Develop Reference

call function when a list gets modified? [duplicate]

I created a Class EventList inheriting List which fires an Event each time something is Added, Inserted or Removed:
public class EventList<T> : List<T>
{
public event ListChangedEventDelegate ListChanged;
public delegate void ListChangedEventDelegate();
public new void Add(T item)
{
base.Add(item);
if (ListChanged != null
&& ListChanged.GetInvocationList().Any())
{
ListChanged();
}
}
...
}
At the Moment I use it as a Property like this:
public EventList List
{
get { return m_List; }
set
{
m_List.ListChanged -= List_ListChanged;
m_List = value;
m_List.ListChanged += List_ListChanged;
List_ListChanged();
}
}
Now my Problem is, can I somehow handle if a new Object is referred to it or prevent that, so I do not have to do the event wiring stuff in the setter?
Of course, I can change the property to "private set" but I would like to be able to use the class as variable as well.

You seldom create a new instance of a collection class in a class. Instantiate it once and clear it instead of creating a new list. (and use the ObservableCollection since it already has the INotifyCollectionChanged interface inherited)
private readonly ObservableCollection<T> list;
public ctor() {
list = new ObservableCollection<T>();
list.CollectionChanged += listChanged;
}
public ObservableCollection<T> List { get { return list; } }
public void Clear() { list.Clear(); }
private void listChanged(object sender, NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs args) {
// list changed
}
This way you only have to hook up events once, and can "reset it" by calling the clear method instead of checking for null or equality to the former list in the set accessor for the property.
With the changes in C#6 you can assign a get property from a constructor without the backing field (the backing field is implicit)
So the code above can be simplified to
public ctor() {
List = new ObservableCollection<T>();
List.CollectionChanged += OnListChanged;
}
public ObservableCollection<T> List { get; }
public void Clear()
{
List.Clear();
}
private void OnListChanged(object sender, NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs args)
{
// react to list changed
}

ObservableCollection is a List with a CollectionChanged event
ObservableCollection.CollectionChanged Event
For how to wire up the event handler see answer from Patrick. +1
Not sure what you are looking for but I use this for a collection with one event that fires on add, remove, and change.
public class ObservableCollection<T>: INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private BindingList<T> ts = new BindingList<T>();
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
// This method is called by the Set accessor of each property.
// The CallerMemberName attribute that is applied to the optional propertyName
// parameter causes the property name of the caller to be substituted as an argument.
private void NotifyPropertyChanged( String propertyName)
{
if (PropertyChanged != null)
{
PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
public BindingList<T> Ts
{
get { return ts; }
set
{
if (value != ts)
{
Ts = value;
if (Ts != null)
{
ts.ListChanged += delegate(object sender, ListChangedEventArgs args)
{
OnListChanged(this);
};
}
NotifyPropertyChanged("Ts");
}
}
}
private static void OnListChanged(ObservableCollection<T> vm)
{
// this will fire on add, remove, and change
// if want to prevent an insert this in not the right spot for that
// the OPs use of word prevent is not clear
// -1 don't be a hater
vm.NotifyPropertyChanged("Ts");
}
public ObservableCollection()
{
ts.ListChanged += delegate(object sender, ListChangedEventArgs args)
{
OnListChanged(this);
};
}
}

If you do not want to or can not convert to an Observable Collection, try this:
public class EventList<T> : IList<T> /* NOTE: Changed your List<T> to IList<T> */
{
private List<T> list; // initialize this in your constructor.
public event ListChangedEventDelegate ListChanged;
public delegate void ListChangedEventDelegate();
private void notify()
{
if (ListChanged != null
&& ListChanged.GetInvocationList().Any())
{
ListChanged();
}
}
public new void Add(T item)
{
list.Add(item);
notify();
}
public List<T> Items {
get { return list; }
set {
list = value;
notify();
}
}
...
}
Now, for your property, you should be able to reduce your code to this:
public EventList List
{
get { return m_List.Items; }
set
{
//m_List.ListChanged -= List_ListChanged;
m_List.Items = value;
//m_List.ListChanged += List_ListChanged;
//List_ListChanged();
}
}
Why? Setting anything in the EventList.Items will call your private notify() routine.

