gecko-dev/modules/libpref/public/nsIPrefBranchInternal.idl
cbiesinger%web.de 10c96079a5 bug 239434 fix comment that mentioned wrong observer topic define name
patch by Ali Ebrahim <aebrahim@uchicago.edu> r=caillon sr=tor a=mkaply
2004-04-05 18:27:50 +00:00

123 lines
5.1 KiB
Plaintext

/* -*- Mode: IDL; tab-width: 2; indent-tabs-mode: nil; c-basic-offset: 2 -*- */
/* ***** BEGIN LICENSE BLOCK *****
* Version: NPL 1.1/GPL 2.0/LGPL 2.1
*
* The contents of this file are subject to the Netscape Public License
* Version 1.1 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in
* compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
* http://www.mozilla.org/NPL/
*
* Software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" basis,
* WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License
* for the specific language governing rights and limitations under the
* License.
*
* The Original Code is Mozilla Communicator client code.
*
* The Initial Developer of the Original Code is
* Netscape Communications Corporation.
* Portions created by the Initial Developer are Copyright (C) 1998
* the Initial Developer. All Rights Reserved.
*
* Contributor(s):
* Alec Flett <alecf@netscape.com>
* Brian Nesse <bnesse@netscape.com>
*
* Alternatively, the contents of this file may be used under the terms of
* either the GNU General Public License Version 2 or later (the "GPL"), or
* the GNU Lesser General Public License Version 2.1 or later (the "LGPL"),
* in which case the provisions of the GPL or the LGPL are applicable instead
* of those above. If you wish to allow use of your version of this file only
* under the terms of either the GPL or the LGPL, and not to allow others to
* use your version of this file under the terms of the NPL, indicate your
* decision by deleting the provisions above and replace them with the notice
* and other provisions required by the GPL or the LGPL. If you do not delete
* the provisions above, a recipient may use your version of this file under
* the terms of any one of the NPL, the GPL or the LGPL.
*
* ***** END LICENSE BLOCK ***** */
#include "nsIPrefBranch.idl"
interface nsIObserver;
/**
* The nsIPrefBranchInternal interface allows additional access to the
* preference branch object. This interface allows functionality to be added to
* the preference branch object which might be transitory in nature or
* otherwise deemed unnecessary to, or unwanted in, the main (nsIPrefBranch)
* interface.
*
* @see nsIPrefBranch
*/
[scriptable, uuid(74567534-eb94-4b1c-8f45-389643bfc555)]
interface nsIPrefBranchInternal : nsIPrefBranch
{
/**
* Called by a preferences consumer to add itself as a preference change
* listener. This consumer must inherit from the nsIObserver interface and
* will receive the notification via their |Observe| method. The following
* arguments will be passed to the |Observe| method:
* aSubject - The nsIPrefBranch object (this)
* aTopic - The string defined by NS_PREFBRANCH_PREFCHANGE_TOPIC_ID
* aData - The preference which has changed
*
* @param aDomain The preference on which to listen for changes.
* @param aObserver The object to be notified if the preference changes.
* @param aHoldWeak true Hold a weak reference to |aObserver|. The object
* must implement the nsISupportsWeakReference
* interface or this will fail.
* false Hold a strong reference to |aObserver|.
*
* @note
* Registering as a preference observer can open an object to potential
* cyclical references which will cause memory leaks. These cycles generally
* occur because an object both registers itself as an observer (causing the
* branch to hold a reference to the observer) and holds a reference to the
* branch object for the purpose of getting/setting preference values. There
* are 3 approaches which have been implemented in an attempt to avoid these
* situations.
* 1) The nsPrefBranch object supports nsISupportsWeakReference. Any consumer
* may hold a weak reference to it instead of a strong one.
* 2) The nsPrefBranch object listens for xpcom-shutdown and frees all of the
* objects currently in its observer list. This insures that long lived
* objects (services for example) will be freed correctly.
* 3) The observer can request to be held as a weak reference when it is
* registered. This insures that shorter lived objects (say one tied to an
* open window) will not fall into the cyclical reference trap.
*
* @return NS_OK The observer was successfully set.
* @return Other The observer could not be created.
*
* @see nsIObserver
* @see removeObserver
*/
void addObserver(in string aDomain, in nsIObserver aObserver, in boolean aHoldWeak);
/**
* Called by a preferences consumer to remove itself from the preference
* change observer list.
*
* @param aDomain The preference which is being observed for changes.
* @param aObserver The object which is observing.
*
* @return NS_OK The observer was successfully removed.
* @return Other The observer was not successfully removed.
*
* @see nsIObserver
* @see addObserver
*/
void removeObserver(in string aDomain, in nsIObserver aObserver);
};
%{C++
/**
* Notification sent when a preference changes.
*/
#define NS_PREFBRANCH_PREFCHANGE_TOPIC_ID "nsPref:changed"
%}