Introduction

The documentation for the ExtReact product diverges somewhat from the documentation of other Sencha products. The sections below describe documentation for all products except where indicated as unique to ExtReact.

Terms, Icons, and Labels

Many classes have shortcut names used when creating (instantiating) a class with a configuration object. The shortcut name is referred to as an alias (or xtype if the class extends Ext.Component). The alias/xtype is listed next to the class name of applicable classes for quick reference.

ExtReact component classes list the configurable name prominently at the top of the API class doc followed by the fully-qualified class name.

Access Levels

Framework classes or their members may be specified as private or protected. Else, the class / member is public. Public, protected, and private are access descriptors used to convey how and when the class or class member should be used.

• Public classes and class members are available for use by any other class or application code and may be relied upon as a stable and persistent within major product versions. Public classes and members may safely be extended via a subclass.

• Protected class members are stable public members intended to be used by the owning class or its subclasses. Protected members may safely be extended via a subclass.

• Private classes and class members are used internally by the framework and are not intended to be used by application developers. Private classes and members may change or be omitted from the framework at any time without notice and should not be relied upon in application logic.

Member Types

• Config - The configuration options for a class.

  ExtReact component classes display configuration options as props

• Property - Set once a class is instantiated. *See Read Only below.

  ExtReact component classes do not list properties as a dedicated member type, but rather as read only props

• Method - Actions that can be performed by a class. Methods should be read as instance methods and can only be called from a instance of a given class. Static methods that can be called directly from the class itself will have a static label next to the method name. *See Static below.
• Event - Events are specific to the framework event system allowing for classes to programmatically raise an event to be handled by one or more event handler methods. DOM events, while handled by the framework event system, are not specifically described within the API documentation. *For DOM events refer to the event reference page from MDN.
• Theme Variable - Variables used by the visual theme engine employed by the framework.
• Theme Mixin - Functions used by the visual theme engine employed by the framework and may use values set in various Theme Variables.

Member Syntax

Below is an example class member that we can disect to show the syntax of a class member (the lookupComponent method as viewed from the Ext.button.Button class in this case).

Let's look at each part of the member row:

• Expand/Collapse - On the left-hand size of the member row is a control used to expand and collapse each member row to show / hide member details.
• Member Name - The name of the class member (lookupComponent in this example)
• Method Param - Any required or optional params used by a method (or passed to an event handler method) will be listed next to the method name within parenthesis (( item ) in this example)
• Return type - The class instance or javascript object returned by the method or property (Ext.Component in this case). This may be omitted for methods that do not return anything other than undefined or may display as multiple possible values separated by a forward slash / signifying that what is returned may depend on the results of the method call (i.e. a method may return a Component if a get method calls is successful or false if unsuccessful which would be displayed as Ext.Component/Boolean).
• Flags - Any flags applicable to the member will be displayed next (PROTECTED in this example - see the Flags section below)
• Member Origin - On the right-hand side of the member row is the class where the member was initially described (Ext.container.Container in this example). The source class will be displayed as a blue link if the member originates from the current class and gray if it is inherited from an ancestor or mixed-in class.
• Member Source - On the right-hand side below the member origin class is a link to view the member's source (view source in the example)
• Params List - Each param for a class method will be listed using the same name found above in parenthesis, the type of class or object expected, and a description of the param (item : Object in the example).
• Returns - If a class returns a value other than undefined a "Returns" section will note the type of class or object returned and a description (Ext.Component in the example)
• Since (not shown in the example) - Some members will show which version of the product the member was first introduced (i.e. Available since 3.4.0 - not pictured in the example) just after the member description
• Default (not shown in the example) - Configs often show the default config value to be applied to a class instance if not overridden (i.e. Defaults to: false)

Member Flags

The API documentation uses a number of flags to further commnicate the class member's function and intent. The label may be represented by a text label, an abbreviation, or an icon.

• Required - Required config when instantiating a class
• Bindable - The config has a setter which allows this config to be set via ViewModel binding

  All ExtReact props are bindable unless decorated as immutable

• Immutable

  Immutable ExtReact props may not be use as a configurable prop when instantiating a component

• Read Only - The property may be read, but cannot be used to configure / re-configure a class instance at runtime
• Singleton - Singleton classes are instantiated immediately once defined and may not be instantiated manually
• Static - A static method or property is a method or property belonging to the class itself, not an instance of the class
• Chainable - Refers to methods that return the class instance back when called.
  This enables chained method calls like: classInstance.method1().method2().etc();
• Deprecated - A class or member that is scheduled for removal in a future framework version and is provided in the current version for backwards compatibility.
  Deprecated classes and members will have a message directing you to the preferred class / method going forward.
• Removed - A removed class or member that exists in documentation only as a reference for users upgrading between framework versions
• Template - A method defined within a base class designed to be overridden by subclasses
• Abstract - A class or member may be be defined as abstract. Abstract classes and members establish a class structure and provide limited, if any, code. Class-specific code will be furnished via overrides in subclasses.
• Preventable - Events marked preventable will not fire if false is returned from an event handler

