Chinook.SectionsNavigation.Abstractions 1.1.0

Chinook StackNavigation and SectionsNavigation

This library provides unified cross-platform tools to perform ViewModel-based navigation using the Frame navigation model.

// Navigate to the PersonDetailsPage.
await navigator.Navigate(ct, () => new PersonDetailsPageViewModel());
// Navigate back.
await navigator.NavigateBack(ct);

Cornerstones

• Highly Extensible
  • Everything is interface-based to easily allow more implementations.
  • A single framework can't cover everything. Our architecture is designed in a way that allows you to integrate your favorites tools easily.
• UI-Independant
  • Navigation abstractions are not tied to a specific UI framework.
  • Having the navigation code in the ViewModel layer allows for reusing the same code for multiple platforms.

Before you start

Before getting started, you should understand the different navigators.

There are 2 types of navigators available:

• IStackNavigator - Use this if your app would use a single Frame.

• ISectionsNavigator - Use this if you want to use multiple frames (like sections tabs) or modals. Note that IStackNavigator is used as a building block by ISectionsNavigator.

  Here is how navigation around sections and modals are related to stack navigation:

  • Dimension 1: Stack Navigator
    • It's linear. You can go forward or back.
  • Dimension 2: Sections
    • Each section is a stack navigator.
    • You can have multiple sections next to each other.
    • You can change the active section freely (without limitations).
  • Dimension 3: Modals
    • Each modal is a stack navigator.
    • You can have multiple modals on top of each other.
    • You can't change the modal freely; you can only open a new modal and close existing modals.
    • The active modal is always the one with the highest priority (set when opening).

  Axis	Navigator	Operations
  X	IStackNavigator	Navigate, NavigateBack
  Y	ISectionsNavigator	SetActiveSection
  Z	ISectionsNavigator	OpenModal, CloseModal

The following steps will show how to setup the ISectionsNavigator.

💡 If you want to create a single stack application, check this doc instead.

Getting Started

1. Install the latest version of Chinook.SectionsNavigation.Uno or Chinook.SectionsNavigation.Uno.WinUI in your project.

2. Create a base class that implements INavigableViewModel for your ViewModels.

   You can use the MVVM framework of your choice. In this sample, we use ViewModelBase from Chinook.DynamicMvvm.

   using Chinook.DynamicMvvm;
   using Chinook.StackNavigation;
   using Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls;
   namespace ChinookSample
   {
     public class ViewModel : ViewModelBase, INavigableViewModel
     {
       public void SetView(object view)
       {
         // For Chinook.DynamicMvvm, we want to create an MVVM dispatcher using the CoreDispatcher of the Page.
         Dispatcher = new CoreDispatcherDispatcher((Page)view);
       }
     }
   }
   

3. Map your ViewModels to Pages.

   Create a method returning a dictionary associating the types. You can put that method in App.xaml.cs.

   private static IReadOnlyDictionary<Type, Type> GetPageRegistrations() => new Dictionary<Type, Type>()
   {
     // Assuming that MainPageViewModel is a class that inherits from the ViewModel class of the previous step.
     { typeof(MainPageViewModel), typeof(MainPage) }
   };
   

4. Add a MultiFrame at the root of your application's XAML.

   You can do this in various ways. We suggest you create a UserControl which contains the MultiFrame and set that UserControl as the content of the application's Window.

   Here's a minimal example:

   <UserControl x:Class="ChinookSample.Shell"
                xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
                xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
                xmlns:nav="using:Chinook.SectionsNavigation">
     <Grid>
       <nav:MultiFrame x:Name="NavigationRoot"
                      CommaSeparatedSectionsFrameNames="Home,Settings"/>
    </Grid>
   </UserControl>
   

   Make sure you publicly expose the MultiFrame instance from the code behind of your UserControl.

   using Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls;
   using Chinook.SectionsNavigation;
   
   namespace ChinookSample
   {
     public sealed partial class Shell : UserControl
     {
       public Shell()
       {
         this.InitializeComponent();
       }
   
       public MultiFrame MultiFrame => NavigationRoot;
     }
   }
   

5. Adjust the OnLaunched of your App.xaml.cs so that it does the following.

   • Set your newly added Shell as the content of the window.
   • Create a FrameSectionsNavigator using the MultiFrame from the Shell and the page registrations.
   • Do an initial navigation to display a page.

   protected override void OnLaunched(LaunchActivatedEventArgs e)
   {
      var root = Window.Current.Content as Shell;
      if (root == null)
      {
        // Set the Shell as the window content.
        root = new Shell();
        Window.Current.Content = root;
   
        // Create the navigator
        var navigator = new FrameSectionsNavigator(
          multiFrame: root.MultiFrame,
          globalRegistrations: GetPageRegistrations()
        );          
   
        // Do an initial navigation
        _ = navigator.SetActiveSection(CancellationToken.None, "Home", () => new MainPageViewModel());
      }      
   
      Window.Current.Activate();
   }
   

6. Start your application!

   From there you probably want to publicly expose the your ISectionsNavigator instance to your ViewModels so that they can manipulate the navigation. You can do that using the pattern of your choice.

