Package javax.help

Supports presentation of online documentation with both content and contextual views of this information.

See:
Description

Interface Summary

CSH.Manager	CSH Manager Interface to support dynamic HelpSet and ID for object.
HelpAction
HelpBroker	The HelpBroker is the default presentation of a HelpSet.
HelpHistoryModel	The interface to the history model.
HelpModel	The interface to the model of a JHelp that represents the HelpSet being presented to the user.
Map	A Map is the interface to ID<->URL mapping.
TextHelpModel	The interface to a HelpModel that manipulates text.
TextHelpModel.Highlight	This is very similar to javax.swing.text.Highlighter.Highlight except that it does not use the notion of HighlightPainter.
TreeItemFactory	A factory for creating TreeItems.

Class Summary

AbstractHelpAction
AppendMerge	Append merge type
BackAction
CSH	A convenience class that provides simple access to context-senstive help functionality.
CSH.DisplayHelpAfterTracking	An ActionListener that displays help on a selected object after tracking context-sensitive events.
CSH.DisplayHelpFromFocus	An ActionListener that displays the help of the object that currently has focus.
CSH.DisplayHelpFromSource	An ActionListener that gets the helpID for the action source and displays the helpID in the help viewer.
DefaultHelpBroker	An implmentation of the HelpBroker interface
DefaultHelpHistoryModel	DefaultHelpHistoryModel is default implementation of HelpHistoryModel interface
DefaultHelpModel	This class implements the javax.help.HelpModel API and notifies the JHelpModel listeners when changes occur.
DefaultHelpModel.DefaultHighlight	A default implementation of TextHelpModel.Highlight
FavoritesAction
FavoritesItem	A class for individual favorites items.
FavoritesNode	A class for Favorites node.
FavoritesView	Navigational View information for the Favorites
FavoritesView.DefaultFavoritesFactory	A default TreeItemFactory that can be used to parse Favorites items as used by this navigator.
FlatMap	A FlatMap is a simple implementation of a Map.
ForwardAction
GlossaryView	View information for a Glossary Navigator
HelpSet	A HelpSet is a collection of help information consisting of a HelpSet file, table of contents (TOC), index, topic files, and Map file.
HelpSet.DefaultHelpSetFactory	The default HelpSetFactory that processes HelpSets.
HelpSet.Presentation	HelpSet Presentation class.
HelpSetFactory.HelpAction	Internal storage of HelpAction defined in a Presentaion
HelpUtilities	Provides a number of utility functions: Support for Beans, mapping from a Bean class to its HelpSet and to its ID.
HomeAction
IndexItem	A class for individual index items.
IndexView	Navigational View information for an Index
IndexView.DefaultIndexFactory	A default TreeItemFactory that can be used to parse TOC items as used by this navigator.
JHelp	Displays HelpSet data with navigators and a content viewer.
JHelpContentViewer	A component to represent the Help viewer that can be embedded if desired.
JHelpFavoritesNavigator	JHelpFavoritesNavigator is a JHelpNavigator for Favorites.
JHelpGlossaryNavigator	JHelpGlossaryNavigator is a JHelpNavigator for a Glossary
JHelpIndexNavigator	JHelpIndexNavigator is a JHelpNavigator for an Index.
JHelpNavigator	A JHelpNavigator is a control that presents navigational help data.
JHelpSearchNavigator	A JHelpNavigator for search data.
JHelpTOCNavigator	A JHelpNavigator for a TOC.
MainWindow	MainWindow is a class that will create a single main help window for an application.
Map.ID	An ID is a pair of String, HelpSet.
Merge	Common superclass for all merge types
Merge.DefaultMergeFactory	Default Merge factory which creates concrete Merge objects
MergeHelpUtilities	Common utilities for merge types
NavigatorView	Navigational View information
NoMerge	No merge type
Popup	Popup is a Presentation class that will create a popup help window for an application.
Presentation	Presentation is an abstract class providing a generic interface for the development of alternative Presentations.
PrintAction
PrintSetupAction
ReloadAction
SearchHit	Stores search information for individual Search hits.
SearchTOCItem	Stores Search TOC items.
SearchView	Navigational View information for a Search
SecondaryWindow	MainWindowPresentation is a class that will create a single main help window for an application.
SeparatorAction
ServletHelpBroker	An implmentation of the HelpBroker interface for Servlets
SortMerge	Sort merge type
SwingHelpUtilities	Provides a number of utility functions: Support for Beans, mapping from a Bean class to its HelpSet and to its ID.
TOCItem	A class for individual TOC items
TOCView	Navigational View information for a TOC.
TOCView.DefaultTOCFactory	A default TreeItemFactory that can be used to parse TOC items as used by this navigator.
TreeItem	The base items known to TOC, Index and Favorites Navigators.
TryMap	A Map that can combine a number of other Maps in an efficient manner.
UniteAppendMerge	Unite-append merge type
WindowPresentation	Window Presentation is an abstract class providing a generic interface for the development of Window Presentations.

