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Developing Mobile Applications with Oracle Mobile Application Framework
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14 Enabling User Preferences

This chapter describes how to create both application-level and application feature-level user preference pages.

This chapter includes the following sections:

14.1 Creating User Preference Pages for a Mobile Application

Preferences enable you to add settings that can be configured by end users. Within both the maf-application.xml and maf-feature.xml files, the user preference pages are defined with the <adfmf:preferences> element. As shown in Example 14-1, the child element of <adfmf:preferences> called <adfmf:preferenceGroup> and its child elements define the user preferences by creating pages that present options in various forms, such as text strings, dropdown menus, or in the case of Example 14-1, as a child page that can present the user with additional options for application settings.

You also use the <adfmf:preferences> element to create the preferences that users manage within each application feature.

Example 14-1 Defining Application-Level Preferences with the <adfmf:preferences> Element

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<adfmf:application xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
                   xmlns:adfmf="http://xmlns.oracle.com/adf/mf"
                   name="MobileApplication" 
                   id="com.company.MobileApplication"
                   appControllerFolder="ApplicationController"  
                   version="1"
                   vendor="oracle"
                   listener-class="application.LifeCycleListenerImpl">
  <adfmf:description>This app created by Mobile Application Framework</adfmf:description>
  <adfmf:featureReference id="PROD"/>
  <adfmf:featureReference id="HCM"/>
  <adfmf:featureReference id="Customers"/>
      <adfmf:preferences>
<adfmf:preferenceGroup id="a" label="Prefs Group A">
        <adfmf:preferenceBoolean id="a1_sound" label="Sound Effects"/>
        <adfmf:preferenceNumber id="a2_retries" label="Retries" default="3"/>
        <adfmf:preferenceList id="a3_background" label="Background" default="3">
          <adfmf:preferenceValue name="None" value="0" id="pv4"/>
          <adfmf:preferenceValue name="Field" value="1" id="pv1"/>
          <adfmf:preferenceValue name="Galaxy" value="2" id="pv5"/>
          <adfmf:preferenceValue name="Mountain" value="3" id="pv6"/>
        </adfmf:preferenceList>
        <adfmf:preferenceText id="a4_name" label="Default Name"/>
        <adfmf:preferencePage id="aa" label="Prefs SubGroup AA">
          <adfmf:preferenceGroup id="aa_sec" label="Security">
            <adfmf:preferenceBoolean id="aa_sec_useSec" label="Use Security"/>
            <adfmf:preferenceNumber id="aa_sec_timeout" label="Timeout (secs)" default="120"/>
          </adfmf:preferenceGroup>
        </adfmf:preferencePage>
      </adfmf:preferenceGroup>
      <adfmf:preferenceGroup id="b" label="Prefs Group B">
        <adfmf:preferenceBoolean id="b_cloudSync" label="Cloud Sync"/>
        <adfmf:preferenceList id="b_dispUsage" label="Display Usage As" default="1">
          <adfmf:preferenceValue name="Percent" value="1" id="pv2"/>
          <adfmf:preferenceValue name="Minutes" value="2" id="pv3"/>
        </adfmf:preferenceList>
      </adfmf:preferenceGroup>
    </adfmf:preferences>
</adfmf:application>

Figure 14-1 shows an example of how opening child user preferences page can offer subsequent options.

Figure 14-1 User Preferences Pages

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Preference pages are defined within the <adfmf:preferenceGroup> element and have the following child elements:

  • <adfmf:preferencePage>—Specifies a new page in the user interface.

  • <adfmf:preferenceList>—Provides users with a specific set of options.

    • <adfmf:preferenceValue>—A child element that defines a list element.

  • <adfmf:preferenceBoolean>—A boolean setting.

  • <adfmf:preferenceText>—A text preference setting.

See Oracle Fusion Middleware Tag Reference for Oracle Mobile Application Framework for more information on these elements and their attributes.

