Develop Reference

How to pass a ref to a viewmodel correctly

I've created a Textbox with placeholder text and a clear button. I've implemented it using a view model for the data context, and using a style with target type TextBox. In xaml, using it is pretty simple.
<TextBox DataContext="{Binding NameBox}" Style="{StaticResource placeholder}"/>
The way I've implemented the view model, though, smells funny to me:
public class PlaceholderTextBoxViewModel : NotifiableViewModelBase {
private string text;
public string Text {
get => text;
set {
text = value;
OnTextChange(text);
}
}
public string PlaceholderText { get; set; }
public RelayCommand ClearCommand => new RelayCommand(() => Text = "");
private event Action<string> OnTextChange;
public PlaceholderTextBoxViewModel(ref string text, string placeholderText, Action<string> changeHandler = null) {
OnTextChange = changeHandler ?? (_ => { });
Text = text;
PlaceholderText = placeholderText;
}
}
In case it doesn't smell too bad to you yet, check out how it's used
private string _name;
public string Name {
get => _name;
set {
_name = value;
System.Console.WriteLine(_name); // needed to silence auto prop error
}
}
public PlaceholderTextBoxViewModel NameBox { get; }
// in the constructor...
NameBox = new PlaceholderTextBoxViewModel(ref _name, "Exam Name", t => Name = t);
It definitely doesn't seem right that I need to pass an explicit setter (the changeHandler) to the PlaceholderTextBoxViewModel. It seems, indeed, that the ref I'm passing is never really used (and is only necessary at all -- though not as a ref -- if there is to be pre-existing text in the box).
I've never used refs before and I must be doing something wrong. I have also tried pointing everything that uses the Name property (in the final code excerpt) to the _name field but that doesn't work, the field isn't properly updated, or at least isn't "communicating" its updates (in various uses, CanExecutes are not updated, SearchPredicates are not refreshed, etc). I'm using MVVMLight, and I imagine that changing a field's value doesn't trigger OnPropertyChanged -- if the field's value is even changing at all.
How do I get the ref to work correctly? Am I doing this completely wrong?
I understand that there are other ways to implement this TextBox with its clear command, even in pure MVVM (namely, if I put the ClearCommand in the consuming VM instead of the textbox's VM itself, then the textbox doesn't need to have a VM at all). But I'd really like to know how to make sense of my attempted solution, if only for a better understanding of C# and of refs.

Problem here seems to be an architectural one. MVVM is a tiered architecture that looks like this:
Model -> View Model -> View
Model is the lowest tier, view is the highest. More importantly, each tier does not have any direct visibility into any of the tiers above it.
The problem in your example is that you've broken separation of concerns. You have a parent class creating the PlaceholderTextBoxViewModel, which implies it's in the view model. However, that same class contains a "Name" property, which is actually data that should be in your model layer. Your existing architecture is such that your view model cannot see the data layer, so you've effectively had to set up your own property change notification mechanism, using the ref and delegate, to keep your model and view model synchronized.
Throw it all out, and start again. Your model should contain POCOs, so start with something like this:
public class MyModel
{
public string Name {get; set;}
}
Then, when you create your view model, pass an instance of this class into its constructor so that it has visibility:
public class MyViewModel : NotifiableViewModelBase
{
private MyModel Model;
public MyViewModel(MyModel model) => this.Model = model;
public string Text
{
get => this.Model.Name;
set
{
this.Model.Name = value;
RaisePropertyChanged(() => this.Text);
}
}
// ... etc ....
}
I've stuck to your nomenclature of using "Name" in the model and "Text" in the view model, in practice they're usually the same, but that's up to you. Either way, you still have property change notification in your view model, and it's the view model layer updating the model layer.
Obviously there are lots of variations on this. If you don't want changes to propagate through to your model layer immediately (and there are plenty of cases where you may not want that) then give Text a backing field (_Text) and only do the synchronization at the points your want it to occur. And of course, if you want to go one step further then your model classes could instead implement interfaces, and you can use dependency injection to inject those interfaces into the view model classes instead of giving them access to the actual implementations themselves.
Above all else, keep in mind that the sole purpose of the view model is to prepare the model layer data for consumption by the view. Anything else...data, domain, business logic etc...all of that belongs in your model layer, which shouldn't have any visibility into the view model layer at all.