I have a Solution for when someone calls the Generic method from IList.add(object). So that you also get notified.
using System;
using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Generic;
namespace YourNamespace
{
public class ObjectDoesNotMatchTargetBaseTypeException : Exception
{
public ObjectDoesNotMatchTargetBaseTypeException(Type targetType, object actualObject)
: base(string.Format("Expected base type ({0}) does not match actual objects type ({1}).",
targetType, actualObject.GetType()))
{
}
}
/// <summary>
/// Allows you to react, when items were added or removed to a generic List.
/// </summary>
public abstract class NoisyList<TItemType> : List<TItemType>, IList
{
#region Public Methods
/******************************************/
int IList.Add(object item)
{
CheckTargetType(item);
Add((TItemType)item);
return Count - 1;
}
void IList.Remove(object item)
{
CheckTargetType(item);
Remove((TItemType)item);
}
public new void Add(TItemType item)
{
base.Add(item);
OnItemAdded(item);
}
public new bool Remove(TItemType item)
{
var result = base.Remove(item);
OnItemRemoved(item);
return result;
}
#endregion
# region Private Methods
/******************************************/
private static void CheckTargetType(object item)
{
var targetType = typeof(TItemType);
if (item.GetType().IsSubclassOf(targetType))
throw new ObjectDoesNotMatchTargetBaseTypeException(targetType, item);
}
#endregion
#region Abstract Methods
/******************************************/
protected abstract void OnItemAdded(TItemType addedItem);
protected abstract void OnItemRemoved(TItemType removedItem);
#endregion
}
}

If an ObservableCollection is not the solution for you, you can try that:
A) Implement a custom EventArgs that will contain the new Count attribute when an event will be fired.
public class ChangeListCountEventArgs : EventArgs
{
public int NewCount
{
get;
set;
}
public ChangeListCountEventArgs(int newCount)
{
NewCount = newCount;
}
}
B) Implement a custom List that inherits from List and redefine the Count attribute and the constructors according to your needs:
public class CustomList<T> : List<T>
{
public event EventHandler<ChangeListCountEventArgs> ListCountChanged;
public new int Count
{
get
{
ListCountChanged?.Invoke(this, new ChangeListCountEventArgs(base.Count));
return base.Count;
}
}
public CustomList()
{ }
public CustomList(List<T> list) : base(list)
{ }
public CustomList(CustomList<T> list) : base(list)
{ }
}
C) Finally subscribe to your event:
var myList = new CustomList<YourObject>();
myList.ListCountChanged += (obj, e) =>
{
// get the count thanks to e.NewCount
};

Binding a property that autoupdates

I wasn't expecting this to work but I wanted to try it. I have a bool that should tell me if the user has selected anything in my application (inside a particular control).
I wanted to bind something to that bool:
private bool _isAnythingSelected;
public bool IsAnythingSelected
{
get
{
_isAnythingSelected = (MyModel.Series.Where(p => p.IsSelected && p.GetType() == typeof(LineSeries)).Count() > 0);
return _isAnythingSelected;
}
set
{
_isAnythingSelected = value;
RaisePropertyChanged("IsAnythingSelected");
}
}
This is not working as I would like it, and I understand why it is so. My question is, how should I implement this selection thing without going to every method that allows user to select things? Thank you.

