Re: Gloryfied Calender Control - C# Discussion Boards

29-Jul-08 21:44

Hey guys

so one of the next controles i need to write is a calender like thing. Basically what it needs to do is insert, update and delete the rows of an intersection entity. Heres what the relationships look like(X is the many)

-------------       ----------       ------------
|  Shift    |-----X | Roster |X------| Employee |
-------------       ----------       ------------

The control will look like a calender and then the user can setup which shifts the employee works on which days.

The thing is i have no idea how to represent the data in this control, totaly clueless.

does anyone have any ideas?

Thanx

Harvey Saayman - South Africa
Junior Developer
.Net, C#, SQL
you.suck = (you.passion != Programming)

Simon P Stevens29-Jul-08 23:26

Simon P Stevens

29-Jul-08 23:26

You're confusing your self by thinking in database schemas. The roster is really a artificial entity, used only to prevent many to many relationships in the database, it doesn't need to be displayed to the user.

What you really have is each employee can work many shifts, and each shift can have many employees.

So you need two alternative views. 1 view allows the user to select an employee, and assign which shifts they work, and the other allows the user to select a shift, and assign which employees will work that shift. Depending on your use cases, you may only need one of these views. Of different types of users may need different views. (If for example, employees log in and select their own shifts, you could automatically just display data for the logged in employee)

Depending on number of employees/shifts you could have a drop down box to select the employee and tick boxes underneath to assign shifts. Or if you have a lot of shifts, maybe a list box of the shifts the employee is working, with add/remove buttons.

or the reverse, a simple calender control to select the shift, then a list of employees underneath with tick boxes.

I'm starting to ramble now Smile | :)

. Hope I've given you some ideas.

Simon

Harvey Saayman31-Jul-08 22:11

31-Jul-08 22:11

Hey Simon

sorry for the late reply, ive been offline the last few days.

i understand what you mean completely, but im re-doing an existing system. the current interface for this roster is a calender type thing and changing that to a "simpler" interface would seem like a downgrade...?

Heres what happens in the current system...

After the user sets up employees and shifts a roster needs to be set up. Lets say that the employee works a 2week cycle, the user will then click the cell representing the 1st day of that cycle (an actual date on a calender), and assign the shift the employee should work that day. Then the next 13 days are set up on the same way. Then the user can select the 14days that were set up and copy them for how ever long the user wants to.

Hope all that makes sense Big Grin | :-D

Harvey Saayman - South Africa
Junior Developer
.Net, C#, SQL
you.suck = (you.passion != Programming)

Simon P Stevens1-Aug-08 2:42

Simon P Stevens

1-Aug-08 2:42

HarveySaayman wrote:
changing that to a "simpler" interface would seem like a downgrade

Don't get caught in the trap of thinking that complexity is better. Analyse your users requirements. Look at the use cases. Design something that meets the requirements, and makes the most common use cases easy to perform. It's not a downgrade if it does the job in the simplest possible way for the user.

HarveySaayman wrote:
After the user sets up employees and shifts a roster needs to be set up. Lets say that the employee works a 2week cycle, the user will then click the cell representing the 1st day of that cycle (an actual date on a calender), and assign the shift the employee should work that day. Then the next 13 days are set up on the same way. Then the user can select the 14days that were set up and copy them for how ever long the user wants to.

Hope all that makes sense [Big Grin]

Yes. It sounds fine... Umm... What was your question?

Simon

Harvey Saayman1-Aug-08 2:58

1-Aug-08 2:58

it really absolutely has to be that way, unfortunately its not in my hands.

Simon Stevens wrote:
What was your question?

still have no idea to represent the data in such a control... any ideas?

Harvey Saayman - South Africa
Junior Developer
.Net, C#, SQL
you.suck = (you.passion != Programming)

DaveyM691-Aug-08 3:10

1-Aug-08 3:10

Is it the classes/structs behind - or the UI part of the control that you're struggling with?

Dave
BTW, in software, hope and pray is not a viable strategy. (Luc Pattyn)

Harvey Saayman1-Aug-08 3:21

1-Aug-08 3:21

i actually haven't started yet... still trying to plan the control

i have no idea where to start. I don't think the UI will be too much of a problem after ive figured out how to insert / extract the data out of the control...

