Difference between revisions of "Script Contexts"

Revision as of 23:19, 3 December 2008

Context: HL Kit … Kit Reference 

Overview

This first step in accessing data via scripts is in identifying where that data resides within the overall data hierarchy. A separate hierarchy is maintained for both structural information (e.g. actors, picks, gizmos, minions, etc.) and visual information (e.g. panels, layouts, templates, etc.). Each different layer within the hierarchy is considered a distinct "context".

Contexts Within Structural Hierarchy

Within the structural hierarchy, there are a variety of contexts managed by the Kit. The following table identifies these contexts and provides a brief description of what each represents.

portfolio	The "portfolio" context represents the topmost level within the structural hierarchy, encapsulating all of the different leads that have been created.
hero	The "hero" context represents an individual actor within the portfolio. This actor could be a lead or a minion.
container	The "container" context represents any container within the portfolio. The container could be an actor or a gizmo.
pick	The "pick" context represents any pick throughout the portfolio, located within any container.
thing	The "thing" context represents a thing that has not been added to the portfolio. The thing context is very similar to the pick context in behavior, with the only real difference being that the dynamic facets of picks don't exist for things, resulting in many valid actions for picks being inaccessible from things.
field	The "field" context represents any field within any pick or thing. If within a thing, all aspects of the field are read-only.
pool	The "pool" context represents any usage pool associated with either the actor or a specific pick.

There are also quite a few specialized contexts within the structural hierarchy. Each of these contexts actually maps to one of the basic contexts above, but it is considered distinct due to added restrictions or limitations on what can be done within the context.

parent	x
linkage	x
root	x
dynamiclink	x
gearholder	x
shadow	x
origin	x
master	x
minion	x
anchor	x
child	x
gizmo	x

Contexts Within Visual Hierarchy

The visual hierarchy has a separate set of contexts that are managed by the Kit. The following table describes each of these contexts.

scene	x
layout	x
template	x
portal	x
value	x
table	x
chosen	x
hero	x
container	x

General Contexts

In addition to the structural and visual contexts, the Kit supports contexts that are outside of the the normal hierarchy. These general contexts are described in the table below.

state	x
transaction	x
focus	x
eachpick	x
altpick	x
altthing	x
x	x
x	x
x	x