To update IsAnythingSelected properly, you have to handle two kinds of notifications:
notification about MyModel.Series collection changed;
notification about MyModel.Series collection item property changed.
The first one can be achieved "out of the box" with ObservableCollection<T> (or any other collection, that implements INotifyCollectionChanged.
The second one requires a custom solution (at least, I don't know any existing "out of the box" one).
You can combine ObservableCollection<T> with item property changed handling this way:
class MyObservableCollection<T> : ObservableCollection<T>
where T : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private void Initialize()
{
// initial PropertyChanged subscription
foreach (var item in Items)
{
SubscribeItemPropertyChanged(item);
}
}
private void SubscribeItemPropertyChanged(object item)
{
((INotifyPropertyChanged)item).PropertyChanged += HandleItemPropertyChanged;
}
private void UnSubscribeItemPropertyChanged(object item)
{
((INotifyPropertyChanged)item).PropertyChanged -= HandleItemPropertyChanged;
}
protected virtual void HandleItemPropertyChanged(object sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs args)
{
var handler = ItemPropertyChanged;
if (handler != null)
{
handler(sender, args);
}
}
protected override void ClearItems()
{
// we should unsubscribe from INotifyPropertyChanged.PropertyChanged event for each item
Items.ToList().ForEach(item => Remove(item));
}
protected override void OnCollectionChanged(NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs e)
{
base.OnCollectionChanged(e);
// subscribe for new items property changing;
// un-subscribe for old items property changing
switch (e.Action)
{
case NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Add:
SubscribeItemPropertyChanged(e.NewItems[0]);
break;
case NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Remove:
UnSubscribeItemPropertyChanged(e.OldItems[0]);
break;
case NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Replace:
SubscribeItemPropertyChanged(e.NewItems[0]);
UnSubscribeItemPropertyChanged(e.OldItems[0]);
break;
}
}
public MyObservableCollection()
: base()
{
}
public MyObservableCollection(IEnumerable<T> collection)
: base(collection)
{
Initialize();
}
public MyObservableCollection(List<T> list)
: base(list)
{
Initialize();
}
public EventHandler<PropertyChangedEventArgs> ItemPropertyChanged;
}
...and make MyModel.Series a MyObservableCollection<T> instance.
Then, your class, which contains IsAnythingSelected, will look like this:
// somewhere in code, where `MyModel` being initialized:
MyModel.Series.CollectionChanged += (sender, args) => RaisePropertyChanged("IsAnythingSelected");
MyModel.Series.ItemPropertyChanged += (sender, args) => RaisePropertyChanged("IsAnythingSelected");
public bool IsAnythingSelected
{
get
{
return MyModel.Series.Any(p => p.IsSelected && p.GetType() == typeof(LineSeries));
}
}
You even don't need IsAnythingSelected to be read-write property in this case. Just notify, that it was changed, and binding engine will re-read its value.

Datagrid does not maintain sort when the items are updated

I have a nice WPF DataGrid binded to a collection of objects. Everything works fine, when the properties of any object change the grid is updated. The problem is that the rows are not re-sorted when the update happens and then the sort is not valid anymore.
Any idea on how to fix that?
Thanks in advance.
EDIT: This is how I'm binding the DataGrid:
<Controls:DataGrid MinHeight="300" MinWidth="300" ItemsSource="{Binding Data}" AutoGenerateColumns="True">
public class MainWindowViewModel
{
public ObservableCollectionMultiThread<StockViewModel> Data { get; private set; }
}
public class ObservableCollectionMultiThread<T> : ObservableCollection<T>
{
// Override the event so this class can access it
public override event System.Collections.Specialized.NotifyCollectionChangedEventHandler CollectionChanged;
protected override void OnCollectionChanged(System.Collections.Specialized.NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs e)
{
// Be nice - use BlockReentrancy like MSDN said
using (base.BlockReentrancy())
{
System.Collections.Specialized.NotifyCollectionChangedEventHandler eventHandler = this.CollectionChanged;
if (eventHandler == null)
return;
Delegate[] delegates = eventHandler.GetInvocationList();
// Walk thru invocation list
foreach (System.Collections.Specialized.NotifyCollectionChangedEventHandler handler in delegates)
{
DispatcherObject dispatcherObject = handler.Target as DispatcherObject;
// If the subscriber is a DispatcherObject and different thread
if (dispatcherObject != null && dispatcherObject.CheckAccess() == false)
{
// Invoke handler in the target dispatcher's thread
dispatcherObject.Dispatcher.Invoke(DispatcherPriority.DataBind, handler, this, e);
}
else // Execute handler as is
handler(this, e);
}
}
}
}
PD: I'm using the DataGrid from CTP October 2008 as I'm with Net 3.5

