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From: aozer@next.com (Ali Ozer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: "File's Owner" object in interfact builder
Message-ID: <566@rosie.NeXT.COM>
Date: 25 Apr 91 15:42:29 GMT
References: <2571@fornax.UUCP>
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Organization: Next Computer, Inc.
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In article <2571@fornax.UUCP> mcdonald@fornax.UUCP (Ken Mcdonald) writes:
>Does anyone understand the use of the "File's Owner" object given in the
>window along with the suitcases and such, in Interface Builder?  I've read
>the docs and this, and still don't have a clue exactly what the use of
>this object is.  Am I supposed to use it as if it were my Application Object?

The file's owner object is the object specified as the owner in the
loadNib call which is loading this nib file.  Your app's default nib
file is loaded in main(): 

    [NXApp loadNibSection:"MyApp.nib" owner:NXApp];

Thus, for the default nib file, the owner is the Application object.
However, you will usually load other nib files during the execution of the
app (to get various auxillary panels, document windows, etc). Then you
might have another object specified as the owner:

    [NXApp loadNibSection:"Document.nib" owner:someObject withNames:NO];
    
The owner is the object which contains the outlet variables for the various
outlets in the nib. For instance, if you are loading a nib file containing
a document window, by the time the nib is loaded you'd want to have a handle
to the window; you'd accomplish this by an instance variable in the document
object that's an outlet to the window.

I believe some of the examples demonstrate this; most load info panels
this way, and some also use this method for document windows and such.

Performance hints: Use the withNames: argument to 
loadNibSection:owner:withNames: and set it to NO to avoid reading all the
object names in. Prevents lots of small mallocs. Also use the zone:
argument to take advantage of the zone facility to get better localization.

Ali, Ali_Ozer@NeXT.com