The ref would only make sense, if you are going to change the value.
In this case you can use the OnTextChange event.
public PlaceholderTextBoxViewModel(ref string text, string placeholderText, Action<string> changeHandler = null)
{
OnTextChange = newValue =>
{
text = newValue; // <- value back to the ref
changeHandler?.Invoke(newValue);
}
Text = text;
PlaceholderText = placeholderText;
}
BTW your solution is somehow much too complicated. Keep the ViewModel as simple and abstract as possible. In this case a simple Name property is enough.
Leave it up the the UI developers which control they use and how they will implement a clear the control logic.
Here an example
ViewModel
using ReactiveUI;
using ReactiveUI.Fody.Helpers;
namespace WpfApp1
{
public class MainViewModel : ReactiveObject
{
[Reactive] public string Name { get; set; }
}
}
View
<Window
x:Class="WpfApp1.MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
xmlns:d="http://schemas.microsoft.com/expression/blend/2008"
xmlns:local="clr-namespace:WpfApp1"
xmlns:mc="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/markup-compatibility/2006"
Title="MainWindow"
Width="800"
Height="450"
mc:Ignorable="d">
<Window.DataContext>
<local:MainViewModel />
</Window.DataContext>
<Grid>
<StackPanel
Width="200"
VerticalAlignment="Center">
<Label Content="{Binding Name}" />
<DockPanel>
<Button
DockPanel.Dock="Right"
Content="x"
Width="20"
Click="NameTextBoxClearButton_Click"/>
<TextBox x:Name="NameTextBox"
Text="{Binding Name, Mode=TwoWay, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}"
TextWrapping="Wrap" />
</DockPanel>
</StackPanel>
</Grid>
</Window>
View CodeBehind
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
}
private void NameTextBoxClearButton_Click( object sender, RoutedEventArgs e )
{
NameTextBox.Text = string.Empty;
}
}

The simplest solution would be to correct your binding. You don't have to manually forward the data by trying to implement your own change notification system.
Just make sure that your data source always implements INotifyPropertyChanged and properly raises the INotifyPropertyChanged.PropertyChanged event from each property set method. Then bind directly to this properties:
class PlaceholderTextBoxViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private string text;
public string Text
{
get => this.text;
set
{
this.text = value;
OnPropertyChanged();
}
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
protected virtual OnPropertyChanged([CallerMemberName] string propertyName = null)
{
this.PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
The binding syntax allows to reference nested properties.
In your special case, the {Binding} expression must be:
<TextBox DataContext="{Binding NameBox.Text}" />
Now the TextBox.Text value is automatically propagated to the PlaceholderTextBoxViewModel.Text property and the constructor becomes parameterless.

Wpf Binding Confusion

I'm trying to learn on MVVM. I've understand the concept, however, i'm confused about the binding. I'm not sure where to bind my Fill property. Please help. Tqvm in advanced.
View - name: MainScreen.xaml
<Path Fill="{Binding mainScreenClass, Converter={StaticResource colorConverter}}"/>
inCodeBehind
DataContext = new vmMainScreen();
ViewModel - name:vmMainScreen
public ICommand cmdMouseEnterNav { get; private set; }
public mMainScreen mainScreenClass { get; set; }
public vmMainScreen()
{
mainScreenClass = new mMainScreen();
mainScreenClass.propNaviconFill = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.White);
naviconMouseEventChecker();
}
private void naviconMouseEventChecker()
{
cmdMouseEnterNav = new SimpleCommand
{
ExecuteDelegate = x => mainScreenClass.propNaviconFill = (SolidColorBrush)(new BrushConverter().ConvertFrom("#c5a02b"))
};
}
Model - name:mMainScreen
public class mMainScreen : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private Brush _NaviconFill = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.White);
public Brush propNaviconFill
{
get
{
return this._NaviconFill;
}
set
{
this._NaviconFill = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("propNaviconFill");
}
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
private void NotifyPropertyChanged(string info)
{
if (PropertyChanged != null)
{
PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(info));
}
}
}
I understand that when i breakpoint on my colorConverter, I'm getting the class. Not the property of propNaviconFill. If i create another property with the Brush class on my ViewModel and bind it to Fill, there is no problem. But that means I'm not following the correct structure of MVVM. Thanks again.

