EntityFramework EntityCollection Observing CollectionChanged - c#

I'm using EntityFramework database first in an application. I would like somehow to be notified of changes to an EntityCollection in my ViewModel. It doesn't directly support INotifyCollectionChanged (why?) and I haven't been successful in finding another solution.
Here's my latest attempt, which doesn't work because the ListChanged event doesn't appear to get raised:
public class EntityCollectionObserver<T> : ObservableCollection<T>, INotifyCollectionChanged where T : class
{
public event NotifyCollectionChangedEventHandler CollectionChanged;
public EntityCollectionObserver(EntityCollection<T> entityCollection)
: base(entityCollection)
{
IBindingList l = ((IBindingList)((IListSource)entityCollection).GetList());
l.ListChanged += new ListChangedEventHandler(OnInnerListChanged);
}
private void OnInnerListChanged(object sender, ListChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (CollectionChanged != null)
CollectionChanged(this, new NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs(NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Reset));
}
}
Does anyone have any ideas how I might observe changes to an EntityCollection?
Dan

have you tried handling
AssociationChanged Occurs when a change is made to a related end. (Inherited from RelatedEnd.)
It gives arguments showing whether an element was added or deleted and also exposes the element.

Whilst it worked in the simple use case noted by #Aron, I couldn't get it to work properly in my actual application.
As it turns out, and for reasons I'm not sure - the inner IBindingList of an EntityCollection somehow, somewhere, can get changed. The reason my observers weren't being called is because they were looking for changes on an old IBindingList that wasn't even being used by the EntityCollection any more.
Here is the hack that got it working for me:
public class EntityCollectionObserver<T> : ObservableCollection<T> where T : class
{
private static List<Tuple<IBindingList, EntityCollection<T>, EntityCollectionObserver<T>>> InnerLists
= new List<Tuple<IBindingList, EntityCollection<T>, EntityCollectionObserver<T>>>();
public EntityCollectionObserver(EntityCollection<T> entityCollection)
: base(entityCollection)
{
IBindingList l = ((IBindingList)((IListSource)entityCollection).GetList());
l.ListChanged += new ListChangedEventHandler(OnInnerListChanged);
foreach (var x in InnerLists.Where(x => x.Item2 == entityCollection && x.Item1 != l))
{
x.Item3.ObserveThisListAswell(x.Item1);
}
InnerLists.Add(new Tuple<IBindingList, EntityCollection<T>, EntityCollectionObserver<T>>(l, entityCollection, this));
}
private void ObserveThisListAswell(IBindingList l)
{
l.ListChanged += new ListChangedEventHandler(OnInnerListChanged);
}
private void OnInnerListChanged(object sender, ListChangedEventArgs e)
{
base.OnCollectionChanged(new NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs(NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Reset));
}
}

How are you mapping the event? Pasting your code and mapping the event like follows works for me.
static void Main(string[] args)
{
EntityCollection<string> col = new EntityCollection<string>();
EntityCollectionObserver<string> colObserver = new EntityCollectionObserver<string>(col);
colObserver.CollectionChanged += colObserver_CollectionChanged;
col.Add("foo");
}
static void colObserver_CollectionChanged(object sender, NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine("Entity Collection Changed");
}

Related

Dynamically subscribe to events in a method?