Any ideas?

Harvey Saayman - South Africa
Junior Developer
.Net, C#, SQL
you.suck = (you.passion != Programming)

DaveyM691-Aug-08 3:48

1-Aug-08 3:48

This is something rough I scratched up this morning based on some older code I had used in a similar situation - edited variable and type names to fit for you.

It's a bit long but it should work for the basic data structure!

public struct Employee : IComparable
    {
        public Employee(string name)
        {
            m_Name = name;
        }
        private string m_Name;
        public string Name
        {
            get { return m_Name; }
            set { m_Name = value; }
        }
        public static bool operator ==(Employee e1, Employee e2)
        {
            return e1.m_Name == e2.m_Name;
        }
        public static bool operator !=(Employee e1, Employee e2)
        {
            return e1.m_Name != e2.m_Name;
        }
        public override bool Equals(object obj)
        {
            if (obj is Employee)
            {
                Employee tmp = (Employee)obj;
                return m_Name.Equals(tmp.m_Name);
            }
            return false;
        }
        public override int GetHashCode()
        {
            return m_Name.GetHashCode();
        }
        public override string ToString()
        {
            return m_Name;
        }
        public int CompareTo(object obj)
        {
            if (obj is Employee)
            {
                Employee tmp = (Employee)obj;
                return m_Name.CompareTo(tmp.m_Name);
            }
            return 1;
        }
    }
    public class EmployeeCollection : List<Employee>
    {
        public event EventHandler ListChanged;
        public new void Add(Employee employee)
        {
            if (!Contains(employee))
            {
                base.Add(employee);
                OnListChanged();
            }
            else
                throw new ArgumentException("Employee exists", "employee");
        }
        protected virtual void OnListChanged()
        {
            if (ListChanged != null)
            {
                ListChanged(this, EventArgs.Empty);
            }
        }
    }
    public struct Time
    {
        public Time(int hour, int minute)
        {
            if (hour > 0 && hour <= 23)
                m_Hour = hour;
            else
                throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(
                    "Hour", "Hour must be between 0 and 23");
            if (minute > 0 && minute <= 59)
                m_Minute = minute;
            else
                throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(
                    "Minute", "Minute must be between 0 and 59");
        }
        private int m_Hour;
        private int m_Minute;
        public int Hour
        {
            get { return m_Hour; }
            set
            {
                if (value > 0 && value <= 23)
                    m_Hour = value;
                else
                    throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(
                        "Hour", "Hour must be between 0 and 23");
            }
        }
        public int Minute
        {
            get { return m_Minute; }
            set
            {
                if (value > 0 && value <= 59)
                    m_Minute = value;
                else
                    throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(
                        "Minute", "Minute must be between 0 and 59");
            }
        }
        public override string ToString()
        {
            return m_Hour.ToString().PadLeft(2, '0') +
                m_Minute.ToString().PadLeft(2, '0');
        }
        public DateTime ToDateTime()
        {
            DateTime rtn = new DateTime();
            rtn.AddHours(m_Hour);
            rtn.AddMinutes(m_Minute);
            return rtn;
        }
        public static Time FromDateTime(DateTime value)
        {
            return new Time(value.Hour, value.Minute);
        }
    }
    public struct Shift
    {
        public Shift(Time start, TimeSpan duration)
        {
            m_Start = start;
            m_Duration = duration;
        }
        private Time m_Start;
        private TimeSpan m_Duration;
        public Time Start
        {
            get { return m_Start; }
            set { m_Start = value; }
        }
        public TimeSpan Duration
        {
            get { return m_Duration; }
            set { m_Duration = value; }
        }
        public Time End
        {
            get { return Time.FromDateTime(m_Start.ToDateTime() + m_Duration); }
        }
        public override string ToString()
        {
            return m_Start.ToString() + " - " + End.ToString();
        }
    }
    public class ShiftDictionary : Dictionary<int,Shift>
    {
        public event EventHandler DictionaryChanged;
        private static int lastID = 0;
        public void Add(Shift shift)
        {
            if (!ContainsValue(shift))
            {
                lastID++;
                Add(lastID, shift);
                OnDictionaryChanged();
            }
            else
                throw new ArgumentException("Shift exists", "shift");
        }
        protected virtual void OnDictionaryChanged()
        {
            if (DictionaryChanged != null)
            {
                DictionaryChanged(this, EventArgs.Empty);
            }
        }
    }
    public struct RosterEmployeeItem
    {
        public RosterEmployeeItem(Employee employee, List<int> shifts)
        {
            m_Employee = employee;
            m_Shifts = shifts;
        }
        private Employee m_Employee;
        private List<int> m_Shifts;
        public Employee Employee
        {
            get { return m_Employee; }
            set { m_Employee = value; }
        }
        public List<int> Shifts
        {
            get { return m_Shifts; }
            set { m_Shifts = value; }
        }
        public override string ToString()
        {
            return m_Employee.ToString();
        }
        public string ToString(ShiftDictionary shiftDictionary)
        {
            StringBuilder returnBuilder = new StringBuilder();
            returnBuilder.Append(m_Employee.ToString());
            foreach (int shift in m_Shifts)
            {
                returnBuilder.Append(Environment.NewLine);
                returnBuilder.Append(shiftDictionary[shift].ToString());
            }
            return returnBuilder.ToString();
        }
        public void AddShift(int shift)
        {
            if (!m_Shifts.Contains(shift))
                m_Shifts.Add(shift);
            else
                throw new ArgumentException("Shift exists", "shift");
        }
    }
    public struct RosterShiftItem
    {
        public RosterShiftItem(int shift, List<Employee> employees)
        {
            m_Shift = shift;
            m_Employees = employees;
        }
        private int m_Shift;
        private List<Employee> m_Employees;
        public int Shift
        {
            get { return m_Shift; }
            set { m_Shift = value; }
        }
        public List<Employee> Employees
        {
            get { return m_Employees; }
            set { m_Employees = value; }
        }
        public string ToString(ShiftDictionary shiftDictionary)
        {
            StringBuilder returnBuilder = new StringBuilder();
            returnBuilder.Append(shiftDictionary[m_Shift].ToString());
            foreach (Employee employee in m_Employees)
            {
                returnBuilder.Append(Environment.NewLine);
                returnBuilder.Append(employee.ToString());
            }
            return returnBuilder.ToString();
        }
        public void AddEmployee(Employee employee)
        {
            if (!m_Employees.Contains(employee))
                m_Employees.Add(employee);
            else
                throw new ArgumentException("Employee exists", "employee");
        }
    }

