I’ve succeeded in implementing my TreeView component which mirrors a ValueTree structure, thanks to the generous help of people on this forum.
I now have some specific questions about best approaches to ValueTree Listeners. There are two features about the ValueTreesDemo.h code which appear to me to be shortcuts, and I want to know whether it is worth my time to re-implement them.
1:
In the example code, each TreeViewItem listens to a single ValueTree. But this generates a lot of unnecessary traffic, as listeners register changes at any depth. A TreeViewItem close to the root is going to receive and filter out exponentially more changes that are irrelevant to it. Granted, each one is just a boolean comparison, but in a structure with thousands of nodes and dozens of layers, this might add up.
A more efficient way to approach this might be to have only one ValueTree Listener outside of the tree structure, listening to the root ValueTree and somehow relaying each change to the correct TreeViewItem.
2:
If a change registers as positive, the TreeViewItem redraws its structure. This also seems inefficient, as minor changes could be implemented with moves or edits, without having to recalculate the whole thing.
A more efficient way might be to use the variables provided in the prototypes in the Listener class (valueTreeChildAdded(), valueTreePropertyChanged(), etc.) to implement changes on a case-by-case basis.
In both cases, the example code is very simple and effective, at the cost of some extra noise. In both cases, the alternative methods that I have suggested seem to be more efficient, but also quite error- and headache-prone.
My question is: Is the sample code written like this because it is sample code, and any serious program should define more efficient methods? Or is the noise it generates inconsequential? Is this the type of shortcut that you would welcome in your code?
The answer might be quite subjective here, but your opinion will be quite valuable, as I don’t have an intuition for these things yet and am learning as I go.