Class Icons

- Indicates a framework class

- A singleton framework class. *See the singleton flag for more information

- A component-type framework class (any class within the Ext JS framework that extends Ext.Component)

- Indicates that the class, member, or guide is new in the currently viewed version

Member Icons

- Indicates a class member of type config

Or in the case of an ExtReact component class this indicates a member of type prop

- Indicates a class member of type property

- Indicates a class member of type method

- Indicates a class member of type event

- Indicates a class member of type theme variable

- Indicates a class member of type theme mixin

- Indicates that the class, member, or guide is new in the currently viewed version

Navigation and Features

Class Member Quick-Nav Menu

Just below the class name on an API doc page is a row of buttons corresponding to the types of members owned by the current class. Each button shows a count of members by type (this count is updated as filters are applied). Clicking the button will navigate you to that member section. Hovering over the member-type button will reveal a popup menu of all members of that type for quick navigation.

Getter and Setter Methods

Getting and setter methods that correlate to a class config option will show up in the methods section as well as in the configs section of both the API doc and the member-type menus just beneath the config they work with. The getter and setter method documentation will be found in the config row for easy reference.

ExtReact component classes do not hoist the getter / setter methods into the prop. All methods will be described in the Methods section

History Bar

Your page history is kept in localstorage and displayed (using the available real estate) just below the top title bar. By default, the only search results shown are the pages matching the product / version you're currently viewing. You can expand what is displayed by clicking on the button on the right-hand side of the history bar and choosing the "All" radio option. This will show all recent pages in the history bar for all products / versions.

Within the history config menu you will also see a listing of your recent page visits. The results are filtered by the "Current Product / Version" and "All" radio options. Clicking on the button will clear the history bar as well as the history kept in local storage.

If "All" is selected in the history config menu the checkbox option for "Show product details in the history bar" will be enabled. When checked, the product/version for each historic page will show alongside the page name in the history bar. Hovering the cursor over the page names in the history bar will also show the product/version as a tooltip.

Search and Filters

Both API docs and guides can be searched for using the search field at the top of the page.

On API doc pages there is also a filter input field that filters the member rows using the filter string. In addition to filtering by string you can filter the class members by access level, inheritance, and read only. This is done using the checkboxes at the top of the page.

The checkbox at the bottom of the API class navigation tree filters the class list to include or exclude private classes.

Clicking on an empty search field will show your last 10 searches for quick navigation.

API Doc Class Metadata

Each API doc page (with the exception of Javascript primitives pages) has a menu view of metadata relating to that class. This metadata view will have one or more of the following:

• Alternate Name - One or more additional class name synonymns (in Ext JS 6.0.0 the Ext.button.Button class has an alternate class name of Ext.Button). Alternate class names are commonly maintained for backward compatibility.
• Hierarchy - The hierararchy view lists the inheritance chain of the current class up through its ancestor classes up to the root base class.
• Mixins - A list of classes that are mixed into the current class
• Inherited Mixins - A list of classes that are mixed into an ancestor of the current class
• Requires - All classes required to be defined for the class to be instantiated
• Uses - A list of classes potentially used by the class at some point in its lifecycle, but not necessarily requried for the class to initially be instantiated
• Subclasses - Classes that extend the current class

Expanding and Collapsing Examples and Class Members

Runnable examples (Fiddles) are expanded on a page by default. You can collapse and expand example code blocks individually using the arrow on the top-left of the code block. You can also toggle the collapse state of all examples using the toggle button on the top-right of the page. The toggle-all state will be remembered between page loads.

Class members are collapsed on a page by default. You can expand and collapse members using the arrow icon on the left of the member row or globally using the expand / collapse all toggle button top-right.

Desktop -vs- Mobile View

Viewing the docs on narrower screens or browsers will result in a view optimized for a smaller form factor. The primary differences between the desktop and "mobile" view are:

• Global navigation will be located in a menu on the left-hand side accessible via the hamburger menu icon. The menu houses the following (on most pages):
  • The name of the current product (as a link to the product landing page)
  • The Sencha icon used to navigate back to the documentation home page
  • The product menu drop-down button
  • Headers of navigation trees for the API docs and guides
• Current context navigation and tools is located on the right-hand side accessible via the gear icon. The context menu houses teh following:
  • The global search input field
  • (API doc) A "Filters" header with the member filter, expand / collapse all examples button, expand / collapse all member rows button, the access level filter checkboxes, and the counts of each member
  • (API doc) A "Related Classes" header containing the menu of metadata related to the current class
  • (Guides) The table of contents for the guide

Viewing the Class Source

The class source can be viewed by clicking on the class name at the top of an API doc page. The source for class members can be viewed by clicking on the "view source" link on the right-hand side of the member row.