You should bind to the property of your view model.
<Path Fill="{Binding propNaviconFill, Converter={StaticResource colorConverter}}"/>
Use the view model implementing the INotifyPropertyChanged as the data context of your view.
DataContext = new mMainScreen();
If you really want to use vmMainScreen as your data context, then vmMainScreen should implement INotifyPropertyChanged there and you should study how NotifyPropertyChanged was used to notify the view that the view model property has changed.

Keep in mind there are two basic types of MVVM:
1. View First
2. View Model First
Based on your example you are trying to do View First. This is easier to implement but comes with drawbacks on larger projects since the view controls the creation of the ViewModel it's harder to inject data or state into the ViewModel.
For all MVVM patterns you have the three parts:
Model - Basically a state bag. This thing is just like a customer class which most of the time implements INotifyProperty changed.
ViewModel - This is like the controller class in MVC. It has all the real logic and does the work.
View - This is your XAML and it only holds presentation logic. The code-behind class ie: MyWindow.xaml.cs should not be used except to setup the ViewModel if your going View First. (there are exceptions of course but generally it should basically be empty)
For View First
Your Window (or control) should create the ViewModel in the constructor and assign it to the DataContext.
Your ViewModel will have ICommand's, ObservableCollections and such that can be bound to controls in the View. So when your constructor fires you fill up your data and put it into the necessary structures; because of databinding this gets related to the View and shown.
Your Model (you usually have more than one, can have Customer, Order, StockTicker or whatever.) These are created by the ViewModel and put into things such as ObservableCollections for the View to databind to.

Binding works without INotifyPropertyChanged, why?

This is how we do it normally:
public class ViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
string _test;
public string Test
{
get { return _test; }
set
{
_test = value;
OnPropertyChanged();
}
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
public void OnPropertyChanged([CallerMemberName] string property = "") =>
PropertyChanged?.Invoke(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(property));
}
Now our property can be used by multiple elements in the view, e.g.:
<TextBox Text="{Binding Test, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}" />
<TextBlock Text="{Binding Test}" />
Changing value in TextBox will update content of TextBlock. As well as we can set value in the view model and view will update it automatically.
If we write view model like this
public class ViewModel
{
public string Test { get; set; }
}
then the view is still working (e.g. changing value in TextBox will update TextBlock). Of course it's not possible to easily update Test value from view model anymore (no more event to rise). But my question is about view: Why view is able to work? Does it construct something more in background or is it a logic which checks for something?

[...] you are encountering a
another hidden aspect of WPF, that's it WPF's data binding engine will
data bind to PropertyDescriptor instance which wraps the source
property if the source object is a plain CLR object and doesn't
implement INotifyPropertyChanged interface. And the data binding
engine will try to subscribe to the property changed event through
PropertyDescriptor.AddValueChanged() method. And when the target data
bound element change the property values, data binding engine will
call PropertyDescriptor.SetValue() method to transfer the changed
value back to the source property, and it will simultaneously raise
ValueChanged event to notify other subscribers (in this instance, the
other subscribers will be the TextBlocks within the ListBox.
And if you are implementing INotifyPropertyChanged, you are fully
responsible to implement the change notification in every setter of
the properties which needs to be data bound to the UI. Otherwise, the
change will be not synchronized as you'd expect.
See: Data binding without INotifyPropertyChanged