For an example of creating preference pages at both the application and application-feature levels, refer to the PrefDemo sample application. This sample application is located in the PublicSamples.zip file at the following location within the JDeveloper installation directory of your development computer:

jdev_install/jdeveloper/jdev/extensions/oracle.maf/Samples

The PrefDemo application is comprised of an application-level settings page as well as three application feature preference pages, which are implemented as MAF AMX. Figure 14-2 shows the PrefDemo application settings page, which you invoke from the general settings page. In this illustration, the preference settings page is invoked from the iOS Settings application.

Figure 14-2 The PrefDemo Application Settings Page

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The application feature preference pages, illustrated by App, Feature1 (which is selected), and Feature 2 in Figure 14-3, provide examples of preferences pages constructed from the MAF AMX Boolean Switch, Input Text, and Output Text components that use EL (Expression Language) to access the application feature and the various <adfmf:preferences> components configured within it. For more information, see Section 14.3, "Using EL Expressions to Retrieve Stored Values for User Preference Pages."

Figure 14-3 An Application Feature Preference Page from the PrefDemo Application

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In the PrefDemo application, each MAF AMX preference page is referenced by a single bounded task flow comprised of a view activity and a control flow case that enables the page refresh.

14.1.1 How to Create Mobile Application-Level Preferences Pages

The Preferences page of the maf-application.xml overview editor, shown in Figure 14-4, enables you to build sets of application-level preference pages by nesting the child preference page elements within <adfmf:preferenceGroup>. The page presents the <adfmf:preferencesGroup> and its child elements as similarly named options (that is, Preference Group, Preference Page, Preference List, and so on), which you assemble into a hierarchy (or tree), similar to the Structure window in JDeveloper.

Figure 14-4 Adding Mobile Application-Level Preferences Using the Preference Page

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To ensure that the maf-application.xml file is well-formed, use the Preferences page's Add dropdown list, shown in Figure 14-4 to construct the user preferences pages. While you can also drag components from the Preferences palette, shown in Figure 14-5, into either the editor, the Source window, or the Structure window, the page's dropdown list presents only the elements that can have the appropriate parent, child, or sibling relationship to a selected preferences element. For example, Figure 14-4 shows only the components that can be inserted within the Preference Group element, Oracle Mobile App. The editor also enables you to enter the values for the attributes specific to each preference element.

Figure 14-5 Preferences in the Component Palette

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To create preferences pages:

  1. Click Preferences.

  2. Click Add to create the parent <adfmf:preferenceGroup> element.

  3. Enter the following information in to the Insert Preference Group dialog, shown in Figure 14-6.

    Figure 14-6 Defining the Parent Preference Group Element

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    • Enter a unique identifier for the Preference Group element.

    • Enter the descriptive text that displays in the user interface. For an example of how this text displays in the user interface, see Sample in Figure 14-1.

  4. Click Add to further define the preference pages using the Insert Before, Insert Inside, Insert After options to ensure that the XML document is well formed.

14.1.1.1 How to Create a New User Preference Page

The Preference Page component enables you to create a new user interface page. You create a Preference Page using the Insert Before, Insert Inside, Insert After options.

Before you begin:

You must create a Preferences Group element.

To create a new user preference page: 

  1. Select the Preference Group element.

  2. Click Add, choose Insert Inside (Preference Group), then select Preference Page. As shown in Figure 14-7, the Preference Group is called MobileApp.

    Figure 14-7 Selecting the Preference Page Component

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  3. Define the following Preference Page attributes in the Insert Preference Page dialog, shown in Figure 14-8:

    • Enter a unique identifier for the Preference Page element.

    • Enter the descriptive text that displays in the user interface.

    Figure 14-8 The Insert Preference Page Dialog

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  4. Create the body of the preference page by inserting a child Preference Group element by selecting the Preference Page, and then first choosing Insert Inside (Preference Page) and then Preference Group, as shown in Figure 14-9. After you define a unique identifier and display name for the child Preference Group, you can populate it with other elements, such as a Preference List element, as shown in Example 14-2.

    Figure 14-9 Adding a Preference Group to a Preference Page

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14.1.1.2 What Happens When You Add a Preference Page

After you define the Preference Page and its child Preference Group components in the overview editor, JDeveloper generates an <adfmf:preferencePage> with attributes similar to Example 14-2. The <adfmf:preferencePage> is nested within a parent <adfmf:preferenceGroup> element.

