orca-xml-authoring

name	orca-xml-authoring
description	Create or edit ORCA XML screens, pages, popups, prefabs, package declarations, object trees, properties, bindings, triggers, actions, and messages. Use for declarative UI markup and XML serialization work; use the asset-and-scene skill for resource libraries and scene content.

ORCA XML Authoring

Gather the contract

1. Read docs/UI_SYSTEM.md.
2. Read docs/app/xml/triggers-actions-messages.md when handling events, actions, popups, or navigation.
3. Read the relevant element pages under .opencode/generated/xml/<module>/. Generate them with make modules when absent; if generation is unavailable, inspect only the owning .cgen.
4. Inspect at most one nearby screen, page, popup, or prefab using the same pattern.

Treat generated XML documentation as the authority for element names, properties, value types, inheritance, arrays, and messages. Do not infer XAML or browser behavior.

Author the view

1. Choose the semantic root:
   • Use Screen for a top-level window view.
   • Use Page for content hosted by page or navigation controls.
   • Use Popup for modal content.
   • Use the appropriate reusable node root for a prefab.
2. Keep hierarchy, static properties, bindings, and simple reactions in XML.
3. Apply Name only when lookup, object paths, tests, or tooling need it.
4. Apply reusable presentation with class/StyleClass; use $orca-css to create or change stylesheets.
5. Bind repeated layout to data with ItemsSource, ItemTemplate, and {Binding DataContext/...} instead of duplicating nodes.
6. Use exact generated property names. Qualify inherited properties when it removes ambiguity, such as Node.PaddingLeft.

Wire behavior

Use inline shorthand for one clear action:

<Button Text="Open"
  LeftButtonUp="{Screen.ShowModal Path=App/Screens/SettingsPopup}"/>

Use Node.Triggers when a trigger has multiple actions, watches another property, or needs explicit dispatch configuration:

<Button Text="Hide">
  <Node.Triggers>
    <EventTrigger RoutedEvent="Node.LeftButtonUp">
      <HideAction Path="../Panel"/>
    </EventTrigger>
  </Node.Triggers>
</Button>

• Map action attributes exactly to generated message payload fields.
• Omit Target to route a generated message through ancestors; set it to dispatch to a resolved object path.
• Use Mode="Post" when synchronous dispatch would mutate the tree during the current event.
• Open modal content with Screen.ShowModal and close a Popup with Popup.ClosePopup.
• Use $orca-controller-binding when behavior needs computation, runtime state, or data mutation.

Validate

Load the exact XML asset or run the narrowest XML/headless test. For a fixed test viewport, set ResizeMode="NoResize". Verify the root type, resource paths, object paths, bindings, and at least one event path before broad tests.

Use $orca-xml-assets-scenes for images, textures, shaders, font families, SceneKit, or SpriteKit declarations.