CSS vs API modifications in *View classes

[David Grieve]

Using styles is preferable to setting the property value. If styles are 
used, then you don't have the problem you describe.

An alternative, if styles are not used, is to cast the property to 
StyleableProperty and use applyStyle(null, value) instead of set. CSS 
then thinks that the value has never been set. This pattern is used, for 
example, in Labeled to initialize the focusTraversableProperty to false. 
So one option is to use applyStyle in the updateItem method rather than 
set. Of course, this is one of those tricks that you have to be 
in-the-know to make use of. But I would argue that 
restoreInitialPropertyState() is also a trick that you have to be 
in-the-know to make use of.

On 5/28/14, 6:35 AM, Tom Schindl wrote:
> Hi,
>
> All views in JavaFX are virtual and the Cell instances are reused but
> this brings with it the problem that if you once modified a CSS
> styleable value (e.g. the textfill, font, ...) you are unable to return
> to a state where a CSS could be applied.
>
> I think Cell needs to provide reset methods for properties who are
> styleable so that one can set back the cell into a css-styleable state,
> or maybe we want this to be more general and we need to provide a method
> for all properties who are styled so that we can reset them?
>
> I could imagine Node having a method: restoreInitialPropertyState()
> which subclasses need to implement to restore all its properties to be
> css styleable.
>
> For Cell i think there's no way around that because it is reused and
> needs to have a way to get back to the original state.
>
> Tom