Introduction
In my current WPF project I quite regularly had to convert DataTables into Lists of model classes, like this:
public void CreateExmapleModeList()
{
ExampleModels = new List<ExampleModel>();
foreach (DataRow row in tbl)
{
ExampleModel example = new ExampleModel
{
Name = row["Name"].ToString(),
Tag = row["Tag"].ToString(),
Value = double.Parse(row["Value"].ToString()),
// [...]
};
ExampleModels.Add(example);
example.PropertyChanged += ExampleModel_PropertyChanged;
}
}
assinging dozens of properties for dozens of lists is quite annoying, so I googled a little and found this quite handy answer on StackOverflow to assign properties dynamically, which cut down creating new lists to this:
ExampleModels = ListConverter.ConvertToList<ExampleModel>(tbl);
Problem
Now after refactoring my code I didn't know how to subscribe my custom PropertyChanged-Event to the PropertyChanged-Event of my model, so I simply iterated through the whole list again:
foreach (ExampleModel exmp in ExampleModels)
{
example.PropertyChanged += ExampleModel_PropertyChanged;
}
PropertyChanged:
public void ExampleModel_Propertychanged(object sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
//do something
}
Question
I would much rather subscribe to the PropertyChanged-Event when creating the list rather then redundantly iterate a second time through the whole list.
Since there are quite a few Models, which have custom PropertyChanged-Events I need to subscribe them dynamically.
Is there a way simular to the RelayCommand for example:
public RelayCommand(Action<T> execute, Predicate<T> canExecute)
{
m_execute = execute ?? throw new ArgumentNullException("execute");
m_canExecute = canExecute;
}
to tell my ContVertToList-Method which event it has to subscirbe
like:
ExampleModels = ListConverter.ConvertToList<ExampleModel>(tbl, ExampleModel_Propertychanged(object sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs e));
and in ConvertToList something like this:
public static List<T> ConvertToList<T>(DataTable dt, CustomPropertyChanged<S, E>) where T : TemplateModel
// [...]
objT.PropertyChanged = CustomPropertyChanged;
return onjT;
}).ToList();
You could pass a PropertyChangedEventHandler to your method and hook it up using the += syntax:
public static List<T> ConvertToList<T>(DataTable dt, PropertyChangedEventHandler eventHandler) where T : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
//...
objT.PropertyChanged += eventHandler;
}
Usage:
var list = ConvertToList<YourType>(dataTable, ExampleModel_Propertychanged);
...
private void ExampleModel_Propertychanged(object sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
//do something
}

How do I add and subtract event handlers inside a derived abstract class?

