CollatorBase

Package	spark.globalization.supportClasses
Class	public class CollatorBase
Inheritance	CollatorBase GlobalizationBase AdvancedStyleClient EventDispatcher Object
Subclasses	MatchingCollator, SortingCollator

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

CollatorBase is a base class for the SortingCollator and MatchingCollator classes.

This class is a wrapper class around the flash.globalization.Collator class. Therefore the locale-specific string comparison is provided by the flash.globalization.Collator class. However by using this class as a base class, the SortingCollator and MatchingCollator classes can be used in MXML declartions. In these classes, the locale style is used for the requested Locale ID name and has methods and properties that are bindable.

The flash.globalization.Collator class uses the underlying operating system for the formatting functionality and to supply locale specific data. On some operating systems, the flash.globalization classes are unsupported. On these systems the wrapper class provides fallback functionality for string comparison.

Related API Elements

flash.globalization.Collator

Public Properties

	Property		Defined By
		actualLocaleIDName : String [override] [read-only] The name of the actual locale ID used by this class object.	CollatorBase
		className : String [read-only] The name of the component class.	AdvancedStyleClient
		constructor : Object A reference to the class object or constructor function for a given object instance.	Object
		id : String The identity of the component.	AdvancedStyleClient
		ignoreCase : Boolean When this property is set to true, identical strings and strings that differ only in the case of the letters are evaluated as equal.	CollatorBase
		ignoreCharacterWidth : Boolean When this property is true, full-width and half-width forms of some Chinese and Japanese characters are evaluated as equal.	CollatorBase
		ignoreDiacritics : Boolean When this property is set to true, strings that use the same base characters but different accents or other diacritic marks are evaluated as equal.	CollatorBase
		ignoreKanaType : Boolean When this property is set to true, strings that differ only by the type of kana character being used are treated as equal.	CollatorBase
		ignoreSymbols : Boolean When this property is set to is true, symbol characters such as spaces, currency symbols, math symbols, and other types of symbols are ignored when sorting or matching.	CollatorBase
		inheritingStyles : Object An object containing the inheritable styles for this non-visual style client instance.	AdvancedStyleClient
		lastOperationStatus : String [override] [read-only] The status of the most recent operation that this class object performed.	CollatorBase
		moduleFactory : IFlexModuleFactory A module factory is used as context for finding the style manager that controls the styles for this non-visual style client instance.	AdvancedStyleClient
		nonInheritingStyles : Object The beginning of this component's chain of non-inheriting styles.	AdvancedStyleClient
		numericComparison : Boolean Controls how numeric values embedded in strings are handled during string comparison.	CollatorBase
		styleDeclaration : CSSStyleDeclaration The style declaration that holds the inline styles declared by this object.	AdvancedStyleClient
		styleManager : IStyleManager2 [read-only] Returns the StyleManager instance used by this component.	AdvancedStyleClient
		styleName : Object The source of this object's style values.	AdvancedStyleClient
		styleParent : IAdvancedStyleClient A component's parent is used to evaluate descendant selectors.	AdvancedStyleClient

