ICustomControl interface

The interface every custom control implements. The framework calls Initialize once after the control has been instantiated and its serialized property values have been deserialized, Paint every time the framework needs to redraw the control’s area, and Destroy once when the control is being released.

The eight concrete Waynes… classes in the package all implement this interface, alongside an inherited mixin base class for the standard layout / name members.

Class MyControl
    Implements CustomControls.ICustomControl

    Private Sub OnInitialize(ByVal Context As CustomControls.CustomControlContext) _
            Implements CustomControls.ICustomControl.Initialize
        ' …
    End Sub

    Private Sub OnDestroy() _
            Implements CustomControls.ICustomControl.Destroy
        ' …
    End Sub

    Private Sub OnPaint(ByVal Canvas As CustomControls.Canvas) _
            Implements CustomControls.ICustomControl.Paint
        ' …
    End Sub
End Class

Methods

Destroy

Called once when the control is being released. The implementation should drop any references it holds to objects that themselves hold references back to it, so that the reference graph can collapse cleanly.

Syntax: object.Destroy ( )

Initialize

Called once after the framework has constructed the control and deserialized any designer-set property values from the form’s .frm data into the new instance.

Syntax: object.Initialize ( Context )

Context

required The CustomControlContext for this control instance. Store it (typically as a class field named ControlContext) — it is the only way to request repaints, create timers, or check the runtime mode after Initialize returns.

A common implementation calls Context.GetSerializer().RuntimeUISrzDeserialize(Me, False) to load designer-set property values into the instance; if the call returns False, no serialized data was found and the control should apply its own defaults.

Paint

Called every time the framework needs to redraw the control’s client area. The implementation builds one or more ElementDescriptor records describing the rectangles to draw and hands each to Canvas. RuntimeUICCCanvasAddElement.

Syntax: object.Paint ( Canvas )

Canvas

required The Canvas drawing surface for this paint pass. Its RuntimeUICCGetWidth, RuntimeUICCGetHeight, and RuntimeUICCGetDpiScaleFactor methods supply the size and DPI of the area being painted, in device pixels.

A descriptor may carry event callbacks (OnClick, OnMouseDown, …) as AddressOf pointers; the framework dispatches input back through those pointers without the control needing to subscribe explicitly to anything.

A control should request additional repaints by calling CustomControlContext.Repaint, not by calling Paint directly — the framework decides when to issue the actual paint pass.