Calling multiple OnPropertyChanged within the same Setter (or is there a other easy way)

I am trying to keep my question simple and to the point.
At the moment, if I have a property that updates the underlying Model data, and it therefore needs to inform a few other properties that the source has changed, I do it like this:
public Data.MeetingInfo.Meeting Meeting
{
get { return _Meeting; }
set
{
if(value != null)
{
_Meeting = value;
if (_Meeting.IsDirty)
{
_Model.Serialize();
_Meeting.MarkClean();
OnPropertyChanged("Meeting");
OnPropertyChanged("BibleReadingMain");
OnPropertyChanged("BibleReadingClass1");
OnPropertyChanged("BibleReadingClass2");
}
}
}
}
private Data.MeetingInfo.Meeting _Meeting;
As you can see, I added several different OnPropertyChanged method calls. Is this an acceptable way to do it? Or, can the specific properties in the Model inform the View that some of it's source has changed?
I have read about implementing the same OnPropertyChanged features in the Model classes. Thus the XAML will pick it up. But I thought those two parts of the MWWV we not supposed ot know about each other.
The thing is, the other 3 are in disabled controls, but they can be updated from two places on the window. So I don't think I can have two update source triggers can I?
Thank you.
Second attempt at explainign things:
ObservableCollection of Meeting objects. Bound to a ComboBox:
<ComboBox x:Name="comboMeetingWeek" ItemsSource="{Binding Meetings}"
SelectedItem="{Binding Meeting, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}" />
The Meeting object contains several properties. We bind controls on the window with these properties. Example:
<ComboBox x:Name="comboNotes" IsEditable="True"
DataContext="{Binding Meeting}"
Text="{Binding Note, UpdateSourceTrigger=LostFocus}"
ItemsSource="{StaticResource Notes}"/>
I do this for the majority of the controls. So the Meeting property in the view model is kept up to date and then when you select a different meeting it commits it to the model data and displays the new meeting (as previously described).
But, in some places on the window, I have some disabled text boxes. These are associated with properties nested inside the Meeting object. For example:
<TextBox x:Name="textBibleReadingMain" Grid.Column="0" Margin="2" IsEnabled="False"
DataContext="{Binding TFGW.BibleReadingItem.Main}"
Text="{Binding DataContext.BibleReadingMain, ElementName=oclmEditor, Mode=TwoWay, NotifyOnSourceUpdated=True, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}"/>
The parent TabItem already has it's DataContext set to {Binding Meeting}. What we need to display in the text box is:
Meeting (current context).TFGW.BibleReadingItem.Main.Name
This is why I had to do it has I did. For the above text box, this is what I want to allow to happen:
It should display the content of Meeting.TFGW.BibleReadingItem.Main.Name (Meeting already being a bound property).
As you select a different meeting from the dates combo, this text box should update.
If the user selects a name from the DataGrid and the ActiveAstudentAssignmentType combo is set to StudentAssignmentType::BibleReadingMain then I also want to update the text box.
I think what I am getting confused about is when I am supposed to derive my classes from INotifyPropertyChanged. My Model data is the Meeting objects with it's own data. Should all of these be inheriting from INotifyPropertyChanged and raising OnPropertyChanged? At the moment I do not have that implemented anywhere. I tell a lie, the only place I implemented it was for the view model itself:
public class OCLMEditorViewModel : INotifyPropertyChanged
So that is why I had to do it the way I did.
Any clearer?

