ​

postProcess: boolean = false

Defined in: ui/src/view/view.ts:98

Take part in the post-process sweep (after the focused view sees the event).

preProcess ​

preProcess: boolean = false

Defined in: ui/src/view/view.ts:96

Take part in the pre-process sweep (root→down, before the focused view sees the event).

state ​

readonly state: ViewState

Defined in: ui/src/view/view.ts:67

Draw-against flags. The object reference is fixed; individual fields mutate (e.g. focused).

Methods ​

accelerators() ​

accelerators(): readonly string[]

Defined in: ui/src/view/view.ts:114

The Alt+hotkey accelerator characters (lowercase) this view claims in its focus scope, for duplicate-accelerator detection. The base returns none; accelerator-bearing widgets (Button/Label/CheckGroup/RadioGroup) override it to report their ~X~ hotkey(s).

Returns ​

readonly string[]

The claimed accelerator chars, or an empty list when the view claims none.

bind() ​

bind<T>(reader, apply?, opts?): void

Defined in: ui/src/view/view.ts:228

Bind a reactive value to a redraw. Creates an effect (owned by this view's scope) that reads reader() — subscribing to whatever signals it touches — runs the optional apply(value), then requests a frame: a repaint by default, or a reflow when { relayout: true }. It re-runs automatically whenever those signals change, and is disposed when the view unmounts.

Call it from onMount, not the constructor — the view's scope only exists once mounted, so a pre-mount bind throws rather than silently dropping the binding.

Type Parameters ​

T ​

T

Parameters ​

reader ​

() => T

Reads the reactive source; the signals it reads become dependencies.

apply? ​

(v) => void

Optional: apply the read value to the widget (e.g. store it in a field).

opts? ​

Pass { relayout: true } when the change affects layout, so it reflows instead of just repainting.

relayout? ​

boolean

Returns ​

void

Example ​

ts
import { signal } from '@jsvision/ui';

const count = signal(0);
// `status` is a View whose draw() reads count():
status.onMount(() => {
  status.bind(() => count()); // repaint the status line whenever `count` changes
});

derived() ​

protected derived<T>(fn): () => T

Defined in: ui/src/view/view.ts:261

Create a stable derived accessor owned by this view's scope. The returned () => T keeps the same identity for the life of the view, so it is safe to build in the constructor and hand to child views before this view mounts. The backing computed is created lazily under the view's own scope, so it is always owned and disposed at unmount — unlike a bare computed() in the constructor, which would run before any scope exists, leak, and warn.

Reads behave sensibly across the lifecycle:

  • Before mount: evaluates fn() directly (correct current value, nothing persisted). Good for a pre-mount natural-size measure.
  • After mount: builds and memoizes a computed(fn) under the view's scope.
  • After an unmount→remount: the memo is keyed to the scope it was built under, so a remounted view (which gets a fresh scope) re-derives under the new scope instead of returning the previous mount's disposed, now-frozen computed — keeping a Show/For-remounted widget reactive.

Type Parameters ​

T ​

T

Parameters ​

fn ​

() => T

The derivation (pure; the signals it reads become the computed's dependencies).

Returns ​

A stable accessor; call it to read the derived value.

() => T

desiredCaret() ​

desiredCaret(): Point | null

Defined in: ui/src/view/view.ts:192

Where this view wants the hardware text cursor, in view-local cells, or null for no cursor (the default — most views never show one). A focused text input overrides this to place the caret at the edit position; the event loop reads it after each frame, converts it to an absolute cell, and moves the terminal cursor there.

Returns ​

Point | null

The view-local caret point (0-based, relative to this view's origin), or null.

draw() ​

abstract draw(ctx): void

Defined in: ui/src/view/view.ts:163

Paint this view through a clipped, view-local context. Every widget overrides this to draw itself; the base declares it abstract so a subclass must supply it.

Parameters ​

ctx ​

DrawContext

The view-local, auto-clipped paint API (see DrawContext).

Returns ​

void

focusSignal() ​

focusSignal(): Signal<void>

Defined in: ui/src/view/view.ts:136

Subscribe to this view's focus changes. Reading the returned signal inside a bind/effect re-runs that effect whenever this view gains or loses focus — including from another view (e.g. a Label repainting when the control it labels is focused). The signal notifies on every poke even without a value change. Lazy: the backing signal is created on first call.

Returns ​

Signal<void>

A signal that ticks whenever this view gains or loses focus.

Example ​

ts
// Inside a widget's onMount, repaint whenever `other` view's focus changes:
this.onMount(() => this.bind(() => other.focusSignal()()));

invalidate() ​

invalidate(): void

Defined in: ui/src/view/view.ts:197

Request a repaint of this view. A no-op before the view is mounted (the first frame paints everything).

Returns ​

void

invalidateLayout() ​

invalidateLayout(): void

Defined in: ui/src/view/view.ts:202

Request a reflow (re-run layout, then repaint). Use this when a change affects size/position, not just pixels.

Returns ​

void

measure()? ​

optional measure(available): Size2D

Defined in: ui/src/view/view.ts:71

Optional intrinsic-size hook for auto sizing — return the size this view wants for available.

Parameters ​

available ​

Size2D

Returns ​

Size2D

onCleanup() ​

onCleanup(fn): void

Defined in: ui/src/view/view.ts:298

Register a teardown callback that runs once when this view unmounts. Requires a mounted view — so call it from within onMount. Use it to release anything the view acquired (a timer, an external subscription).

Parameters ​

fn ​

() => void

The teardown callback.

Returns ​

void

onEvent() ​

onEvent(_ev): void

Defined in: ui/src/view/view.ts:172

Handle an input event — a no-op by default. The event loop wraps each event in a DispatchEvent envelope and routes it to the views; override this to react to keys/mouse and set ev.handled = true to consume the event so it does not propagate further.

Parameters ​

_ev ​

DispatchEvent

The dispatch envelope (the wrapped event plus the mutable handled flag).

Returns ​

void

onMount() ​

onMount(fn): void

Defined in: ui/src/view/view.ts:283

Register a callback to run once when the view becomes live (after its first layout gives it bounds). This is where to call bind, since the view's reactive scope exists by then. Registering after the view is already live runs the callback immediately.

Parameters ​

fn ​

() => void

Post-mount setup.

Returns ​

void

selectByClick()? ​

optional selectByClick(): void

Defined in: ui/src/view/view.ts:182

Optional "select + raise on click" hook. Left undefined on the base, so a plain view is not a select/raise target. A container that owns z-order (a Window) overrides it to select and raise itself. The hit-test invokes the first ancestor that defines this — before delivering the mouse-down — so a click always raises the window even if the interior also consumes the click.

Returns ​

void