Example 14-2 Adding an <adfmf:PreferencePage element>

<adfmf:preferences>
          <adfmf:preferenceGroup id="gen"
                                 label="Oracle Mobile App">
                     <adfmf:preferencePage id="application_version"
                                           label="Version">
                    <adfmf:preferenceGroup id="version_select"
                                           label="Select Your Version">
                         <adfmf:preferenceList id="edition"
                                                label="Edition"
                                                default="PERSONAL">
                              adfmf:preferenceValue name="Enterprise"
                                                    id="pv2"/>
                              <adfmf:preferenceValue name="Personal"
                                                     value="PERSONAL"
                                                     id="pv1"/>
                         </adfmf:preferenceList>
                    </adfmf:preferenceGroup>
                     </adfmf:preferencePage>
</adfmf:preferences>

14.1.1.3 How to Create User Preference Lists

Add a Preference List component to create a list of options.

Before you begin:

You must create Preference Group as the parent to the Preference List or any other list-related component.

To create a user preference list:

  1. Select a Preference Group or Preference Page and then click Add, then Insert Inside, and then Preference List. Example 14-2 shows adding a Preference List as a child of a Preference Group component called Select Your Version.

    Figure 14-10 Adding a Preference List Component to a Preference Group

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  2. Define the following attributes using the Insert Preference List dialog, shown in Example 14-2, and then click OK.

    • Enter a unique identifier.

    • Enter the descriptive text that displays in the user interface.

      Figure 14-11 The Insert Preference List Dialog

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  3. Define a list of items by clicking Add in the Preference Value table, shown in Figure 14-12. You can also remove a preference value by selecting it and then clicking Delete. You can change the order in which the preference values display by selecting the preference value and then using the up- and down-arrows.

    You can present the user with a default setting by choosing Default. As illustrated in Example 14-2, the default status is defined within the <adfmf:preferenceList> element as default="ENTERPIRSE".

    Tip:

    In addition to clicking Add, you can add Preference Value components by dragging them either into the Structure window or the Source window.

    Figure 14-12 Adding Preference Values

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14.1.1.4 What Happens When You Create a Preference List

After you add Preference List component to a Preference Group and then define a series of Preference Values, JDeveloper updates the <adfmf:preferences> section with an <adfmf:preferenceList> element, as shown in Example 14-2.

14.1.1.5 How to Create a Boolean Preference List

See, for example, Example 14-1.

Before you begin:

Because an <adfmf:preferenceBoolean> element must be nested within an <adfmf:preferenceGroup> element, you must first insert a Preference Group component to the hierarchy.

To create a boolean preference list:

  1. Select a Preference Group element, such as GPS Settings in Figure 14-13.

    Figure 14-13 Adding a Boolean Preference to a Preference Group

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  2. Define the following attributes using the Insert Boolean Preference dialog, shown in Figure 14-14, and then click OK.

    • Enter a unique identifier.

    • Enter the descriptive text that displays in the user interface.

    Figure 14-14 The Insert Boolean Preference Dialog

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  3. Accept the default value of false, or select true.

14.1.1.6 What Happens When You Add a Boolean Preference

When you add a Boolean Preference and designate its default value, JDeveloper updates the <adfmf:preferences> section of the maf-application.xml file with a <adfmf:preferenceBoolean> element, as illustrated in Example 14-3.

Example 14-3 Adding an <adfmf:preferenceBoolean> Element

<adfmf:preferencePage id="gps_tracking" 
                      label="Your_GPS_Locations">
   <adfmf:preferenceGroup id="gps" 
                          label="GPS Settings">
      <adfmf:preferenceBoolean id="track_gps"
                               label="Automatically Track Location" 
                               default="true"/>
</adfmf:preferencePage>

14.1.1.7 How to Add a Text Preference

Use the insert options, shown in Figure 14-15, to create a Text Preference, a dialog that enables users to store information or view default text. Figure 14-15 shows creating a text preference within a Preference Group called Security.

Figure 14-15 Inserting a Text Preference

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Before you begin:

Create a Preference Group element.