Short version
In my abstract class MyCbo_Abstract (derived from ComboBox class), I want to create a custom property that when set will subtract all the control's event handlers, set the base property value, then re-add all the control's event handlers.
What I have so far
I have a concrete ComboBox class derived from an abstract ComboBox class derived from Microsoft's ComboBox class.
public abstract class MyCbo_Abstract : ComboBox
{
public MyCbo_Abstract() : base()
{
}
}
public partial class MyCboFooList : MyCbo_Abstract
{
public MyCboFooList() : base()
{
}
}
My main Form class subscribes to certain base ComboBox events.
Note: The designer has: this.myCboFooList = new MyCboFooList();
public partial class FormMain : Form
{
public FormMain()
{
myCboFooList.SelectedIndexChanged += myCboFooList_SelectedIndexChanged;
}
private void myCboFooList_SelectedIndexChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// do stuff
}
}
There are times when I want to suppress the invocation of defined event handlers, e.g., when I programmatically set a ComboBox object's SelectedIndex property.
Instead of having to remember to write the code to subtract and re-add event handlers each time I want to modify the SelectedIndex property and suppress its events, I want to create a custom property SelectedIndex_NoEvents that when set will subtract all the control's event handlers, set the base property value SelectedIndex, then re-add all the control's event handlers.
The problem
My problem is that I don't know how to iterate over a EventHandlerList because it has no GetEnumerator. And, in looking at the list in the debugger, saveEventHandlerList is a weird chained thing that I can't figure out how to otherwise traverse.
public abstract class MyCbo_Abstract : ComboBox
{
int selectedIndex_NoEvents;
public int SelectedIndex_NoEvents
{
get
{
return base.SelectedIndex;
}
set
{
EventHandlerList saveEventHandlerList = new EventHandlerList();
saveEventHandlerList = Events;
//foreach won't work - no GetEnumerator available. Can't use for loop - no Count poprerty
foreach (EventHandler eventHandler in saveEventHandlerList)
{
SelectedIndexChanged -= eventHandler;
}
base.SelectedIndex = value;
//foreach won't work - no GetEnumerator available. Can't use for loop - no Count poprerty
foreach (EventHandler eventHandler in saveEventHandlerList)
{
SelectedIndexChanged += eventHandler;
}
saveEventHandlerList = null;
}
}
//Probably don't need this
public override int SelectedIndex
{
get
{
return base.SelectedIndex;
}
set
{
base.SelectedIndex = value;
}
}
public DRT_ComboBox_Abstract() : base()
{
}
}
Before giving you the solution that I created, let me say that this feels extremely hacky. I urge you to seriously think about another solution. There may be all kinds of crazy edge cases where this code breaks down, I haven't thoroughly tested it beyond the example code shown below.
Add the following utility class:
public class SuspendedEvents
{
private Dictionary<FieldInfo, Delegate> handlers = new Dictionary<System.Reflection.FieldInfo, System.Delegate>();
private object source;
public SuspendedEvents(object obj)
{
source = obj;
var fields = obj.GetType().GetFields(BindingFlags.Static | BindingFlags.Instance | BindingFlags.NonPublic | BindingFlags.Public);
foreach (var fieldInfo in fields.Where(fi => fi.FieldType.IsSubclassOf(typeof(Delegate))))
{
var d = (Delegate)fieldInfo.GetValue(obj);
handlers.Add(fieldInfo, (Delegate)d.Clone());
fieldInfo.SetValue(obj, null);
}
}
public void Restore()
{
foreach (var storedHandler in handlers)
{
storedHandler.Key.SetValue(source, storedHandler.Value);
}
}
}
You can use it like this:
var events = new SuspendedEvents(obj); //all event handlers on obj are now detached
events.Restore(); // event handlers on obj are now restored.
I used the following test setup:
void Main()
{
var obj = new TestObject();
obj.Event1 += (sender, e) => Handler("Event 1");
obj.Event1 += (sender, e) => Handler("Event 1");
obj.Event2 += (sender, e) => Handler("Event 2");
obj.Event2 += (sender, e) => Handler("Event 2");
obj.Event3 += (sender, e) => Handler("Event 3");
obj.Event3 += (sender, e) => Handler("Event 3");
Debug.WriteLine("Prove events are attached");
obj.RaiseEvents();
var events = new SuspendedEvents(obj);
Debug.WriteLine("Prove events are detached");
obj.RaiseEvents();
events.Restore();
Debug.WriteLine("Prove events are reattached");
obj.RaiseEvents();
}
public void Handler(string message)
{
Debug.WriteLine(message);
}
public class TestObject
{
public event EventHandler<EventArgs> Event1;
public event EventHandler<EventArgs> Event2;
public event EventHandler<EventArgs> Event3;
public void RaiseEvents()
{
Event1?.Invoke(this, EventArgs.Empty);
Event2?.Invoke(this, EventArgs.Empty);
Event3?.Invoke(this, EventArgs.Empty);
}
}
It produces the following output:
Prove events are attached
Event 1
Event 1
Event 2
Event 2
Event 3
Event 3
Prove events are detached
Prove events are reattached
Event 1
Event 1
Event 2
Event 2
Event 3
Event 3
There is no way to easily disable event firing of WinForm controls exposed in the .Net framework. However, the Winform controls follow a standard design pattern for events in that all event signatures are based on the EventHandler Delegate and the registered event handlers are stored in an EventHandlerList that is defined in the Control Class. This list is stored in a field (variable) named "events" and is only publicly exposed via the read-only property Events.
The class presented below uses reflection to temporarily assign null to the events field effectively removing all event handlers registered for the Control.
While it may be an abuse of the pattern, the class implements the IDisposable Interface to restore the events field on disposal of the class instance. The reason for this is to facilitate the use of the using block to wrap the class usage.
public class ControlEventSuspender : IDisposable
{
private const string eventsFieldName = "events";
private const string headFieldName = "head";
private static System.Reflection.FieldInfo eventsFieldInfo;
private static System.Reflection.FieldInfo headFieldInfo;
private System.Windows.Forms.Control target;
private object eventHandlerList;
private bool disposedValue;
static ControlEventSuspender()
{
Type compType = typeof(System.ComponentModel.Component);
