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/* Templating */ Wrote the DataTemplate vs. ControlTemplate
One simple example of this is an ItemTemplate. Project customizers should be familiar with ItemTemplates, which are defined in UBIKThemes and then applied to every item in a List, for example. However, such templates are not inherently connected to listviews, and can be used on any items control, or can even on their own, if the situation calls for it. The important thing to understand is that a content template is a standalone unit, defined in xaml to display particular data bindings, and perhaps react to various states.
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{{Hint|Look at other interesting templates in UBIKThemes, such as "Badge" / "ChildCountBadge" in Xamarin, or "UBIKObjectIndicators" in UWP to see more ideas for how templates can be utilized.}}
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===Template Selectors == DataTemplate vs=Various parts of the UBIK UI are dynamically swapped in based on specific conditions. One example is the UBIKPropertyDirectItemContainer.xaml, which serves as the base for an item in the property list, and which renders a different type-appropriate editing UI for each kind of property input (such as textbox, selection, datetime, geo coordinates, etc). ControlTemplate =====
The logical tree used by these selectors to render different UIs is documented in our article [[UBIK_Templates]].
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=== DataTemplate vs. ControlTemplate ===
There are two main types of templates that can be used in UBIK to define reusable clusters of controls. Ignoring the technical differences, the functional differences boil down to;
* DataTemplate is used for showing / interacting with various aspects of a data binding.
** Example 1: Consider a Child ItemTemplate, which is capable of displaying metadata like Title or SubTitle, MetaProperty collections, Classifications, Children and Documents. In this case, the '''context''' for the item template is one object, and we can bind to any of its data.
** Example 2: Consider a Property ItemTemplate, where we can view or edit a metaproperty. In this case, the '''context''' of the ItemTemplate would be a single property, and the bindings available would reflect that; we can bind to its Description, Value, DisplayString, Unit, or even its SortedValueRecords, if property change history is activated.
* ControlTemplate is technically used for showing how a specific control can be used; for example, if you want to customize a new template for how a Button should appear. However, it can be used similar to the DataTemplate, with one added bonus; its ContentPresenter sub-control allows for dynamically adding content at every instance, as opposed to a single universal layout that is shared by all.
** For example: The screenshot below shows three areas navigated to by clicking on root objects. Each has a potentially large collection of their own metaclass of children, meaning that each page benefits from filters, but they do not filter the same properties. However, some details are common, such as the item and filter count texts, and the button to remove all filters.
[[File:Templating_ControlTemplate.jpg]]
** The general layout could be created with two columns, one for the counts and button, with the rest of the space dedicated to the individual filters. The template would then be applied one in each of the child areas, with their specific filters nested inside the ContentView used to display the filter.
** During runtime, the <ContentPresenter /> defined in the ControlTemplate will be replaced with whatever content is nested in the ContentView.
** Note that implicit styles can also be added to the ControlTemplate, and will be inherited by any content nested in the ContentView.
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{{Attention|Since the ControlTemplate is not technically designed to work directly with data bindings, it does inherit the context from its ContentView by default. However this can be easily fixed by adding the <nowiki>BindingContext="{TemplateBinding BindingContext}"</nowiki> attribute to the root grid of the template.}}
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[[Category:Pages with broken file links|XAML Best practices]][[Category:XAML|XAML Best practices]]
== Performance ==