Usually controls on WPF does not respond to item edition. I've used this class as the source for the grid:
using System;
using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Specialized;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Windows.Data;
using System.Windows.Threading;
namespace StockCrawler
{
public class AutoRefreshListCollectionView : ListCollectionView
{
public AutoRefreshListCollectionView(IList list)
: base(list)
{
this.SubscribeSourceEvents(list, false);
}
private void Item_PropertyChanged(object sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
bool refresh = false;
foreach (SortDescription sort in this.SortDescriptions)
{
if (sort.PropertyName == e.PropertyName)
{
refresh = true;
break;
}
}
if (!refresh)
{
foreach (GroupDescription group in this.GroupDescriptions)
{
PropertyGroupDescription propertyGroup = group as PropertyGroupDescription;
if (propertyGroup != null && propertyGroup.PropertyName == e.PropertyName)
{
refresh = true;
break;
}
}
}
if (refresh)
{
if (!this.Dispatcher.CheckAccess())
{
// Invoke handler in the target dispatcher's thread
this.Dispatcher.Invoke((Action)this.Refresh);
}
else // Execute handler as is
{
this.Refresh();
}
}
}
private void Source_CollectionChanged(object sender, NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (e.Action == NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Add)
{
this.SubscribeItemsEvents(e.NewItems, false);
}
else if (e.Action == NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Remove)
{
this.SubscribeItemsEvents(e.OldItems, true);
}
else
{
// TODO: Support this
}
}
private void SubscribeItemEvents(object item, bool remove)
{
INotifyPropertyChanged notify = item as INotifyPropertyChanged;
if (notify != null)
{
if (remove)
{
notify.PropertyChanged -= this.Item_PropertyChanged;
}
else
{
notify.PropertyChanged += this.Item_PropertyChanged;
}
}
}
private void SubscribeItemsEvents(IEnumerable items, bool remove)
{
foreach (object item in items)
{
this.SubscribeItemEvents(item, remove);
}
}
private void SubscribeSourceEvents(object source, bool remove)
{
INotifyCollectionChanged notify = source as INotifyCollectionChanged;
if (notify != null)
{
if (remove)
{
notify.CollectionChanged -= this.Source_CollectionChanged;
}
else
{
notify.CollectionChanged += this.Source_CollectionChanged;
}
}
this.SubscribeItemsEvents((IEnumerable)source, remove);
}
}
}

ObservableCollection

I have a WPF dialog that is bound to a list of ObservableCollection<MyEntity> type. In the dialog, I want the "OK" button to be enabled only if changes are made to the ObservableCollection<MyEntity> list - that includes adding/removing items from the list and modifying the individual items in the list.
For adding/removing items from the list, it is easy - I implemented a handler for the CollectionChanged event.
What I don't know how to do is when an individual item is modified. Say, MyEntity.Name="New Value", what interface does MyEntity class need to implement to make it 'observable'?

MyEntity needs to implement INotifyPropertyChanged, then when a property change occurs you fire the PropertyChanged event. Like this:
public class MyEntity : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public bool MyFlag
{
get { return _myFlag; }
set
{
_myFlag = value;
OnPropertyChanged("MyFlag");
}
}
protected void OnPropertyChanged(string propertyName)
{
if (this.PropertyChanged != null)
{
this.PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
}
Two ways to approach this are:
have an event listener internal to the object which then sets an IsDirty flag whenever a property changes. Then OK button is bound to a command (check out the usage of the ICommand interface), and in the CanExecute method of the command you check if any of the objects in the ObservableCollection have been set to dirty. This check can be done with a simple LINQ statement: myCollection.Any(x => x.IsDirty == true)
this method is more clunky and smelly.... have an external object listening for changes (by subscribing to the PropertyChanged event on each object), and that external listener can then enable the OK button (via databinding or by setting it directly).