Public Methods

	Method		Defined By
		CollatorBase(initialMode:String) Constructs a new CollatorBase object to provide string comparisons according to the conventions of a specified locale.	CollatorBase
		addEventListener(type:String, listener:Function, useCapture:Boolean = false, priority:int = 0, useWeakReference:Boolean = false):void Registers an event listener object with an EventDispatcher object so that the listener receives notification of an event.	EventDispatcher
		clearStyle(styleProp:String):void Deletes a style property from this component instance.	AdvancedStyleClient
		compare(string1:String, string2:String):int Compares two strings and returns an integer value indicating whether the first string is less than, equal to, or greater than the second string.	CollatorBase
		dispatchEvent(event:Event):Boolean Dispatches an event into the event flow.	EventDispatcher
		equals(string1:String, string2:String):Boolean Compares two strings and returns a Boolean value indicating whether the strings are equal.	CollatorBase
		getAvailableLocaleIDNames():Vector.<String> [static] Lists all of the locale ID names supported by this class.	CollatorBase
		getClassStyleDeclarations():Array Returns an Array of CSSStyleDeclaration objects for the type selector that applies to this component, or null if none exist.	AdvancedStyleClient
		getStyle(styleProp:String):* [override] Gets a style property that has been set anywhere in this component's style lookup chain.	GlobalizationBase
		hasCSSState():Boolean Returns true if currentCSSState is not null.	AdvancedStyleClient
		hasEventListener(type:String):Boolean Checks whether the EventDispatcher object has any listeners registered for a specific type of event.	EventDispatcher
		hasOwnProperty(name:String):Boolean Indicates whether an object has a specified property defined.	Object
		initialized(document:Object, id:String):void The initialized method is called when this class or a class that extends this class is used in an MXML declaration.	AdvancedStyleClient
		isPrototypeOf(theClass:Object):Boolean Indicates whether an instance of the Object class is in the prototype chain of the object specified as the parameter.	Object
		matchesCSSState(cssState:String):Boolean Returns true if cssState matches currentCSSState.	AdvancedStyleClient
		matchesCSSType(cssType:String):Boolean Determines whether this instance is the same as, or is a subclass of, the given type.	AdvancedStyleClient
		notifyStyleChangeInChildren(styleProp:String, recursive:Boolean):void Propagates style changes to the children of this style client instance.	AdvancedStyleClient
		propertyIsEnumerable(name:String):Boolean Indicates whether the specified property exists and is enumerable.	Object
		regenerateStyleCache(recursive:Boolean):void Sets up the internal style cache values so that the getStyle() method functions.	AdvancedStyleClient
		registerEffects(effects:Array):void Registers the EffectManager as one of the event listeners for each effect event.	AdvancedStyleClient
		removeEventListener(type:String, listener:Function, useCapture:Boolean = false):void Removes a listener from the EventDispatcher object.	EventDispatcher
		setPropertyIsEnumerable(name:String, isEnum:Boolean = true):void Sets the availability of a dynamic property for loop operations.	Object
		setStyle(styleProp:String, newValue:*):void Sets a style property on this component instance.	AdvancedStyleClient
		styleChanged(styleProp:String):void Detects changes to style properties.	AdvancedStyleClient
		stylesInitialized():void Flex calls the stylesInitialized() method when the styles for a component are first initialized.	AdvancedStyleClient
		toLocaleString():String Returns the string representation of this object, formatted according to locale-specific conventions.	Object
		toString():String Returns the string representation of the specified object.	Object
		valueOf():Object Returns the primitive value of the specified object.	Object
		willTrigger(type:String):Boolean Checks whether an event listener is registered with this EventDispatcher object or any of its ancestors for the specified event type.	EventDispatcher

Events

Click for more information on events

	Summary	Defined By
activate	[broadcast event] Dispatched when the Flash Player or AIR application gains operating system focus and becomes active.	EventDispatcher
change	The change event is generated whenever the locale style is changed or another property is set that would cause the format of a number to change or cause updates to the other values available through this class.	GlobalizationBase
deactivate	[broadcast event] Dispatched when the Flash Player or AIR application operating loses system focus and is becoming inactive.	EventDispatcher

Styles

Styles are either common or associated with a specific theme. If the style is common, it can be used with any theme. If a style is associated with a specific theme, it can only be used if your application uses that theme.

Common Styles

Click for more information on styles

	Style		Description	Defined By
		locale	Type: String CSS Inheritance: Yes Language Version: ActionScript 3.0 Product Version: Flex 4.5 Runtime Versions: Flash10.1, AIR 2.5 The locale identifier that specifies the language, region, script and optionally other related tags and keys.	GlobalizationBase

Property Detail

actualLocaleIDName

property

actualLocaleIDName:String [read-only] [override]

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

The name of the actual locale ID used by this class object. This is the locale that is used to access the formatting data and functionality from the operating system.

If the locale that was set by the locale style is not available, then the value of the actualLocaleIDName is different from the value of the locale style. It indicates the fallback locale that is being used. If the locale style was set to LocaleID.DEFAULT the name of the locale specified by the user's operating system is used.

