Table Model

The Trinidad Table component uses a model to access the data in the underlying list. The specific model class is org.apache.myfaces.trinidad.model.CollectionModel. You may also use other model instances, e.g., java.util.List , array, and javax.faces.model.DataModel. The Table will automatically convert the instance into a CollectionModel.

Columns

The immediate children of a Table component must all be <tr:column> components. Each visible Trinidad Column component creates a separate column in the Table. For more information see the documentation for <column>

Range Navigation

When the list being displayed by a Table is huge, you can enable the Table to break up the list into ranges and display a single range at a time. Range controls are provided on the Table to let the user scroll to the next range, or to go back to the previous range. If the total size of the list is known, a control to let the user jump directly to a particular part of the list is also provided on the Table. Use the Table attributes "rows" and "first" to control the range navigation feature. When the user changes the range, the Table fires a RangeChangeEvent.

Displaying Details

You can configure the Table to display or hide additional details of a particular row in response to a user gesture. When the details feature is enabled, a new column containing a toggle (per row) will render in the Table. When a toggle is activated, the details for that row are displayed. When a toggle is deactivated, the details for the row are hidden. The user can also display or hide the details for all rows at the same time (the controls for this feature are enabled by setting the "allDetailsEnabled" property to true.)

To enable the details feature set the "detailStamp" facet on the Table. Place the components that are used to show the details (of a row), inside this facet. In the following example, the Person's age is displayed in the details section:

    <tr:table var="row">
      <f:facet name="detailStamp">
        <tr:outputText value="#{row.age}"/>
      </f:facet>
    </tr:table>
            

When a detail row is shown or hidden the Table generates a DisclosureEvent. If all detail rows are shown or hidden the Table fires a DisclosureAllEvent.

Selection

The selection feature of a Table lets the user select one or more rows in the list. The user can then perform some operation on the selected rows by activating an appropriate ActionSource component (e.g., by clicking on a commandButton).

There are two types of selection - single and multiple. The type of selection is determined by the "rowSelection" attribute, which can be set to "single" or "multiple".

Sorting

The Table component supports sorting columns in ascending or descending order. A special 3D border on a column header lets the user know that the column is sortable. When the user clicks on a column header to sort a previously unsorted column, the Table sorts the column data in ascending order. Subsequent clicks on the same header sorts the data in the reverse order.

There are three requirements to enable sorting: the underlying table model must support sorting, the "sortProperty" and "sortable" attributes must be set on the column to enable the sort capability for that column.

To support sorting, the CollectionModel instance must implement the following methods:

    public boolean isSortable(String propertyName)
    public void setSortCriteria(List criteria)
    public List getSortCriteria()
            

If the underlying model is not a CollectionModel, the Table automatically examines the actual data to determine which properties are sortable. Any column that has data that implements java.lang.Comparable is sortable. This automatic support cannot be nearly as efficient as coding sorting directly into a CollectionModel (for instance, by translating the sort into an "ORDER BY" SQL clause), but is sufficient for small data sets.

To associate a column with a particular property-name to be used for sorting purposes, use the "sortProperty" attribute on the column. To enable the UI for sorting a particular column, set the "sortable" property to true. For more information see the documentation for <column>.

In the following example, both columns are sortable. Sorting the first column sorts by the "firstname" property; sorting the second column sorts by the "lastname" property.

    <tr:table value="...">
      <tr:column sortProperty="firstname" sortable="true">
        <f:facet name="header">
          <tr:outputText value="Firstname" />
        </f:facet>
        ...
      </tr:column>
      <tr:column sortProperty="lastname" sortable="true">
        <f:facet name="header">
          <tr:outputText value="Lastname" />
        </f:facet>
        ...
      </tr:column>
    </tr:table>
          

Banding

Banding is a technique where groups of rows (or columns) are displayed with alternating background colors. This helps to differentiate between adjacent rows (or columns).

The "banding" attribute on the Table controls the type of banding to use. The "bandingInterval" attribute controls the number of consecutive rows (or columns) that are colored the same.

Note that the above banding attributes on the Table are ignored when the "bandingShade" attribute is used on the Column.