To create a text preference:

  1. Select a Preference Group element.

  2. Select Insert Inside and then Text Preference.

  3. Enter the following information into the Insert Text Preference dialog, shown in Figure 14-16, and then click OK.

    • Enter a unique identifier.

    • Enter the descriptive text that displays in the user interface.

    Figure 14-16 The Insert Text Preference Dialog

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  4. Define the following for the preference text dialog:

    • Enter the default text value.

    • Select Secret to hide the text preference.

Figure 14-17 Defining the Text Preference

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14.1.1.8 What Happens When You Define a Text Preference

When you add a Text Preference and designate its default value, JDeveloper updates the <adfmf:preferences> section of the maf-application.xml file with a <adfmf:preferenceText> element, as illustrated in Example 14-4.

Example 14-4 Adding the <adfmf:preferenceText> Element

<adfmf:preferenceGroup id="security" label="Security">
      <adfmf:preferenceText id="serviceURL"
                            label="Security URL" 
                            default="http://security.example.com/provider"/>
      <adfmf:preferenceText  id="username"  
                             label="User Name"/>
      <adfmf:preferenceText  id="password"   
                             label="Password"
                             secret="true"/>
   </adfmf:preferenceGroup>

The Preference Group elements that define a security URL, user name, and password preference setting display similarly to Figure 14-18.

Figure 14-18 Text Preferences

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Figure 14-18 illustrates <adfmf:preferenceText> elements with a seeded value for the Security URL and an input value for the User Name. Because the MAF preferences are integrated with the iOS Settings application, the secret="true" attribute for the Password input text results in the application following the iOS convention of obscuring the user input with bullet points. For more information, see the description for the isSecure text field element in Settings Application Schema Reference, available from the iOS Developer Library (http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/navigation/) and Section 14.4, "Platform-Dependent Display Differences."

14.1.2 What Happens When You Create an Application-Level Preference Page

After you deploy the mobile application, the application-wide preference settings page is propagated to the device's global settings application, such as the Settings application on iOS-powered devices. For more information, see Appendix C, "Converting Preferences for Deployment."

14.2 Creating User Preference Pages for Application Features

As described in Section 4.13, "Working with Feature Archive Files," you can distribute an application feature independently of its mobile application by adding a Feature Application Archive (FAR) .jar file containing the application feature to the library of another mobile application. You then reference the application feature in the application's maf-application.xml file. If an application feature requires a specific set of user preferences in addition to the general preferences defined for the consuming application, you can define them using the Preferences tab of the maf-feature.xml overview editor, shown in Figure 14-19. You build application feature preferences in the same manner as the application-level preferences, which are described in Section 14.1, "Creating User Preference Pages for a Mobile Application." After you define the preferences in the maf-feature.xml file, you then create the actual preference page by creating an application feature that references a MAF AMX page that is embedded with the Boolean Switch, Input, and Output components described in Section 6.3, "Creating and Using UI Components."

Figure 14-19 Setting Application Feature-Level Preferences

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14.3 Using EL Expressions to Retrieve Stored Values for User Preference Pages

When creating an application feature-level preference page, you add EL expressions to the MAF AMX components, such as the Input Text component in Example 14-5.

Example 14-5 Referencing Preference Values Using EL in MAF AMX Components

<amx:inputText label="Number" id="it1" inputType="number"
               value="#{preferenceScope.feature.Feature1.f1top.f1Number}"/>

As illustrated in Example 14-5, EL expressions use the preferenceScope object to enable applications to access an application feature-level preference. These EL expressions are in the following format:

preferenceScope.feature.feature-id.group-id.property-id

Figure 14-20 illustrates using the Expression Builder to create the EL expression.The preference itself is designated by the IDs configured for various components in maf-feature.xml, such as the ID of the application feature <adfmf:feature id="Feature1">), the ID of a Preference Group (<adfmf:preferenceGroup id="f1top">), and the ID of a preference property (<adfmf:preferenceNumber id="f1Number">).

The EL expression may include zero or more group-id and property-id elements.