This property can be used as the source for data binding. When this property is modified, it dispatches the change event.

Implementation
override public function get actualLocaleIDName():String

Related API Elements

flash.globalization.Collator.actualLocaleIDName
CollatorBase()

ignoreCase

property

ignoreCase:Boolean

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

When this property is set to true, identical strings and strings that differ only in the case of the letters are evaluated as equal.

The default value is true when the CollatorBase() constructor's initialMode parameter is set to Collator.MATCHING. false when the CollatorBase() constructor's initialMode parameter is set to Collator.SORTING.

This property can be used as the source for data binding. When this property is modified, it dispatches the change event.

Implementation
public function get ignoreCase():Boolean
public function set ignoreCase(value:Boolean):void

Related API Elements

compare()
equals()

ignoreCharacterWidth

property

ignoreCharacterWidth:Boolean

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

When this property is true, full-width and half-width forms of some Chinese and Japanese characters are evaluated as equal.

For compatibility with existing standards for Chinese and Japanese character sets, Unicode provides character codes for both full-width and half width-forms of some characters. For example, when the ignoreCharacterWidth property is set to true, compare("Ａｱ", "Aア") returns true.

If the ignoreCharacterWidth property is set to false, then full-width and half-width forms are not equal to one another.

This property can be used as the source for data binding. When this property is modified, it dispatches the change event.

Implementation
public function get ignoreCharacterWidth():Boolean
public function set ignoreCharacterWidth(value:Boolean):void

Related API Elements

compare()
equals()

ignoreDiacritics

property

ignoreDiacritics:Boolean

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

When this property is set to true, strings that use the same base characters but different accents or other diacritic marks are evaluated as equal. For example compare("coté", "côte") returns true when the ignoreDiacritics property is set to true.

When the ignoreDiacritics is set to false then base characters with diacritic marks or accents are not considered equal to one another.

This property can be used as the source for data binding. When this property is modified, it dispatches the change event.

Implementation
public function get ignoreDiacritics():Boolean
public function set ignoreDiacritics(value:Boolean):void

Related API Elements

compare()
equals()

ignoreKanaType

property

ignoreKanaType:Boolean

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

When this property is set to true, strings that differ only by the type of kana character being used are treated as equal. For example, compare("カナ", "かな") returns true when the ignoreKanaType property is set to true.

If the ignoreKanaType is set to false then hiragana and katakana characters that refer to the same syllable are not equal to one another.

This property can be used as the source for data binding. When this property is modified, it dispatches the change event.

Implementation
public function get ignoreKanaType():Boolean
public function set ignoreKanaType(value:Boolean):void

Related API Elements

compare()
equals()

ignoreSymbols

property

ignoreSymbols:Boolean

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

When this property is set to is true, symbol characters such as spaces, currency symbols, math symbols, and other types of symbols are ignored when sorting or matching. For example the strings "OBrian", "O'Brian", and "O Brian" would all be treated as equal when the ignoreSymbols property is set to true.

This property can be used as the source for data binding. When this property is modified, it dispatches the change event.

Implementation
public function get ignoreSymbols():Boolean
public function set ignoreSymbols(value:Boolean):void

Related API Elements

compare()
equals()

lastOperationStatus

property

lastOperationStatus:String [read-only] [override]

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

The status of the most recent operation that this class object performed. The lastOperationStatus is set whenever the constructor or a method of this class is called, or when a property is set. For the possible values see the description under each method.

This property can be used as the source for data binding. When this property is modified, it dispatches the change event.

Implementation
override public function get lastOperationStatus():String

Related API Elements

spark.globalization.LastOperationStatus

numericComparison

property

numericComparison:Boolean

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

Controls how numeric values embedded in strings are handled during string comparison.

When the numericComparison property is set to true, the compare method converts numbers that appear in strings to numerical values for comparison.

When this property is set to false, the comparison treats numbers as character codes and sort them according to the rules for sorting characters in the specified locale.

