Python Programming On Win32

A Delegation Framework for Responding to Events

There are four events in the BookSet API that allow modification: adding, editing, and deleting transactions, and renaming accounts. For each of these, you should provide a hook called before the event that gives the user a chance to modify the data or cancel the action altogether and another hook called after the event that allows the user to update other variables elsewhere.

Rather than have the user write numerous disconnected functions or subclass the entire BookSet, you can use a pattern known as a delegate . A delegate is a helper object a class informs of various events: it delegates certain responsibilities. The delegation mechanism was a cornerstone of the almost legendary NeXTStep development environment and is widely used behind the scenes in Delphi, where each component delegates the task of responding to events to its parent form. A delegate is typically much simpler than the class it’s supporting. Users will find it far less work to write their own delegates to achieve a task than to rewrite or subclass the entire BookSet.