Figure 14-20 Building an EL Expression for a Preference

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14.3.1 What You May Need to Know About preferenceScope

An EL expression has the following resolution pattern:

  • From the JavaScript layer, EL value expressions are resolved using the following JavaScript function:

    adf.mf.el.getValue(expression, success, failed)
    

    The resolution of adf.mf.el.getValue begins with an attempt to resolve the expression locally using the JS-EL parser and JavaScript Context Cache. If the expression cannot be resolved locally, the expression is passed to the embedded Java layer for evaluation where it is resolved by the Java EL parser. This is done through the GenericInvokeRequest to the Model's getValue method.

  • At the Java layer, an EL value expression is resolved using the following approach:

    String val = AdfmfJavaUtilities.evaluateELExpression("#{preferenceScope.feature.f0.vendor}");
    

    For a setValue method, the expression is resolved as follows:

    ValueExpression ve = AdfmfJavaUtilities.getValueExpression("#{preferenceScope.feature.f0.vendor}");
    ve.setValue(AdfmfJavaUtilities.getADFELContext(), value);
    

    Evaluation of the EL expression involves looking up the preferenceScope object. The evaluation is from left to right, where each token is resolved independently. After a token is resolved, it is used to resolve the next token (which is on its right).

Preferences cannot be exposed without the preferenceScope object. For more information about the preferenceScope object, see Section 7.3.5.3, "About the Mobile Application Framework Objects Category."

14.3.2 Reading Preference Values in iOS Native Views

MAF integrates APIs provided for a native UI (such as UIView or UIViewController) to allow certain configurations on iOS platform.

When the native UI is initialized, an instance of the ADFSession object becomes available. You can use its getPreferences method to instruct MAF to provide a listing of the available preferences for the application as defined in the maf-application.xml file. As shown in Example 14-6, this method returns a NSArray* of preference property objects that can include the id, value, and label for the preference. This API call ensures that either the end user provided the value for a particular preference, or that the default value of the preference is returned.

Example 14-6 Getting Preferences

//...
-(id) initWithADFSession:(id<ADFSession>) providedSession
{
   id me = [self init];
   session = providedSession;
   //...
   // Dump the preferences to the data display
   NSArray* prefsArray = [session getPreferences];
   NSString* prefs = [prefsArray JSONRepresentation];
   self.theData.text = [[NSString alloc ] initWithFormat:
        :@"%@\nUser Preferences = --> %@ <--", self.theData.text, prefs];
   //...
   return me;
}

14.4 Platform-Dependent Display Differences

The MAF preference pages maintain the native look-and-feel for both the iOS and Android platforms. Consequently, the MAF preference pages display differently on the two platforms. As shown in Table 14-1, preferences display inline on the iOS platform, meaning that the system does not invoke dialog pages. With a few exceptions, the Android platform presents these components as dialogs.

Table 14-1 Preference Component Comparison by Platform

Component iOS iOS Display Examples Android Android Display Examples

Preference Groups (Category Selection)

The iOS platform displays the preference elements within their parent preference group.

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The Android platform displays the preference elements within their parent preference group.

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Boolean Preference List

The Boolean preference is represented as value pair, such as on and off.

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Android presents the Boolean preference as a check box.

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Text Preference

iOS displays the text inline.

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Android displays the default text within an input field.

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Text Preference (as secret input text)

On iOS platforms, users enter text inline, with each character obscured by a bullet point after it has been entered. For more information, see Section 14.1.1.8, "What Happens When You Define a Text Preference."

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Android launches an input text dialog and obscures each character with a bullet point after it has been entered.

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Single Item Selection List (from a Preference List)

iOS platforms display the single item selection list in a separate preferences page.

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Android displays the single item selection list in a dialog.

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Preference Page

iOS launches a child preference page from a preference group.

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Android launches a child preference page from a preference group.

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Although iOS and Android platforms have a Settings application, only the iOS platform supports integrating application-level preferences into the Settings application, as shown by the preferences in Figure 14-21.

Figure 14-21 Oracle Mobile Preferences in the iOS Settings Application

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On Android-powered devices, users access application-specific preferences pages similar to the one shown in Figure 14-22 only when the application is running.

Figure 14-22 The Preferences Menu on an Android-Powered Device

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