eventsFieldInfo = compType.GetField(eventsFieldName, System.Reflection.BindingFlags.Instance | System.Reflection.BindingFlags.NonPublic);
headFieldInfo = typeof(System.ComponentModel.EventHandlerList).GetField(headFieldName, System.Reflection.BindingFlags.Instance | System.Reflection.BindingFlags.NonPublic);
}
private static bool FieldInfosAquired()
{
if (eventsFieldInfo == null)
{
throw new Exception($"{typeof(ControlEventSuspender).Name} could not find the field '{ControlEventSuspender.eventsFieldName}' on type Component.");
}
if (headFieldInfo == null)
{
throw new Exception($"{typeof(ControlEventSuspender).Name} could not find the field '{ControlEventSuspender.headFieldName}' on type System.ComponentModel.EventHandlerList.");
}
return true;
}
private ControlEventSuspender(System.Windows.Forms.Control target) // Force using the the Suspend method to create an instance
{
this.target = target;
this.eventHandlerList = eventsFieldInfo.GetValue(target); // backup event hander list
eventsFieldInfo.SetValue(target, null); // clear event handler list
}
public static ControlEventSuspender Suspend(System.Windows.Forms.Control target)
{
ControlEventSuspender ret = null;
if (FieldInfosAquired() && target != null)
{
ret = new ControlEventSuspender(target);
}
return ret;
}
protected virtual void Dispose(bool disposing)
{
if (!this.disposedValue)
{
if (disposing)
{
if (this.target != null)
{
RestoreEventList();
}
}
}
this.disposedValue = true;
}
public void Dispose()
{
Dispose(true);
}
private void RestoreEventList()
{
object o = eventsFieldInfo.GetValue(target);
if (o != null && headFieldInfo.GetValue(o) != null)
{
throw new Exception($"Events on {target.GetType().Name} (local name: {target.Name}) added while event handling suspended.");
}
else
{
eventsFieldInfo.SetValue(target, eventHandlerList);
eventHandlerList = null;
target = null;
}
}
}
Example usage in the button1_Click method:
public partial class Form1 : Form
{
public Form1()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
private void button1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
using (ControlEventSuspender.Suspend(comboBox1))
{
comboBox1.SelectedIndex = 3; // SelectedIndexChanged does not fire
}
}
private void button2_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
comboBox1.SelectedIndex = -1; // clear selection, SelectedIndexChanged fires
}
private void button3_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
comboBox1.SelectedIndex = 3; // SelectedIndexChanged fires
}
private void comboBox1_SelectedIndexChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
Console.WriteLine("index changed fired");
System.Media.SystemSounds.Beep.Play();
}
}
SoapBox Diatribe
Many will say that the use of Reflection to access non-public class members is dirty or some other derogatory term and that it introduces a brittleness to the code as someone may change the underlying code definition such that the code that relies on member names (magic strings) is no longer valid. This is a valid concern, but I view it as no different than code that accesses external databases.
Reflection can be thought of a query of a type (datatable) from an assembly (database) for specific fields (members: fields, properties, events). It is no more brittle than a SQL statement such as Select SomeField From SomeTable Where AnotherField=5. This type of SQL code is prevent in the world and no one thinks twice about writing it, but some external force could easily redefine the database you code relies on an render all the magic string SQL statements invalid as well.
Use of hard coded names is always at risk of being made invalid by change. You have to weigh the risks of moving forward versus the option of being frozen in fear of proceeding because someone wants to sound authoritative (typically a parroting of other such individuals) and criticize you for implementing a solution that solves the current problem.
I was hoping to write code that would programatically locate all event handler method names created using controlObject.Event += EventHandlerMethodName, but as you see in the other answers, code to do this is complicated, limited, and perhaps not able to work in all cases
This is what I came up with. It satisfies my desire to consolidate the code that subtracts and re-adds event handler method names into my abstract class, but at the expense of having to write code to store and manage event handler method names and having to write code for each control property where I want to suppress the event handler, modify the property value, and finally re-add the event handler.
public abstract class MyCbo_Abstract : ComboBox
{
// create an event handler property for each event the app has custom code for
[DesignerSerializationVisibility(DesignerSerializationVisibility.Hidden)]
private EventHandler evSelectedValueChanged;
[DesignerSerializationVisibility(DesignerSerializationVisibility.Hidden)]
public EventHandler EvSelectedValueChanged { get => evSelectedValueChanged; set => evSelectedValueChanged = value; }
public MyCbo_Abstract() : base()
{
}
// Create a property that parallels the one that would normally be set in the main body of the program
public object _DataSource_NoEvents
{
get
{
return base.DataSource;
}
set
{
SelectedValueChanged -= EvSelectedValueChanged;
if (value == null)
{
base.DataSource = null;
SelectedValueChanged += EvSelectedValueChanged;
return;
}
string valueTypeName = value.GetType().Name;
if (valueTypeName == "Int32")
{
base.DataSource = null;
SelectedValueChanged += EvSelectedValueChanged;
return;
}
//assume StringCollection
base.DataSource = value;
SelectedValueChanged += EvSelectedValueChanged;
return;
}
}
}
public partial class MyCboFooList : MyCbo_Abstract
{
public MyCboFooList() : base()
{
}
}
Designer has
this.myCboFooList = new MyCboFooList();
Main form code
public partial class FormMain : Form
{
public FormMain()
{
myCboFooList.SelectedValueChanged += OnMyCboFooList_SelectedValueChanged;
myCboFooList.EvSelectedValueChanged = OnMyCboFooList_SelectedValueChanged;
}
private void OnMyCboFooList_SelectedValueChanged(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
// do stuff
}
}
And now, if I want to set a property and suppress event(s), I can write something like the following and not have to remember to re-add the event handler method name
myCboFooList._DataSource_NoEvents = null;

