Re: SQLFORMS & load vs open?

In article <19930713.135734.250_at_almaden.ibm.com>, callard_at_vnet.IBM.COM (Claude Allard) writes:
> I am a new user of Oracle and am trying to understand the SQLFORMS tool.
> When I LOAD a form the .INP file is used. When I GENERATE the form the .INP
> and .FRM files are created. If I SAVE the form it is saved in the
> database. If I make changes and generate again only the .INP and .FRM
> are updated. Now the dos files and the database are out of sync. What is
> the point of these two modes of storing the form? Is there a process that
> I should be following to maintain the dos files & database in sync?
>
> Any opinions or suggestions would be appreciated.
>

As you note, GENERATE creates a .INP version of the .FRM and stores it in your working directory. SAVE disassemble the form into its component parts and then stores it in a series of database tables. This is optional, but has several advantages (discussed below)

Once you have SAVEd the form, to maintain it in the future you would use the OPEN command to retrieve it from the data base rather than the LOAD command which retrieves the .INP from your working directory. If you (re)SAVE a form that was LOADed, an error will result. In this case, Oracle requires you to first DELETE the data base version of the form and then SAVE it. Basically, Oracle is saying that this is not the current version of the form and refuses to let you put it back.

Biggest advantage of saving a form is t hat, as the total number of forms in your system increases, you can rapidly retrieve system wide information about the forms. For example, I have been required to change the overall length of a field. What forms currently use that field? The answer lies in the FORM_FLD table.

Scan the table definitions in chapter 24 of the SQK*Forms designer reference manual for descriptions of all of the support tables.

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