    public struct RosterItem
    {
        public RosterItem(DateTime date)
        {
            m_Date = date.Date;
            m_ItemsByEmployee = new List<RosterEmployeeItem>();
            m_ItemsByShift = new List<RosterShiftItem>();
        }
        private DateTime m_Date;
        private List<RosterEmployeeItem> m_ItemsByEmployee;
        private List<RosterShiftItem> m_ItemsByShift;
        public DateTime Date
        {
            get { return m_Date; }
            set { m_Date = value.Date; }
        }
        public List<RosterEmployeeItem> ItemsByEmployee
        {
            get { return m_ItemsByEmployee; }
            set { m_ItemsByEmployee = value; }
        }
        public List<RosterShiftItem> ItemsByShift
        {
            get { return m_ItemsByShift; }
            set { m_ItemsByShift = value; }
        }
        public string ToString(ShiftDictionary shiftDictionary)
        {
            StringBuilder returnBuilder = new StringBuilder();
            switch (Roster.View)
            {
                case Roster.ViewOptions.ByEmployee:
                    foreach (RosterEmployeeItem item in m_ItemsByEmployee)
                    {
                        returnBuilder.Append(item.Employee.ToString());
                        foreach (int shift in item.Shifts)
                        {
                            returnBuilder.Append(Environment.NewLine);
                            returnBuilder.Append(shiftDictionary[shift].ToString());
                        }
                    }
                    break;
                case Roster.ViewOptions.ByShift:
                    foreach (RosterShiftItem item in m_ItemsByShift)
                    {
                        returnBuilder.Append(shiftDictionary[item.Shift].ToString());
                        foreach (Employee employee in item.Employees)
                        {
                            returnBuilder.Append(Environment.NewLine);
                            returnBuilder.Append(employee.ToString());
                        }
                    }
                    break;
            }
            return returnBuilder.ToString();
        }
        public void AddEmployee(Employee employee, List<int> shifts)
        {
            bool found = false;
            foreach (RosterEmployeeItem employeeItem in ItemsByEmployee)
            {
                if (employeeItem.Employee == employee)
                {
                    foreach (int shift in shifts)
                    {
                        if (!employeeItem.Shifts.Contains(shift))
                        {
                            employeeItem.Shifts.Add(shift);
                            found = true;
                            break;
                        }
                        else
                            throw new ArgumentException("Shift ID " + shift.ToString() + " exists for this employee", "shifts");
                    }
                }
            }
            if (!found)
            {
                m_ItemsByEmployee.Add(new RosterEmployeeItem(employee, shifts));
            }
            foreach (int shift in shifts)
            {
                found = false;
                foreach (RosterShiftItem shiftItem in m_ItemsByShift)
                {
                    if (shiftItem.Shift == shift)
                    {
                        if (!shiftItem.Employees.Contains(employee))
                        {
                            shiftItem.Employees.Add(employee);
                            found = true;
                            break;
                        }
                        else
                            throw new ArgumentException("Employee exists for shift ID " + shift.ToString(), "employee");
                    }
                }
                if (!found)
                {
                    List<Employee> employeeList = new List<Employee>();
                    employeeList.Add(employee);
                    m_ItemsByShift.Add(new RosterShiftItem(shift, employeeList));
                }
            }
        }
    }
    public class Roster : List<RosterItem>
    {
        public static event EventHandler ViewChanged;
        public enum ViewOptions
        {
            ByEmployee, ByShift
        }
        private static ViewOptions m_View;
        public static ViewOptions View
        {
            get { return m_View; }
            set
            {
                ViewOptions oldView = m_View;
                m_View = value;
                if (m_View != oldView)
                    OnViewChanged();
            }
        }
        protected static void OnViewChanged()
        {
            if (ViewChanged != null)
                ViewChanged(null, EventArgs.Empty);
        }
    }

