TableSorter is a decorator for TableModels; adding sorting
functionality to a supplied TableModel. TableSorter does
not store or copy the data in its TableModel; instead it maintains
a map from the row indexes of the view to the row indexes of the
model. As requests are made of the sorter (like getValueAt(row, col))
they are passed to the underlying model after the row numbers
have been translated via the internal mapping array. This way,
the TableSorter appears to hold another copy of the table
with the rows in a different order.
TableSorter registers itself as a listener to the underlying model,
just as the JTable itself would. Events recieved from the model
are examined, sometimes manipulated (typically widened), and then
passed on to the TableSorter's listeners (typically the JTable).
If a change to the model has invalidated the order of TableSorter's
rows, a note of this is made and the sorter will resort the
rows the next time a value is requested.
When the tableHeader property is set, either by using the
setTableHeader() method or the two argument constructor, the
table header may be used as a complete UI for TableSorter.
The default renderer of the tableHeader is decorated with a renderer
that indicates the sorting status of each column. In addition,
a mouse listener is installed with the following behavior:
-
Mouse-click: Clears the sorting status of all other columns
and advances the sorting status of that column through three
values: {NOT_SORTED, ASCENDING, DESCENDING} (then back to
NOT_SORTED again).
-
SHIFT-mouse-click: Clears the sorting status of all other columns
and cycles the sorting status of the column through the same
three values, in the opposite order: {NOT_SORTED, DESCENDING, ASCENDING}.
-
CONTROL-mouse-click and CONTROL-SHIFT-mouse-click: as above except
that the changes to the column do not cancel the statuses of columns
that are already sorting - giving a way to initiate a compound
sort.
This is a long overdue rewrite of a class of the same name that
first appeared in the swing table demos in 1997.