Expression Grid

A UI for editing the regular expressions associated with an extractor.

Remarks

The Expression Grid control provides an interactive environment for authoring, editing, and validating the regular expressions used by extractors in Grooper. It displays one or more code editors, each tailored for a specific regular expression property, with syntax highlighting, code completion, and contextual help. This control is designed to streamline the process of building and refining extraction logic, making it accessible to both novice and advanced users.

Purpose and Functionality

• Multi-Expression Editing:
  Presents all regular expression properties relevant to the current extractor, allowing users to edit multiple patterns in one place.
• Code Editor Integration:
  Each expression is edited in a dedicated Code Editor, featuring syntax highlighting, code completion, and error feedback.
• Contextual Status:
  Displays status messages or validation results for the current extractor, helping users quickly identify issues.
• Property Awareness:
  Dynamically adapts to the extractor type, showing only the relevant regular expression properties for editing.
• Real-Time Feedback:
  Changes are validated and reflected in the extractor's status immediately, supporting rapid iteration.

UI Components

• Code Editors:
  • One or more Code Editor controls, each corresponding to a regular expression property (such as Pattern, PrefixPattern, or SuffixPattern).
  • Syntax highlighting and code completion for regular expressions.
  • Inline error highlighting and tooltips for invalid syntax.
• Status Display:
  • Shows the current status or validation message for the extractor.
• Property Grid Integration:
  • May be used alongside a property grid for editing other extractor settings.

Example

The following diagram illustrates the layout of the Expression Grid:

┌───────────────────────── Expression Grid ─────────────────────────────┐
│ Pattern:                                                              │
│ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ {CodeEditor}                                                      │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ Prefix Pattern:                                                       │
│ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ {CodeEditor}                                                      │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ Suffix Pattern:                                                       │
│ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ {CodeEditor}                                                      │ │
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ Status: {Validation message or status}                                │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

• Each Code Editor allows editing a specific regular expression property.
• The status area provides immediate feedback on the validity or effect of changes.

Usage Tips

• Use the code editors to author and refine regular expressions for extraction.
• Leverage syntax highlighting and code completion to reduce errors and speed up authoring.
• Review the status area for validation messages and troubleshooting.
• For advanced scenarios, use multiple editors to coordinate complex extraction logic across several properties.

The Expression Grid control simplifies the process of building and validating regular expressions for extractors, providing a focused, user-friendly interface for both simple and advanced extraction scenarios.

Child Controls

┌───────────── Property Grid ─────────────┐  
│ Category: General                       │  
│ ─ Name: {Text Box}                      │  
│ ─ Type: {Drop-down}                     │  
│ Category: Advanced                      │  
│ ─ Enabled: {Checkbox}                   │  
│ ─ Color: {Color Picker}                 │  
│ ─ Details: {Expandable}                 │  
│ ────────────── Help Window ──────────── │  
│   Description and usage guidance        │  
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