Grid view
Encyclopedia
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
element (widget
Widget (computing)
In computer programming, a widget is an element of a graphical user interface that displays an information arrangement changeable by the user, such as a window or a text box. The defining characteristic of a widget is to provide a single interaction point for the direct manipulation of a given...
) that presents a tabular view of data. A typical grid view also supports some or all of the following:
- ClickPoint-and-clickPoint-and-click is the action of a computer user moving a cursor to a certain location on a screen and then pressing a mouse button, usually the left button , or other pointing device...
ing a column header to change the sort order of the grid - DragDrag-and-dropIn computer graphical user interfaces, drag-and-drop is the action of selecting a virtual object by "grabbing" it and dragging it to a different location or onto another virtual object...
ging column headers to change their size and their order - In-place editing of viewed data
- Row and column separators, and alternating row background colors
An interactive live demo example of this type of list can be seen herehttp://www.mycustomcontrols.com/custom_controls/Products/GridViewEx/Demo/Default.aspx.
Some widget toolkit
Widget toolkit
In computing, a widget toolkit, widget library, or GUI toolkit is a set of widgets for use in designing applications with graphical user interfaces...
s distinguish between a grid and a datagrid. If this is the case, the term datagrid refers specifically to a widget that can be linked to a database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
with little or no effort from the part of a programmer
Programmer
A programmer, computer programmer or coder is someone who writes computer software. The term computer programmer can refer to a specialist in one area of computer programming or to a generalist who writes code for many kinds of software. One who practices or professes a formal approach to...
.
They are commonly used to display lists of files, such as the "Details" view in Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
file managers.
Grid views are sometimes referred to as spreadsheet widgets (or spreadsheet controls, with control being a common synonym for widget). This is due to grid views' visual and sometimes behavioral similarity to spreadsheet
Spreadsheet
A spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper accounting worksheet. It displays multiple cells usually in a two-dimensional matrix or grid consisting of rows and columns. Each cell contains alphanumeric text, numeric values or formulas...
applications. However, though many grid views support editing of underlying data, they can't be used for arbitrary calculations. Spreadsheet widgets occur frequently in scientific applications such as PSPP
PSPP
PSPP is a free software application for analysis of sampled data. It has a graphical user interface and conventional command line interface. It is written in C, uses GNU Scientific Library for its mathematical routines, and plotutils for generating graphs....
.