uicomponent overrides

[fran1942]

Hello, I am just trying to understand the concepts behind overriding functions within custom components.
In many examples I see people override commitProperties, createChildren, measure etc.
However, I have not been using these and my custom components are working fine.
What are the actual reasons for using these overridden functions in custom components, and should I always be doing it ?

Thanks for any help.

[Peter Cowling]

You can produce custom components without being involved directly in their production process. You can, instead, tell them what to do once they have already reached a point in that process. More information about the lifecycle here.

[flexexplorer]

To add to what Peter already said, those functions are part of the Component Life Cycle. Each Flex component goes through several stages during its life. These stages have been divided into small functions, in order to optimize the efficiency of the component. The Flash Player works differently from other VM's. Thefefore, the way graphical components are managed is also very different.

A very detailed paper that goes into the Life Cycle can be found here http://www.developmentarc.com/site/w...cycle_v1.0.pdf

Here's a nice video that explains it in simpler terms, and also describes how the Flash Player works, and how that influced the design of Flex.

http://www.brentlamborn.com/post/The...Lifecycle.aspx