Exception Summary

BadIDException	An ID was attempted to be created with incorrect arguments
HelpSetException	This exeception reports generic failures in HelpSet.
InvalidHelpSetContextException	The HelpSet is not a (transitive) sub-HelpSet of some context HelpSet.
InvalidNavigatorViewException	JHelpNavigator cannot deal with given NavigatorView.
UnsupportedOperationException	This is a platform-independent stand-in for the java.lang class

Package javax.help Description

Supports presentation of online documentation with both content and contextual views of this information. This is the main package for the JavaHelp standard extension. The main focus of JavaHelp is online help, but it can be used for any online content.

JavaHelp supports the notion of a HelpSet that encompases all documentation information. There is a simple way to read a HelpSet, create a presentation for it, and interact with it and there is also a collection of Swing components that can be used directly for additional control. JavaHelp presents content using Swing's EditorKits, which provide for extensibility of content. JavaHelp also provides for extensibility of context via the notion of a NavigatorView; several views are standard. One of the standard views provides full-text search, which relies on a simple search package to communicate with search engines.

Basic Classes

HelpSet is the main class, providing access to a HelpSet file. A visual presentation of a HelpSet can be obtained through a HelpBroker which is an abstraction that permits interaction regardless of the presentation details; the default presentation is DefaultHelpBroker. An application can provide online help using only these two classes.

Helpsets can be merged dynamically or statically, and can be associated with Beans.

Swing components

JavaHelp provides a collection of Swing components that are used to implement the DefaultHelpBroker and can also be used directly. The components follow the standard MVC from Swing. HelpModel models changes to the location within a HelpSet--components that want to respond to these changes should listen to events originating within the model (this is how synchronized views work). TextHelpModel provides additional information when the content is textual. DefaultHelpModel is the default model that implements both models.

JHelpContentViewer is the Swing component for HTML content, while context corresponds to several subclasses of JHelpNavigator. JHelp is a common grouping of these classes into synchronized views of content.

Extensibility

Context extensibility is described through a NavigatorView which provides access to context information, plus a way of presenting this information. TOCView, IndexView, and SearchView are standard views for table of contents, index, and full-text search.

The standard views yield standard JHelpTOCNavigator, JHelpIndexNavigator, and JHelpSearchNavigator Swing components. The standard views also provide access to the content--this access is provides through subclasses of TreeItem.

New views can be added, for instance a new TOC presentation can be obtained by subclassing TOCView and changing the JHelpNavigator returned by it.

Context Sensitive Help

JavaHelp supports a Map between identifiers and URLs. FlatMap and TryMap are two implementations. The main class used to associate specific content with graphic objects is CSH, while DialogSupport provides support in Dialogs (this may migrate to Swing at some point).

Search

JavaHelp supports a standard full-text search view and navigator. The view interacts with a search engine through the types in the javax.javahelp.search package. The reference implementation provides a search engine that implements these interfaces, but others can also be used. The specific search engine is part of the information given to the search view. This separation provides the full-text search functionality but does not imposing specific formats.

Related Documentation

For overviews, tutorials, examples, guides, tool support, and other documentation, please see the JavaHelp System User's Guide.