Update a ViewModel when an item in an observable collection is updated

Source code is here:
https://github.com/djangojazz/BubbleUpExample
The problem is I am wanting an ObservableCollection of a ViewModel to invoke an update when I update a property of an item in that collection. I can update the data that it is bound to just fine, but the ViewModel that holds the collection is not updating nor is the UI seeing it.
public int Amount
{
get { return _amount; }
set
{
_amount = value;
if (FakeRepo.Instance != null)
{
//The repo updates just fine, I need to somehow bubble this up to the
//collection's source that an item changed on it and do the updates there.
FakeRepo.Instance.UpdateTotals();
OnPropertyChanged("Trans");
}
OnPropertyChanged(nameof(Amount));
}
}
I basically need the member to tell the collection where ever it is called: "Hey I updated you, take notice and tell the parent you are a part of. I am just ignorant of bubble up routines or call backs to achieve this and the limited threads I found were slightly different than what I am doing. I know it could possible be done in many ways but I am having no luck.
In essence I just want to see step three in the picture below without having to click on the column first.
Provided that your underlying items adhere to INotifyPropertyChanged, you can use an observable collection that will bubble up the property changed notification such as the following.
public class ItemObservableCollection<T> : ObservableCollection<T> where T : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event EventHandler<ItemPropertyChangedEventArgs<T>> ItemPropertyChanged;
protected override void OnCollectionChanged(NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs args)
{
base.OnCollectionChanged(args);
if (args.NewItems != null)
foreach (INotifyPropertyChanged item in args.NewItems)
item.PropertyChanged += item_PropertyChanged;
if (args.OldItems != null)
foreach (INotifyPropertyChanged item in args.OldItems)
item.PropertyChanged -= item_PropertyChanged;
}
private void OnItemPropertyChanged(T sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs args)
{
if (ItemPropertyChanged != null)
ItemPropertyChanged(this, new ItemPropertyChangedEventArgs<T>(sender, args.PropertyName));
}
private void item_PropertyChanged(object sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
OnItemPropertyChanged((T)sender, e);
}
}
You should do two things to get it to work:
first: you should refactor the RunningTotal property so it can raise the property changed event. Like so:
private int _runningTotal;
public int RunningTotal
{
get => _runningTotal;
set
{
if (value == _runningTotal)
return;
_runningTotal = value;
OnPropertyChanged(nameof(RunningTotal));
}
}
Second thing you should do is calling the UpdateTotals after you add a DummyTransaction to the Trans. An option could be to refactor the AddToTrans method in the FakeRepo
public void AddToTrans(int id, string desc, int amount)
{
Trans.Add(new DummyTransaction(id, desc, amount));
UpdateTotals();
}

