Alternative to NSCollectionView in pre-OSX10.5, Cocotron?

Question

NSCollectionView was introduced in OS X 10.5, and is not yet implemented in Cocotron.

I am trying to implement a small app that will allow creating properly packaged data files for an online service, which will then be uploaded by an administrator. More specifically, the user will create a collection of input and output data pairs, by dragging input and output files onto the window.

Currently the idea is that user drags a file, from the filename it's detected if it's the input or output filename (by default, input), and a view with icon and filename for input and output is added to collection view. Then, the second file is dropped on the "other" icon.

NSCollectionViewItem's view http://i27.tinypic.com/20kqf45.png

However, NSCollectionView does not appear in pre-10.5, and most of my users don't have Macs so I'll have to provide a Cocotron-built application. Not only that; I still don't fully understand KVC/KVO, and I really should understand everything that my code does. Hence, I need an alternative to NSCollectionView.

What alternative do I have to using NSCollectionView? (Any intuitive solution is appreciated, don't feel limited by the above description of my idea.)

Answer 1

To work with NSCollectionView, you need to not only understand KVC and KVO, but also Bindings.

There's code for an NSCollectionView clone that works on Tiger here.

Answer 2

I still don't fully understand KVC/KVO…

That's what the docs are for:

• Key-Value Coding Programming Guide
• Key-Value Observing Programming Guide

What alternative do I have to using NSCollectionView?

Make your own.