I like the answer provided by slugster, here is an alternative building on slugster's answer.
If you bind to your OK button using DelegateCommnd you can add event handlers for CollectionChanged and PropertyChanged to change a simple boolean flag to control the state of the OK button.
public class MainViewModel : ViewModelBase
{
public DelegateCommand<object> RunCommand { get; set; }
public DelegateCommand<object> OkCommand { get; set; }
private bool enableOk = false;
private bool setOK = false;
private ObservableCollection<MyEntity> _entites = new ObservableCollection<MyEntity>();
public MainViewModel()
{
_entites.CollectionChanged += (s, e) =>
{
if (e.Action == NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Add)
{
// handle property changing
foreach (MyEntity item in e.NewItems)
{
((INotifyPropertyChanged)item).PropertyChanged += (s1, e1) => { if (setOK) enableOk = true; };
}
}
// handle collection changing
if (setOK) enableOk = false;
};
MyEntity me1 = new MyEntity { Name = "Name", Information = "Information", Details = "Detials" };
MyEntity me2 = new MyEntity { Name = "Name", Information = "Information", Details = "Detials" };
MyEntity me3 = new MyEntity { Name = "Name", Information = "Information", Details = "Detials" };
_entites.Add(me1);
_entites.Add(me2);
_entites.Add(me3);
// allow collection changes now to start enabling the ok button...
setOK = true;
RunCommand = new DelegateCommand<object>(OnRunCommnad, CanRunCommand);
OkCommand = new DelegateCommand<object>(OnOkCommnad, CanOkCommand);
}
private void OnRunCommnad(object obj)
{
MyEntity me = new MyEntity { Name = "Name", Information = "Information", Details = "Detials" };
// causes ok to become enabled
_entites.Add(me);
MyEntity first = _entites[0];
// causes ok to become enabled
first.Name = "Zamboni";
}
private bool CanRunCommand(object obj)
{
return true;
}
private void OnOkCommnad(object obj)
{
}
private bool CanOkCommand(object obj)
{
return enableOk;
}
}
Here is a version MyEntity (similar to the one provided by slugster):
Only the Name property fires an event in this example...
public class MyEntity : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private string _name = string.Empty;
public string Name
{
get
{
return _name;
}
set
{
_name = value;
OnPropertyChanged("Name");
}
}
public string Information { get; set; }
public string Details { get; set; }
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
protected void OnPropertyChanged(string propertyName)
{
PropertyChangedEventHandler handler = PropertyChanged;
if (handler != null)
{
handler(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
}
}

You should implement INotifyPropertyChanged. You could do it by the following way
(as you can see, this implementation is fully thread safe)
private readonly object _sync = new object();
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged
{
add { lock (_sync) _propertyChanged += value; }
remove { lock (_sync) _propertyChanged -= value; }
} private PropertyChangedEventHandler _propertyChanged;
protected void OnPropertyChanged(Expression<Func<object>> propertyExpression)
{
OnPropertyChanged(GetPropertyName(propertyExpression));
}
protected string GetPropertyName(Expression<Func<object>> propertyExpression)
{
MemberExpression body;
if (propertyExpression.Body is UnaryExpression)
body = (MemberExpression) ((UnaryExpression) propertyExpression.Body).Operand;
else
body = (MemberExpression) propertyExpression.Body;
return body.Member.Name;
}
protected virtual void OnPropertyChanged(string propertyName)
{
var handler = _propertyChanged;
if (handler != null) handler(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(propertyName));
}
Following the implementation I described above, you can notify about your changes by two ways
1) The first way
public int MyProperty
{
get { return _myProperty; }
set
{
if (value != __myProperty)
{
_subVersion = value;
OnPropertyChanged(MyPropertyPropertyName);
}
}
} private int _myProperty; const string MyPropertyPropertyName = "MyProperty";
2) And the second way
public int MyProperty
{
get { return _myProperty; }
set
{
if (value != _myProperty)
{
_subVersion = value;
OnPropertyChanged(() => MyProperty);
}
}
} private int _myProperty;