Dave
BTW, in software, hope and pray is not a viable strategy. (Luc Pattyn)

Simon P Stevens1-Aug-08 3:54

Simon P Stevens

1-Aug-08 3:54

Yeah....What he said.. Laugh | :laugh:

(That deserves a 5 for quantity even if it's no good Smile | :)

)

Simon

Harvey Saayman1-Aug-08 8:36

1-Aug-08 8:36

thanx for your effort dave!

ill have a closer look at it as soon as i get a chance. Ill let you know how it goes

Harvey Saayman - South Africa
Junior Developer
.Net, C#, SQL
you.suck = (you.passion != Programming)

DaveyM6929-Jul-08 23:33

29-Jul-08 23:33

I agree with Simon - it seems that it's just the shifts and employees that are important here.

HarveySaayman wrote:
user can setup which shifts the employee works on which days

If that's the case a simple combobox & checked list box or a treeview may be enough. If not, you may need to give us more info.

Dave
BTW, in software, hope and pray is not a viable strategy. (Luc Pattyn)

Harvey Saayman31-Jul-08 22:13

override TreeNode Class in C#

31-Jul-08 22:13

Hey dave

ive replied to simons post with some more details if you want to have a look

Thanx

Harvey Saayman - South Africa
Junior Developer
.Net, C#, SQL
you.suck = (you.passion != Programming)

sanjeevmedhi29-Jul-08 21:43

sanjeevmedhi

29-Jul-08 21:43

hi everyone,

I want to add checkbox only to the child node in treeview but not in the parent node. can anyone help me which method and how should i override(TreeNode class) to get the proper output.

Thanks in advance

Re: override TreeNode Class in C#

DaveyM6929-Jul-08 23:37