Features

Stack Navigation

Stack navigation is the basic pattern for navigating forward and back. It's reused in both sections and modals.

Navigate forward and back

// Navigate to the PersonDetailsPage.
await navigator.Navigate(ct, () => new PersonDetailsPageViewModel());
// Navigate back.
await navigator.NavigateBack(ct);

iOS back gesture

The back swipe gesture is supported on iOS devices when using FrameStackNavigator.

Navigate forward, clearing the backstack

This can be useful when you don't want the user to be able to navigate back.

// Navigate to the HomePage, clearing all other previous pages from the backstack.
await navigator.NavigateAndClear(ct, () => new HomePageViewModel());

Remove previous pages

// Navigate to Step 1
await navigator.Navigate(ct, () => new Step1PageViewModel());
// Navigate to Step 2
await navigator.Navigate(ct, () => new Step2PageViewModel());
// Navigate to Step 2.1
await navigator.Navigate(ct, () => new Step21PageViewModel());
// Navigate to Step 3
await navigator.Navigate(ct, () => new Step3PageViewModel());

// Remove the previous page (Step 2.1) from the backstack.
await navigator.RemovePrevious(ct);
// Navigate back to Step 2
await navigator.NavigateBack(ct);

Observe the StackNavigator's State

You can access the stack navigator's state using IStackNavigator.State. It gives you access to the navigation stack as well as the last request. You can observe the state with the IStackNavigator.StateChanged event.

Sections

Sections are independent stacks that live next to each other. Only 1 section can be active at a time. Apps that have a bottom navigation bar typically would use 1 section per bottom bar button and perhaps another for the login pages.

Change between sections

// Go to Home section.
await sectionsNavigator.SetActiveSection(ct, "Home");
// Go to Messages section.
await sectionsNavigator.SetActiveSection(ct, "Messages");
// Go to Settings section.
await sectionsNavigator.SetActiveSection(ct, "Settings");

Return to root of section

This can be useful to simply reset a section when returning to it.

// Go to Home section.
await sectionsNavigator.SetActiveSection(ct, "Home", () => new HomePageViewModel());
// Navigate forward to some details page in the Home section.
await sectionsNavigator.Navigate(ct, () => new PersonDetailsPageViewModel());
// Go to Messages section.
await sectionsNavigator.SetActiveSection(ct, "Messages");

// Return to Home section on the Home page, not the PersonDetails page.
await sectionsNavigator.SetActiveSection(ct, "Home", () => new HomePageViewModel(), returnToRoot: true);

💡 When tapping on a bottom section button, some applications have a dual behavior:

1. Tap once: the app returns to that section.
2. Tap a second time: the section returns to its root.

ISectionsNavigator.SetActiveSection supports such behavior.

Navigate in an inactive section

You can navigate in sections that are not active. This is useful if you want to prepare a section before entering it to have smooth transitions.

// Go to Home section.
await sectionsNavigator.SetActiveSection(ct, "Home", () => new HomePageViewModel());
// Get the settings section navigator.
var settingsSection = sectionsNavigator.State.Sections["Settings"];

// Navigate forward to the SettingsPage, then the LicencePage in the Settings section.
// The Settings sections is not currently active, so you don't actually see this change happen.
await settingsSection.Navigate(ct, () => new SettingsPageViewModel());
await settingsSection.Navigate(ct, () => new LicencePageViewModel());

// Go to Settings section to see the Licence page.
await sectionsNavigator.SetActiveSection(ct, "Settings");
// Navigate back to SettingsPage.
await sectionsNavigator.NavigateBack(ct);

Modals

ISectionsNavigator allows you to handle multiple stacks of navigation in your app, including modals. Modals are navigation stacks that show up on top of all other sections. A modal stack behaves like any other section, meaning you can navigate back and forth in it. Your app can also navigate the pages behind the modals, without breaking the flow.

Open and close modals

// Open LoginPage in a modal.
await sectionsNavigator.OpenModal(ct, () => new LoginPageViewModel());
// Close the modal.
await sectionsNavigator.CloseModal(ct);

Open modals behind other modals

It's possible to open a modal behind a modal that's already open. This can be useful to show an optional extra step in a modal flow, while keeping nice transitions.