Another solution could be a custom observable collection that requires items to implement INotifyPropertyChanged. The user must attach a handler to the OnItemPropertyChanged event, which will be called whenever the property of an item in the collection is changed.
public class ObservableCollectionEnhanced<T> : ObservableCollection<T> where T : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public ObservableCollectionEnhanced()
: base()
{ }
public ObservableCollectionEnhanced(IEnumerable<T> collection)
: base(collection)
{
foreach (T item in Items)
item.PropertyChanged += OnItemPropertyChanged;
}
public ObservableCollectionEnhanced(List<T> list)
: base(list)
{
foreach (T item in Items)
item.PropertyChanged += OnItemPropertyChanged;
}
public event System.ComponentModel.PropertyChangedEventHandler ItemPropertyChanged;
public void OnItemPropertyChanged(Object sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (null != ItemPropertyChanged)
ItemPropertyChanged(sender, e);
}
protected override void InsertItem(int index, T item)
{
base.InsertItem(index, item);
item.PropertyChanged += OnItemPropertyChanged;
}
protected override void RemoveItem(int index)
{
T item = this.Items[index];
item.PropertyChanged -= OnItemPropertyChanged;
base.RemoveItem(index);
}
protected override void SetItem(int index, T item)
{
T oldItem = Items[index];
base.SetItem(index, item);
oldItem.PropertyChanged -= OnItemPropertyChanged;
item.PropertyChanged += OnItemPropertyChanged;
}
}
Configure the handler as follows:
public void OnItemPropertyChanged(Object sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
System.Diagnostics.Debug.WriteLine("Update called on {0}", sender);
}
...
collection.ItemPropertyChanged += OnItemPropertyChanged;

ObservableCollection and Item PropertyChanged

I've seen lots of talk about this question but maybe I'm just too much of a newbie to get it. If I have an observable collection that is a collection of "PersonNames" as in the msdn example (http: //msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms748365.aspx), I get updates to my View if a PersonName is added or removed, etc. I want to get an update to my View when I change a property in the PersonName as well. Like if I change the first name. I can implement OnPropertyChanged for each property and have this class derive from INotifyPropertyChanged and that seems to get called as expected.
My question is, how does the View get the updated data from the ObservableCollection as the property changed does not cause any event for the ObservableCollection?
This is probably something really simple but why I can't seem to find an example surprises me. Can anyone shed any light on this for me or have any pointers to examples I would greatly appreciate it. We have this scenario in multiple places in our current WPF app and are struggling with figuring it out.
"Generally, the code responsible for displaying the data adds a PropertyChanged event handler to each object currently displayed onscreen."
Could someone please give me an example of what this means? My View binds to my ViewModel which has a ObservableCollection. This collection is made up of a RowViewModel which has properties that support the PropertiesChanged event. But I can't figure out how to make the collection update itself so my view will be updated.