Prevent self-callbacks when changing observed collection

Let's suppose I have an observable collection and two clients that want to:
change it,
observe it and react on state change.
Now, if Client1 changes collection state (for example: adds new item), the collection will fire 'CollectionChanged' event. Since both clients are registered for this event notifications, Client1's handling method will be executed.
In order to avoid self-callback on Client1, I unsubscribe from an event, do my action and subscribe again. This is painful - I must remember about suspending Client1's subscription every time Client1 touches the collection and it just seems like a bad smell. Is there a better way (design pattern, external library) that would help me in callbacks management?
Although in my example I mentioned ObservableCollection and CollectionChanged event, I believe my question is more generic and comes down to: "how to exclude an entity that caused event trigger from event callback".
Thanks in advance!
Problem keeps reoccuring in my solution, bumping the question in a hope someone might help out.
I ran into your problem some times ago I didn't find a proper solution except for this one.
The idea is that when you change the collection you also pass an instance of the object changing it.
Then when the Collection fires the event, it also passes the reference.
So all observers may know which instance did the change, and check for equality.
Here is a basic example of this implementation:
class Program
{
private static MyCollection Collection;
private static MyCollectionModifier Modif1;
private static MyCollectionModifier Modif2;
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Collection = new MyCollection();
Modif1 = new MyCollectionModifier("Modifier 1", Collection);
Modif2 = new MyCollectionModifier("Modifier 2", Collection);
Modif1.AddItem("Test1");
Modif2.AddItem("Test2");
Console.ReadKey();
}
}
public class MyCollectionItemAddedEventArgs:EventArgs
{
public Object ChangeSource { get; set;}
public int newIndex {get;set;}
}
public delegate void MyCollectionItemAddedEventHandler(object sender, MyCollectionItemAddedEventArgs e);
public class MyCollection
{
private List<String> _myList;
public String this[int Index]
{
get { return _myList[Index]; }
}
public event MyCollectionItemAddedEventHandler ItemAdded;
public MyCollection()
{
_myList = new List<string>();
}
protected virtual void OnMyCollectionItemAdded(MyCollectionItemAddedEventArgs e)
{
if (ItemAdded != null)
ItemAdded(this, e);
}
public void AddItem(String Item, object ChangeSource = null)
{
_myList.Add(Item);
var e = new MyCollectionItemAddedEventArgs();
e.ChangeSource = ChangeSource;
e.newIndex = _myList.Count;
OnMyCollectionItemAdded(e);
}
}
public class MyCollectionModifier
{
private MyCollection _collection;
public string Name { get; set; }
public MyCollectionModifier(string Name, MyCollection Collection)
{
this.Name = Name;
_collection = Collection;
_collection.ItemAdded += Collection_ItemAdded;
}
public void AddItem(string Item)
{
_collection.AddItem(Item, this);
}
void Collection_ItemAdded(object sender, MyCollectionItemAddedEventArgs e)
{
if (e != null)
{
if (this.Equals(e.ChangeSource))
{
Console.WriteLine("{0} : I changed the collection", Name);
}
else
{
Console.WriteLine("{0} : Somebody else changed the collection", Name);
}
}
}
}
I've encountered this problem before as well.
Best solution I could come up with is to create extension methods that take the handler of the caller and then automate the unsubscribe/subscribe around the called method, that way you don't have to remember to do it each time and it does not end up cluttering your code either
public static void Add<T>(this ObservableCollection<T> self, T itemToAdd, NotifyCollectionChangedEventHandler handler)
{
self.CollectionChanged -= handler;
self.Add(itemToAdd);
self.CollectionChanged += handler;
}
It does take some effort to create the extensions initially but at least you won't forget to resubscribe. Only real extra code is then around invoking the method
public class ObserverClass
{
public ObserverClass()
{
ObservableIntegers.CollectionChanged += ObservableIntegersOnCollectionChanged;
//Add item to collection while preventing self-handling the callback
ObservableIntegers.Add(1, ObservableIntegersOnCollectionChanged);
}
private void ObservableIntegersOnCollectionChanged(object sender, NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs notifyCollectionChangedEventArgs)
{
// Handle collection change
}
public ObservableCollection<int> ObservableIntegers { get; set; }
}

