Displaying All Superschema Classes in Your Class Browser

Although a subschema inherits all classes and primitive types and their associated properties, methods, and constants from its superschemas, these inherited classes are not displayed by default in the Class Browser of the subschema. Instead, for the sake of clarity, only classes local to the subschema are displayed, as well as classes from an imported package or any superschema classes to which subclasses, methods, or constants have been added. For this reason, when you open the Class Browser for a newly defined subschema, the Object class only is initially displayed.

A class that is not defined in the schema currently being viewed is displayed in the editor pane of the Class Browser with a prefix of the name of the schema in which the class is defined; for example:

Class: ErewhonInvestmentsViewSchema::GErewhonInvestmentsViewSchema (2257)

You can immediately begin adding subclasses to the Object class, and defining properties and methods of those classes. However, if you want to add a subclass, method, or constant to some other class, you must first make that class visible in your Class Browser window.

You can make all classes in a superschema visible by using the Superschemas command in the View menu, or selectively by using the Find command from the Classes menu. (For details, see "Finding a Schema, Class, Interface, or Primitive Type", earlier in this chapter.)

To display all superschema classes and methods

  1. Select the Superschemas command from the View menu in the Class Browser for your schema. The View Superschemas dialog is then displayed. The superschema of the current schema is displayed in the Show classes and methods defined in: combo box, by default.

  2. Scroll down the list box until you locate the superschema whose classes and methods you want to display in your Class Browser.

  3. When the appropriate superschema is selected, click the OK button.

After a few seconds, the Class Browser for your schema is populated with all of the classes and methods in the specified superschema.

By default, all system (JADE-defined) classes are displayed in red, all classes inherited from a superschema are displayed in blue, user-defined classes in the current scheme are displayed in black, and classes in an imported package in green.

For details about displaying methods, conditions, properties, and constants inherited from superclasses in the same schema, see "Showing Inherited Methods, Conditions, Properties, and Constants", earlier in this chapter. See also "Controlling the Use of Elements in Other Schemas", in Chapter 1, and Chapter 8 of the JADE Developer’s Reference, "Using Packages".