For example, when this property is true for the locale ID "en-US", then the strings "version1", "version10", and "version2" are sorted into the following order: version1 < version2 < version10.

When this property is false for "en-US", those same strings are sorted into the following order: version1 < version10 < version2.

The default value is false.

This property can be used as the source for data binding. When this property is modified, it dispatches the change event.

Implementation
public function get numericComparison():Boolean
public function set numericComparison(value:Boolean):void

Related API Elements

compare()
equals()

Constructor Detail

CollatorBase

()

Constructor

public function CollatorBase(initialMode:String)

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

Constructs a new CollatorBase object to provide string comparisons according to the conventions of a specified locale.

The initialMode parameter sets the initial collation options for two use cases: sorting and matching. It can be set to one of the two following values:

CollatorMode.SORTING: sets the collation options for general linguistic sorting uses such as sorting a list of text strings that are displayed to an end user. In this mode, differences in uppercase and lowercase letters, accented characters, and other differences specific to the locale are considered when doing string comparisons.
CollatorMode.MATCHING: sets collation options for uses such as determining if two strings are equivalent. In this mode, differences in uppercase and lower case letters, accented characters, and so on are ignored when doing string comparisons.

For more details and examples of using these two modes, please see the documentation for the flash.globalization.Collator class.

The locale for this class is supplied by the locale style. The locale style can be set in several ways:

Inheriting the style from a UIComponent by calling the UIComponent's addStyleClient method with an instance of this object as the parameter.

By using the class in an MXML declaration and inheriting the locale style from the document that contains the declaration.

          <fx:Declarations>
                 <s:SortingCollator id="collator" />
          </fx:Declarations>

By using an MXML declaration and specifying the locale value in the list of assignments.

          <fx:Declarations>
              <s:SortingCollator id="collator_german" locale="de-DE" />
          </fx:Declarations>

Calling the setStyle method, e.g. collator.setStyle("locale", "de-DE")

If the locale style is not set by one of the above techniques, the methods of this class that depend on the locale set the lastOperationStatus property to spark.globalization.LastOperationStatus.LOCALE_UNDEFINED_ERROR.

Parameters

initialMode:String — Sets the initial collation options for two use cases: sorting and matching.

Related API Elements

flash.globalization.Collator
spark.globalization.LastOperationStatus

Method Detail

compare

()

method

public function compare(string1:String, string2:String):int

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

Compares two strings and returns an integer value indicating whether the first string is less than, equal to, or greater than the second string. The comparison uses the sort order rules for the locale sytle that is in effect when the compare method is called.

Parameters

	`string1:String` — First comparison string.

	`string2:String` — Second comparison string.

Returns

int — An integer value indicating whether the first string is less than, equal to, or greater than the second string.

If the return value is negative, string1 is less than string2 or string2 is null.
If the return value is zero, string1 is equal to string2.
If the return value is positive, string1 is larger than string2 or string1 is null.

Related API Elements

CollatorBase()
equals()

equals

()

method

public function equals(string1:String, string2:String):Boolean

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

Compares two strings and returns a Boolean value indicating whether the strings are equal. The comparison uses the sort order rules for the locale ID that was specified in the CollatorBase() constructor.

Parameters

	`string1:String` — First comparison string.

	`string2:String` — Second comparison string.

Returns

Boolean — A Boolean value indicating whether the strings are equal (true) or unequal (false).

Related API Elements

CollatorBase()
compare

getAvailableLocaleIDNames

()

method

public static function getAvailableLocaleIDNames():Vector.<String>

Language Version:

ActionScript 3.0

Product Version:

Flex 4.5

Runtime Versions:

Flash Player 10.1, AIR 2.5

Lists all of the locale ID names supported by this class.

Returns

Vector.<String> — A vector of strings containing all of the locale ID names supported by this class and operating system.

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CollatorBase - AS3 Flex

Classes x

actualLocaleIDName

ignoreCase

ignoreCharacterWidth

ignoreDiacritics

ignoreKanaType

ignoreSymbols

lastOperationStatus

numericComparison

CollatorBase

compare

equals

getAvailableLocaleIDNames