ObservableCollection Collection Changed event not firing

I have an observable collection in my ViewModel, bound to a datagrid. I want to implement some logic for refreshing the data in other windows based on changes to the collection/ updates to the database (using LINQ to SQL).
Here is my view model code:
public FTViewModel(int JobID)
{
_windowCloseAction = new DelegateCommand(OnWindowClose);
_oFTrn = new ObservableFilesTransmitted(_dataDc, JobID);
_oFTrn.CollectionChanged += oFTrnCollectionChanged;
}
void oFTrnCollectionChanged(object sender, NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (e.NewItems != null)
{
foreach (FilesTransmitted f in e.NewItems)
f.PropertyChanged += FilesTransmitted_PropertyChanged;
}
if (e.OldItems != null)
{
foreach (FilesTransmitted f in e.OldItems)
f.PropertyChanged -= FilesTransmitted_PropertyChanged;
}
}
void FilesTransmitted_PropertyChanged(object sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (e.PropertyName == "DocumentNumber")
{
_filesTransmittedChange = true;
}
_refreshViews = true;
}
and the ObservableCollection constructor:
class ObservableFilesTransmitted : ViewableCollection<FilesTransmitted>
{
public ObservableFilesTransmitted(DocControlDC dataDc, int ID)
{
foreach (FilesTransmitted ftran in dataDc.FilesTransmitteds.Where(x=>x.JobID==ID).OrderByDescending(x => x.TransmittalName))
{
this.Add(ftran);
}
}
}
The debugger does not stop in the oFTrnCollectionChanged. I think because the call to create the observable collection happens before I add the CollectionChanged event. But obvously I can't switch those two lines. I've looked at various StackOverflow and CodeProject topics on this, and it seems like what I have should work. Do I need to add and remove a dummy item just to get the CollectionChanged hander called? What am I missing?
It seems like perhaps I should have a constructor (for the observable collection) that does not add any members, and a function that adds the members from the database. Then I can call new, add the collectionchanged handler, and then fill the collection. I am hoping to avoid that level of rewrite though, but perhaps it's the only reasonable way.
When I run in to this the easiest way to solve it is just subscribe manually at the start.
public FTViewModel(int JobID)
{
_windowCloseAction = new DelegateCommand(OnWindowClose);
_oFTrn = new ObservableFilesTransmitted(_dataDc, JobID);
foreach(var item in _oFTrn)
{
item.PropertyChanged += FilesTransmitted_PropertyChanged;
}
_oFTrn.CollectionChanged += oFTrnCollectionChanged;
}
However a even better solution is instead of using a class derived from ObserveableCollection<T> use a class derived from BindingList<T>. Any member raising their PropertyChanged event will cause the collection to raise ListChanged with the change type of ItemChanged
public FTViewModel(int JobID)
{
_windowCloseAction = new DelegateCommand(OnWindowClose);
_oFTrn = new ObservableFilesTransmitted(_dataDc, JobID);
_oFTrn.CollectionChanged += oFTrnListChanged;
}
void oFTrnListChanged(object sender, ListChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (e.ListChangedType == ListChangedType.ItemChanged)
{
if (e.PropertyDescriptor.Name == "DocumentNumber")
{
_filesTransmittedChange = true;
}
}
_refreshViews = true;
}
I have simply changed the ObservableCollection constructor and added a populate function:
New view model code:
public FTViewModel(int JobID)
{
_oFTrn = new ObservableFilesTransmitted(_dataDc, JobID);
_oFTrn.CollectionChanged += oFTrnCollectionChanged;
_oFTrn.FillCollection();
}
new ObservableCollection class:
class ObservableFilesTransmitted : ViewableCollection<FilesTransmitted>
{
DocControlDC _dc = null;
int _jobID = 0;
public ObservableFilesTransmitted(DocControlDC dataDc, int ID)
{
_dc = dataDc;
_jobID = ID;
}
public void FillCollection()
{
foreach (FilesTransmitted ftran in _dc.FilesTransmitteds.Where(x=>x.JobID==_jobID).OrderByDescending(x => x.TransmittalName))
{
this.Add(ftran);
}
}
}
And it all works as expected. But it gets called for each item added. I may play with the idea that I simply loop through the collection and add the propertychanged handler for each item in the viewmodel constructor. Seems like less of a performance hit that way.

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