Based on all the comments and further reasearch ....
One of the answers stated:
Viewmodel is created and wraps model
Viewmodel subscribes to model's PropertyChanged event
Viewmodel is set as view's DataContext, properties are bound etc
View triggers action on viewmodel
Viewmodel calls method on model
Model updates itself
Viewmodel handles model's PropertyChanged and raises its own PropertyChanged in response
View reflects the changes in its bindings, closing the feedback loop
I also read a bit of this (which confused me somewhat) where it stated:
The Model notifies the ViewModel if the data in the underlying data store has changed.
So, the first thing I did was change my Meeting object to derive from INotifyPropertyChanged. In addition, I added new properties for gaining access to deeper data in the Meeting model. Example (stripped down):
public class Meeting : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
#region Bible Reading Name Properties
[XmlIgnore]
public string BibleReadingMainName
{
get { return _TFGW.BibleReadingItem.Main.Name; }
set
{
_TFGW.BibleReadingItem.Main.Name = value;
OnPropertyChanged("BibleReadingMainName");
}
}
[XmlIgnore]
public string BibleReadingClass1Name
{
get { return _TFGW.BibleReadingItem.Class1.Name; }
set
{
_TFGW.BibleReadingItem.Class1.Name = value;
OnPropertyChanged("BibleReadingClass1Name");
}
}
[XmlIgnore]
public string BibleReadingClass2Name
{
get { return _TFGW.BibleReadingItem.Class2.Name; }
set
{
_TFGW.BibleReadingItem.Class2.Name = value;
OnPropertyChanged("BibleReadingClass2Name");
}
}
#endregion
protected void OnPropertyChanged(string name)
{
PropertyChangedEventHandler handler = PropertyChanged;
if (handler != null)
{
handler(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(name));
}
}
}
In my ViewModel I set it as a listener for PropertyChanged:
_Meeting.PropertyChanged += Meeting_PropertyChanged;
At this point in time, the handler just relays the property that was changed:
private void Meeting_PropertyChanged(object sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
OnPropertyChanged(e.PropertyName);
}
In my XAML, I adjust my TextBox to work with the new property, and I remove the DataContext reference. So I now have:
<TextBox x:Name="textBibleReadingMain" Grid.Column="0" Margin="2" IsEnabled="False"
Text="{Binding BibleReadingMainName, Mode=OneWay, UpdateSourceTrigger=PropertyChanged}"/>
ON the right, where I have the DataGrid, when we click a row and the SelectedStudentItem is updated, we can now do:
private Student _SelectedStudentItem;
public Student SelectedStudentItem
{
get
{
return _SelectedStudentItem;
}
set
{
// We need to remove this item from the previous student history
if (_SelectedStudentItem != null)
_SelectedStudentItem.History.Remove(Meeting.DateMeeting);
_SelectedStudentItem = value;
if (_SelectedStudentItem == null)
return;
_EditStudentButtonClickCommand.RaiseCanExecuteChanged();
_DeleteStudentButtonClickCommand.RaiseCanExecuteChanged();
OnPropertyChanged("SelectedStudentItem");
if (ActiveStudentAssignmentType == StudentAssignmentType.BibleReadingMain)
_Meeting.BibleReadingMainName = _SelectedStudentItem.Name;
else if (ActiveStudentAssignmentType == StudentAssignmentType.BibleReadingClass1)
_Meeting.BibleReadingClass1Name = _SelectedStudentItem.Name;
else if (ActiveStudentAssignmentType == StudentAssignmentType.BibleReadingClass2)
_Meeting.BibleReadingClass2Name = _SelectedStudentItem.Name;
}
Based on the current ActiveStudentAssignmentType value we can directly update the source property. Thus the TextBox will automatically know about it due to the PropertyChange listener.
Thus, the original Meeting property code now looks like this:
public Data.MeetingInfo.Meeting Meeting
{
get { return _Meeting; }
set
{
// Has the existing meeting object changed at all?
if(_Meeting != null && _Meeting.IsDirty)
{
// Yes, so save it
_Model.Serialize();
_Meeting.MarkClean();
}
// Now we can update to new value
if (value != null)
{
_Meeting = value;
OnPropertyChanged("Meeting");
}
}
}
private Data.MeetingInfo.Meeting _Meeting;
All of those extra OnPropertyChanged calls are now obsolete!
The thing I was missing was implementing Notification from the Model to the ViewModel. And then the ViewModel informing the View.

