ItemList control node; lacks/lacking customization of list items (It's only Icon/Text items)

kimmyera · June 20, 2024, 6:45am

Godot Version

4.2

Question Suggestion

IMO, the ItemList node is too limited, in that it only allows a simple, unchangeable type that has an icon and/or name.
I am aware of the fact that set_item_metadata exists. I would love it if this ‘default type’ can be overridden, especially by extending the ItemList class itself if needed.
(So far, I had been actually reading into their cpp code on github to figure out the functionality better. Even then, I lack cpp skills and it would obviously take time to implement this myself, when I could get to game making instead… lol)

In layman terms: Custom (Selectable) List Objects for the ItemList Control Node, instead of just an Icon/Text by default

zdrmlpzdrmlp · June 21, 2024, 3:35pm

i believe it’s intended to be just a simple and concrete-base kind of item list, not really for inventory that support drag drop, hover click, button ,etc

i agree it needs improvement, but for now people creates their own inventory system anyway

kimmyera · June 22, 2024, 10:53am

Story of my life, i suppose XD
Yead, I had been doing that too, but it’s starting to get a little messy in my head… and in the code too, lol.
It really doesnt help as well though, that in order to understand the underlying functions of what I want to extend off, especially if it isnt listed or detailed properly in the docs, that i did end up actually looking through the ItemList.cpp and its header file on Github, and as organized as it is to understand, it is taking time to just get back to familiarity with C++, as well as perhaps even going deeper into how the engine actually works.

I suppose that’s the next thing then, wouldn’t it be better to have more built-in components, but written in gdscript, and keeping the focus of gdscript into its core functionality then?.. maybe i have a better way to phrase that ^^’

shatteredreality · June 22, 2024, 2:16pm

someone had the same idea as you

github.com/godotengine/godot-proposals

Add a control suitable for displaying long lists with customizable content

opened 12:54PM - 05 May 24 UTC

timothyqiu

topic:gui

### Describe the project you are working on A log console inside a game. And tw…eaking the Godot editor. ### Describe the problem or limitation you are having in your project In order to display a long list, there are two options: 1. `ItemList` or `Tree` - Optimized for long lists, but lack of customization. The layout for each row is fixed. 2. `BoxContainer` + `ScrollContainer` - Fully customizable, but poor performance for long lists. Option 2 is the only way to go if I want to customize row content. But, for example, I have to literally instantiate 10000 rows of controls for the list. Option 1 also has something that need to be addressed. It's almost a convention in editor code that `Tree`s are cleared and rebuilt once something changes. From the perspective of the API, it's inconvenient to update only a row when something changes. `Tree` users have to keep track of the mapping between data element and `TreeItem`. ### Describe the feature / enhancement and how it helps to overcome the problem or limitation Implement something like the Android [RecyclerView](https://developer.android.com/reference/androidx/recyclerview/widget/RecyclerView) and iOS [UICollectionView](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uicollectionview) (or [UITableView]( https://developer.apple.com/documentation/uikit/uitableview) which is a simplified version). The basic idea is that the user provides an Adapter (data source) for the list control. - So the list control can ask the adapter... - how many items are in the list - which kind of view (control / scene) should be used for a specific item - And the adapter should be able to... - Create the view for a specific type - Setup the view for a specific item The list control reuses the view created previously when possible. Only a few views will be created for a long list. How the list control arranges views is determined by a similar Layout object (e.g. vertically, horizontally, coverflow, paged, waterfall...). ### Describe how your proposal will work, with code, pseudo-code, mock-ups, and/or diagrams See the reference links above for details. Demo usage: ```gdscript @onready var list: RecyclerView = $List func _ready(): var adapter = UserAdapter.new() adapter.users = get_users() list.adapter = adapter class UserAdapter: var users: Array[User] func _get_item_count() -> int: return users.size() # Called by RecyclerView when a new view should be created. # `type` is 0 by default. Override `_get_view_type(position: int) -> int` to use different views. func _create_view(type: int) -> Control: return preload("res://user_view.tscn").instantiate() # Called by RecyclerView when a new row will be shown. # `view` is a reused control, or newly created by `_create_view()`. func _bind_view(view: Control, position: int) -> void: var user_view := view as UserView var user_data := users[position] user_view.username.text = user_data.name user_view.age.text = str(user_data.age) user_view.load_avatar(user_data.avatar_url) user_view.removed_pressed.connect(func (): users.remove_at(position) # Update data model. list.reload_data() # Refresh the list, or list.delete_item(position) # Only update row count & rows from position. Animation possible. ) # Called by RecylerView when a view is just hidden. You can do some cleanup here. func _recycle_view(view: Control) -> void: var user_view := view as UserView user_view.cancel_avatar_loading() user_view.disconnect_signals() ``` ### If this enhancement will not be used often, can it be worked around with a few lines of script? Not a few lines. ### Is there a reason why this should be core and not an add-on in the asset library? It fills the gap between `ItemList`/`Tree` and `BoxContainer`+`ScrollContainer`.