Here is how you would attach/detach to each item's PropertyChanged event.
ObservableCollection<INotifyPropertyChanged> items = new ObservableCollection<INotifyPropertyChanged>();
items.CollectionChanged += items_CollectionChanged;
static void items_CollectionChanged(object sender, NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs e)
{
if (e.OldItems != null)
{
foreach (INotifyPropertyChanged item in e.OldItems)
item.PropertyChanged -= item_PropertyChanged;
}
if (e.NewItems != null)
{
foreach (INotifyPropertyChanged item in e.NewItems)
item.PropertyChanged += item_PropertyChanged;
}
}
static void item_PropertyChanged(object sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
throw new NotImplementedException();
}

We wrote this in the WPF-chat:
public class OcPropertyChangedListener<T> : INotifyPropertyChanged where T : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
private readonly ObservableCollection<T> _collection;
private readonly string _propertyName;
private readonly Dictionary<T, int> _items = new Dictionary<T, int>(new ObjectIdentityComparer());
public OcPropertyChangedListener(ObservableCollection<T> collection, string propertyName = "")
{
_collection = collection;
_propertyName = propertyName ?? "";
AddRange(collection);
CollectionChangedEventManager.AddHandler(collection, CollectionChanged);
}
private void CollectionChanged(object sender, NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs e)
{
switch (e.Action)
{
case NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Add:
AddRange(e.NewItems.Cast<T>());
break;
case NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Remove:
RemoveRange(e.OldItems.Cast<T>());
break;
case NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Replace:
AddRange(e.NewItems.Cast<T>());
RemoveRange(e.OldItems.Cast<T>());
break;
case NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Move:
break;
case NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Reset:
Reset();
break;
default:
throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException();
}
}
private void AddRange(IEnumerable<T> newItems)
{
foreach (T item in newItems)
{
if (_items.ContainsKey(item))
{
_items[item]++;
}
else
{
_items.Add(item, 1);
PropertyChangedEventManager.AddHandler(item, ChildPropertyChanged, _propertyName);
}
}
}
private void RemoveRange(IEnumerable<T> oldItems)
{
foreach (T item in oldItems)
{
_items[item]--;
if (_items[item] == 0)
{
_items.Remove(item);
PropertyChangedEventManager.RemoveHandler(item, ChildPropertyChanged, _propertyName);
}
}
}
private void Reset()
{
foreach (T item in _items.Keys.ToList())
{
PropertyChangedEventManager.RemoveHandler(item, ChildPropertyChanged, _propertyName);
_items.Remove(item);
}
AddRange(_collection);
}
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
protected virtual void ChildPropertyChanged(object sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
PropertyChangedEventHandler handler = PropertyChanged;
if (handler != null)
handler(sender, e);
}
private class ObjectIdentityComparer : IEqualityComparer<T>
{
public bool Equals(T x, T y)
{
return object.ReferenceEquals(x, y);
}
public int GetHashCode(T obj)
{
return System.Runtime.CompilerServices.RuntimeHelpers.GetHashCode(obj);
}
}
}
public static class OcPropertyChangedListener
{
public static OcPropertyChangedListener<T> Create<T>(ObservableCollection<T> collection, string propertyName = "") where T : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
return new OcPropertyChangedListener<T>(collection, propertyName);
}
}
Weak events
Keeps track of the same item being added multiple times to the collection
It ~bubbles~ up the property changed events of the children.
The static class is just for convenience.
Use it like this:
var listener = OcPropertyChangedListener.Create(yourCollection);
listener.PropertyChanged += (sender, args) => { //do you stuff}