View does not update with changing viewModel

I have a userControl named SensorControl which I want to bind its dataContext to a viewModel class named SensorModel.
The binding is successful and the initial values of viewModel is visible in the userControl, but the problem is that when I change the viewModel's properties, the userControl does not update, and I have to manually update that (by assigning null to its dataContext and assigning the viewModel again).
Here is a simplified example of my code.
SensorControl.xml:
<UserControl ...[other attributes]... DataContext={Binding Model}>
.
.
.
<Label Content="{Binding Title}"/>
.
.
.
</UserControl>
SensorControl.xml.cs (code-behind):
public partial class SensorControl : UserControl
{
public SensorModel model;
public SensorModel Model
{
get { return model; }
set { model = value; }
}
public SensorControl(SensorModel sm)
{
Model = sm;
}
}
MainWindow.xml.cs:
public partial class MainWindow : Window
{
public SensorModel sensorModel_1;
public SensorControl sensorControl_1;
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
sensorModel_1 = new SensorModel(...[some arguments]...);
sensorControl_1 = new SensorControl(sensorModel_1);
mainGrid.Children.Add(sensorControl_1);
}
private void Button_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
sensorModel_1.Title = "myTitle";
//The UserControl does not update
}
0) I implemented INotifyPropertyChanged in SensorModel
1) The reason I need this, is that there is only one single concept of 'Sensor' in my project (it is a real electronic sensor) and therefore I have a single model for it (that deal with the real sensor, the database, etc), but in the UI I have multiple userControls for presenting different aspects of Sensor. So I have to create one instance of model (SensorModel) for each real sensor, and multiple userControls must bind to that (each one uses different parts of model).
2) I'm not that new to WPF, but I'm kind of new to MVVM and it's possible that I misunderstand something essential, so I would appreciate if someone could clearly explain the correct approach.
Thanks in advance

In your UserControl, remove the DataContext attribute and add an x:Name attribute. Then in your Label, bind like this:
<UserControl x:Name="uc">
<Label Content="{Binding ElementName=uc,Path=Model.Title}" />
</UserControl>
I believe the issue is the DataContext can't be set to Model because binding works off the parent's DataContext which will be based on mainGrid when it gets added as a child to that. Since the property "Model" doesn't exist in maiGrid's DataContext no binding will occur so your update won't reflect. Getting the DataContext of a UserControl properly can be tricky. I use the ElementName quite a bit or create DependencyProperties on the UserControl and then set them from the parent who will be using the control.

You need to set the DataContext to your ViewModel class in your View, and if you're applying the MVVM pattern, you should use ICommand for actions. Maybe it would be better If you'd implement a MainView class that does the logic in the background instead in the MainWindow class.
public MainWindow()
{
InitializeComponent();
DataContext = new MainView();
// sensorModel_1 = new SensorModel(...[some arguments]...);
// sensorControl_1 = new SensorControl(sensorModel_1);
// mainGrid.Children.Add(sensorControl_1);
}
Your MainView class :
public class MainView {
public SensorControl Control {get; internal set;}
...
}
And in your xaml change the binding :
<Label Content="{Binding Control.Model.Title}"/>

Thanks to all of you guys, I took your advices and finally I found a way.
1) I implemented an event in the SensorModel that fires every time any of properties changes (name ModelChanged)
2) Then as Merve & manOvision both suggested, I declared a dependency property in the SensorControl (of type SensorModel) and bind ui elements to that (Binding Path=Model.Title)
3) Then I used the ModelChanged event of this dependency property in the SensorControl and raise an event (of type INotifyPropertyChanged) so the bindings update their value
It works fine.