Undo Manager#

Undo is implemented in order to erase the last change done, reverting it to an older state or reversing the command that was done to the model being edited. With the possibility of undo, users can explore and work without fear of making mistakes, because they can easily be undone.

Overview of Transactions#

The recording and playback of changes in Gaphor is handled by the the Undo Manager. The Undo Manager works transactionally. This means that if something is being updated by the user in a model, each change is divided into operations called transactions. Each operation must succeed or fail as a complete unit. If the transaction fails in the middle, it is rolled back. In Gaphor this is achieved by the transaction module, which provides a decorator called @transactional. Methods then make use of this decorator, and the undo data is stored in a transaction once the method is called. For example, pasting data in the model using the copyservice module and setting a value on an object’s property page both create new transactions.

When transactions take place, they also emit event notifications on the key transaction milestones so that other services can make use of the events. The event notifications are for the begin of the transaction, and the commit of the transaction if it is successful or the rollback of the transaction if it fails. Please see the next sections for more detail on how these event notifications work during a transaction.

Start of a Transaction#

  1. A Transaction object is created.

  2. TransactionBegin event is emitted.

  3. The UndoManager instantiates a new ActionStack which is the transaction object, and adds the undo action to the stack.

Nested transactions are supported to allow a transaction to be added inside of another transaction that is already in progress.

Successful Transaction#

  1. A TransactionCommit event is emitted

  2. The UndoManager closes and stores the transaction.

Failed Transaction#

  1. A TransactionRollback event is emitted. TransactionRollback event is emitted

  2. The UndoManager plays back all the recorded actions and then stops listening.

References#