Bill,
I'm sure that you have found a workaround or solution to your issue by now, but I posted this for anyone with this common issue. You can substitute this class for ObservableCollections that are collections of objects that implement INotifyPropertyChanged. It is kind of draconian, because it says that the list needs to Reset rather than find the one property/item that has changed, but for small lists the performance hit should be unoticable.
Marc
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;
using System.Collections.Specialized;
using System.ComponentModel;
namespace WCIOPublishing.Helpers
{
public class ObservableCollectionWithItemNotify<T> : ObservableCollection<T> where T: INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public ObservableCollectionWithItemNotify()
{
this.CollectionChanged += items_CollectionChanged;
}
public ObservableCollectionWithItemNotify(IEnumerable<T> collection) :base( collection)
{
this.CollectionChanged += items_CollectionChanged;
foreach (INotifyPropertyChanged item in collection)
item.PropertyChanged += item_PropertyChanged;
}
private void items_CollectionChanged(object sender, NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs e)
{
if(e != null)
{
if(e.OldItems!=null)
foreach (INotifyPropertyChanged item in e.OldItems)
item.PropertyChanged -= item_PropertyChanged;
if(e.NewItems!=null)
foreach (INotifyPropertyChanged item in e.NewItems)
item.PropertyChanged += item_PropertyChanged;
}
}
private void item_PropertyChanged(object sender, PropertyChangedEventArgs e)
{
var reset = new NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs(NotifyCollectionChangedAction.Reset);
this.OnCollectionChanged(reset);
}
}
}

As you found out, there is no collection-level event that indicates that a property of an item in the collection has changed. Generally, the code responsible for displaying the data adds a PropertyChanged event handler to each object currently displayed onscreen.

Instead of ObservableCollection simply use the BindingList<T>.
The following code shows a DataGrid binding to a List and to item's properties.
<Window x:Class="WpfApplication1.MainWindow"
xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
Title="MainWindow" Height="350" Width="525">
<DataGrid ItemsSource="{Binding}" AutoGenerateColumns="False" >
<DataGrid.Columns>
<DataGridTextColumn Header="Values" Binding="{Binding Value}" />
</DataGrid.Columns>
</DataGrid>
</Window>
using System;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Windows;
using System.Windows.Threading;
namespace WpfApplication1 {
public partial class MainWindow : Window {
public MainWindow() {
var c = new BindingList<Data>();
this.DataContext = c;
// add new item to list on each timer tick
var t = new DispatcherTimer() { Interval = TimeSpan.FromSeconds(1) };
t.Tick += (s, e) => {
if (c.Count >= 10) t.Stop();
c.Add(new Data());
};
t.Start();
}
}
public class Data : INotifyPropertyChanged {
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged = delegate { };
System.Timers.Timer t;
static Random r = new Random();
public Data() {
// update value on each timer tick
t = new System.Timers.Timer() { Interval = r.Next(500, 1000) };
t.Elapsed += (s, e) => {
Value = DateTime.Now.Ticks;
this.PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs("Value"));
};
t.Start();
}
public long Value { get; private set; }
}
}

Following is the code giving a simple explanation of answer by #Stack and showing how BindingList is observing if it has a item changed and shows ObservableCollection will not observe the change inside an item.
using System;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;
using System.ComponentModel;
namespace BindingListExample
{
class Program
{
public ObservableCollection<MyStruct> oc = new ObservableCollection<MyStruct>();
public System.ComponentModel.BindingList<MyStruct> bl = new BindingList<MyStruct>();
public Program()
{
oc.Add(new MyStruct());
oc.CollectionChanged += CollectionChanged;
bl.Add(new MyStruct());
bl.ListChanged += ListChanged;
}
void ListChanged(object sender, ListChangedEventArgs e)
{
//Observe when the IsActive value is changed this event is triggered.
Console.WriteLine(e.ListChangedType.ToString());
}
void CollectionChanged(object sender, System.Collections.Specialized.NotifyCollectionChangedEventArgs e)
{
//Observe when the IsActive value is changed this event is not triggered.
Console.WriteLine(e.Action.ToString());
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Program pm = new Program();
pm.bl[0].IsActive = false;
}
}
public class MyStruct : INotifyPropertyChanged
{
public event PropertyChangedEventHandler PropertyChanged;
private bool isactive;
public bool IsActive
{
get { return isactive; }
set
{
isactive = value;
NotifyPropertyChanged("IsActive");
}
}
private void NotifyPropertyChanged(String PropertyName)
{
if (PropertyChanged != null)
{
PropertyChanged(this, new PropertyChangedEventArgs(PropertyName));
}
}
}
}