# XCUI Phase Status 2026-04-05 ## Scope Current execution stays inside the XCUI module and `new_editor`. Old `editor` replacement is explicitly out of scope for this phase. ## Latest Checkpoint - Phase 1 sandbox batch committed and pushed as `67a28bd` (`Add XCUI new editor sandbox phase 1`). - Phase 2 common/runtime batch committed and pushed as `ade5be3` (`Add XCUI runtime screen layer and demo textarea`). - Current work has moved into Phase 3: stabilize schema/validation and continue filling the remaining common/runtime/editor gaps instead of replacing the old editor. - The current stable editor-layer batch is centered on `LayoutLab` as the widget proving ground for tree/list/property-section style controls. ## Three-Layer Status ### 1. Common Core - `UI::DrawData`, input event types, focus routing, style/theme resolution are in active use. - `UIDocumentCompiler` is buildable again after repairing the duplicated schema helper regression introduced by overlapping schema work. - Build-system hardening for MSVC/PDB output paths has started in root CMake, `engine/CMakeLists.txt`, `new_editor/CMakeLists.txt`, and `tests/NewEditor/CMakeLists.txt`. - Shared engine-side XCUI runtime scaffolding is now present under `engine/include/XCEngine/UI/Runtime` and `engine/src/UI/Runtime`. - Shared engine-side `UIDocumentScreenHost` now compiles `.xcui` / `.xctheme` screen documents into a runtime-facing document host path instead of leaving all document ownership in `new_editor`. - Core regression coverage now includes `UIContext`, layout, style, runtime screen player/system, and real document-host tests through `core_ui_tests`. Current gap: - Schema/validation is not yet landed in a stable form. - Shared widget/runtime instantiation is still thin and mostly editor-side. - Common widget primitives are still incomplete: multiline text editing, tree/list virtualization, property-grid composition, and native image/source-rect level APIs. ### 2. Runtime/Game Layer - The main concrete progress here is that the retained-mode demo runtime now supports a real `TextField` input path with UTF-8 text entry and backspace handling. - The demo runtime has moved past single-line input: multiline `TextArea` behavior is now covered in the sandbox testbed. - Engine-side runtime ownership is no longer zero: `UIScreenPlayer`, `UIDocumentScreenHost`, and `UISystem` now define a shared runtime contract for loading a screen document, ticking it with input, and collecting `UI::UIDrawData`. - `UISystem` now supports layered screen composition semantics: stacked screen players, top-interactive input routing, and modal layers that block lower screens. Current gap: - No production game-loop integration has been wired yet from scene/runtime systems into `UISystem`. - The runtime widget library is still shallow and missing the editor-grade controls that will later be shared downward. ### 3. Editor Layer - `new_editor` remains the isolated XCUI sandbox. - Native hosted preview is working as `RHI offscreen surface -> ImGui shell texture embed`. - `XCUI Demo` remains the long-lived effect and behavior testbed. - `XCUI Demo` now covers both single-line and multiline text authoring behavior. - `LayoutLab` now includes a `ScrollView` prototype and a more editor-like three-column authored layout. - `LayoutLab` now also covers editor-facing widget prototypes: `TreeView`, `TreeItem`, `ListView`, `ListItem`, `PropertySection`, and `FieldRow`. - Panel diagnostics were expanded to clearly separate preview/runtime/input state and native vs legacy paths. - `XCNewEditor` builds successfully to `build/new_editor/bin/Debug/XCNewEditor.exe`. Current gap: - The shell is still ImGui-hosted. - Editor-specialized widgets are still incomplete at the shared-module level: the authored prototypes exist, but virtualization, selection models, command routing, property editing models, toolbar/menu chrome, and icon-atlas widgets are not yet extracted into reusable XCUI modules. ## Validated This Phase - `new_editor_xcui_demo_runtime_tests`: `7/7` - `new_editor_xcui_layout_lab_runtime_tests`: `6/6` - `new_editor_xcui_rhi_command_compiler_tests`: `6/6` - `new_editor_xcui_rhi_render_backend_tests`: `5/5` - `XCNewEditor` Debug target builds successfully - `core_ui_tests`: `14/14` - `core_ui_style_tests`: `5/5` ## Landed This Phase - Demo runtime `TextField` with UTF-8 text insertion, caret state, and backspace. - Demo runtime multiline `TextArea` path in the sandbox and test coverage for caret movement / multiline input. - Demo authored resources updated to exercise the input field. - LayoutLab `ScrollView` prototype with clipping and hover rejection outside clipped content. - LayoutLab editor-widget prototypes for tree/list/property-style sections with dedicated runtime coverage. - Engine runtime layer added: - `UIScreenPlayer` - `UIDocumentScreenHost` - `UISystem` - layered screen composition and modal blocking semantics - RHI image path improvements: - clipped image UV adjustment - mirrored image UV preservation - external texture binding reuse - per-batch scissor application - `new_editor` panel/shell diagnostics improvements for hosted preview state. - XCUI asset document loading changed to prefer direct source compilation before `ResourceManager` fallback for the sandbox path, fixing the LayoutLab crash. - `UIDocumentCompiler.cpp` repaired enough to restore full local builds after the duplicated schema-helper regression. - MSVC debug build hardening was tightened again so large parallel `engine` rebuilds stop tripping over compile-PDB contention. ## Phase Risks Still Open - Schema/validation still needs a clean minimal landing instead of the current partially merged state in `UIDocumentCompiler.cpp`. - `ScrollView` is still authored/static; no wheel-driven scrolling or virtualization yet. - `Image` widgets still do not have source-rect/atlas-subregion level API in the high-level draw command model. - Editor shell still depends on ImGui as host chrome. - Editor widget coverage is still prototype-driven inside `LayoutLab`; it has not yet been promoted into a reusable shared widget/runtime layer. ## Next Phase 1. Cleanly stabilize schema/validation in `UIDocumentCompiler.cpp` and add targeted schema regression tests. 2. Expand runtime/game-layer ownership from the current document host + layered `UISystem` into reusable menu/HUD stack patterns and engine runtime integration. 3. Promote the current editor-facing widget prototypes out of authored `LayoutLab` content and into reusable XCUI widget/runtime modules, then continue with toolbar/menu and more native shell-owned chrome. 4. Move more diagnostics and shell affordances into XCUI-owned editor-layer surfaces instead of only ImGui HUDs. 5. Continue phased validation, commit, push, and plan refresh after each stable batch.