// Open LoginPage in a modal with a priority of 2.
await sectionsNavigator.OpenModal(ct, () => new LoginPageViewModel(), priority = 2);

// Open the SurveyPage in a modal behind the LoginPage page modal, using a lower priority of 1.
// Because the SurveyPage opens with a lower priority, you don't actually see this change happen.
await sectionsNavigator.OpenModal(ct, () => new SurveyPageViewModel(), priority = 1);

// Close the top-most modal (LoginPage) to reveal the SurveyPage modal behind it.
await sectionsNavigator.CloseModal(ct);

Change sections behind modals

You can navigate in sections that are not active. This is useful if you want to prepare a section before entering it.

// Open LoginPage in a modal.
await sectionsNavigator.OpenModal(ct, () => new LoginPageViewModel());

// Change the section to Messages.
// Modals are displayed on top of sections, so you don't actually see this change happen.
await sectionsNavigator.SetActiveSection(ct, "Messages", () => new MessagesPageViewModel());

// Close the modal to reveal the Messages section.
await sectionsNavigator.CloseModal(ct);

Navigate back or close modal

There are handy extension methods on ISectionsNavigator to easily check whether you can navigate back or close a modal. This can be useful when dealing with an hardware back button.

// Check whether the navigator can navigate back or close a modal.
if (sectionsNavigator.CanNavigateBackOrCloseModal())
{
  // Navigates back within the modal if the modal has multiple pages in its stack
  // Or closes the modal if there's a modal that has an empty backstack
  // Or navigates back in the active section.
  await sectionsNavigator.NavigateBackOrCloseModal(ct);
}

Observe the SectionsNavigator's State

You can access the sections navigator's state using ISectionsNavigator.State. It gives you access to all section stacks and modal stacks as well as the last request. You can observe the state with the ISectionsNavigator.StateChanged event.

Ready for Dependency Injection

The two navigation services are made from simple interfaces. You can easily leverage containers such as Microsoft's Generic Host. Here is an example that registers and retrieves the ISectionsNavigator using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection and Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting.

var serviceProvider = new HostBuilder()
  .ConfigureServices(serviceCollection => serviceCollection
    .AddSingleton<ISectionsNavigator>(new FrameSectionsNavigator(
      multiFrame: root.MultiFrame,
      globalRegistrations: GetPageRegistrations()
    ))
  )
  .Build()
  .Services;
			
var navigator = serviceProvider.GetService<ISectionsNavigator>();

Ready for Integration Testing

Because this is ViewModel-based navigation and the navigator interfaces don't reference any UI type, you can use the navigators in Test Projects or Console Applications without changing your navigation logic Just install the Chinook.SectionsNavigation or Chinook.StackNavigation packages and use the BlindSectionsNavigator or BlindStackNavigator implementations.

Built-in Debounce

Implementations of both IStackNavigator and ISectionsNavigator have a built-in debounce mechanism that prevents double navigations. If you invoke 2 operations simultaneously (double tap, press 2 buttons with 2 fingers, etc.), only the first will actually run. This is because the request state (Processing, Processed or FailedToProcess) is part of the ISectionsNavigator.State. If a request is made while another is processing, the second request is cancelled.

Transitions and Animations

For stack navigation, you can suppress the default transitions using StackNavigatorRequest.SuppressTransitions.

When using FrameSectionsNavigator, you can customize or remove the animations using SectionsTransitionInfo. You can specify transition info per request (using SectionsNavigatorRequest.TransitionInfo) and globally using the following:

• FrameSectionsNavigator.DefaultSetActiveSectionTransitionInfo
• FrameSectionsNavigator.DefaultOpenModalTransitionInfo
• FrameSectionsNavigator.DefaultCloseModalTransitionInfo

There are multiple statically available built-in transition info in FrameSectionsTransitionInfo. Use FrameSectionsTransitionInfo.SuppressTransition to disable animations. You can also create custom ones using the following classes:

• DelegatingFrameSectionsTransitionInfo
  • Available on all platforms.
  • Allows you to create a transition in an async method where you can animate using Storyboard.
• UIViewControllerTransitionInfo
  • Available on iOS only.
  • Allows you to customize the native behavior (such as dismissability via gestures and animations).

Breaking Changes

Please consult BREAKING_CHANGES.md for more information about migration.

License

This project is licensed under the Apache 2.0 license - see the LICENSE file for details.

Contributing

Please read CONTRIBUTING.md for details on the process for contributing to this project.

Be mindful of our Code of Conduct.