Forms/Menus v4 Overview!!
Date: 26 Jul 93 14:21:35 EDT
Message-ID: <1993Jul26.142135.27_at_ocvaxa.cc.oberlin.edu>
>Jennifer, since you've taken the Forms 4.0 course, how would you compare
>Forms 4.0 to 3rd party graphical development tools and to Forms 3.0?
Well, I don't have time to put something together separately for the list, but I can post my outline from an overview that I just delivered to my colleagues.
Please, anybody who has corrections or additions, let me know. I'd like to stay up to date.
The outline follows my .sig. It only addresses v3 vs. v4 issues.
Please keep in mind that the course I took used a beta version, and things are still constantly changing.
Jennifer Amon
bamon_at_ocvaxc.cc.oberlin.edu
Miscellaneous:
o CDE - Cooperative Development Environment
Forms, Reports, Graphics, etc. - all use the same layout editor
o v4.0 only supported on v7 database.
(runs on v6 but only supported on v7)
o Expected release dates:
Motif officially, 4th Q 1993 for all
Macintosh
PC
o Oracle manuals will eventually be released electronically in
Oracle*Book format.
o PL/SQL versions:
o v1.1 of PL/SQL in Oracle*Forms
o v2 of PL/SQL in RDBMS
o if PC, then run in Super-VGA mode
New features:
o Horizontal scrolling
o You don't have to connect to the database to use the developer. You
can change the appearance of a form without ever connecting. o You can generate forms without ever connecting to the database, if
the form contains no PL/SQL code with database table and column
references.
o Runtime - dynamic change of where/orderby.
examples: include check boxes for online help to specify form,
block or field level help
o No runmenu, everything now from runform o run_product can call Oracle*reports from a form with the current
query results.
o Can have multiple modules open at the same time in the developer.
o Forms
o Menus
o Libraries
o Can access non-Oracle data
Files:
o Forms
o executable *.fmx o binary source *.fmb o ascii source *.fmt (not available yet) o Menus o executable *.mmx
o binary source *.mmb
o ascii source *.mmt (not available yet)
Items:
o New properties:
o enabled
o navigable
o Named Visual Attributes
o Local to a form
o Can't be assigned to many items at once
o Text items (fields)
o Can be wrapped in a narrow field.
o Wrap mode can be specified, e.g. wrap at character or at word.
o Can have a scroll-bar for wrapped items.
o Can keep position within a text item, so that when the user returns
to the item, the cursor is in the same position as when he left the item. o Display items (non-base table text item) o List items (see a list and pick one)
o Two kinds: pop-list and T-list
o Hardcoded values, can't come from a table
o Buttons (trigger for action)
o can be "default" meaning that RETURN presses the button o Check boxes
o value for checked
o value for unchecked
o specify checked or unchecked for display of "other" values
o default value must be the "checked" or "unchecked" value
o Radio groups
o can pick only one value
o can have an "other" button in the group for display of non-
specified values
o Image items
o not supported in character mode
o can put an image on a button
o Sound, not supported yet, but coming in the future
o Alert Boxes
o 1 - 3 Buttons
o Modal
Triggers:
o Automatically created triggers are commented o Can fire in ENTER QUERY mode
o WHEN-XXX
o fires in addition to normal processing o ON-XXX
o fires instead of normal processing o PRE-XXX
o just before normal processing
o POST-XXX
o just after normal processing
o KEY-XXX
o instead of normal key action
o Examples of name changes:
o ON-NEW-FIELD-INSTANCE WHEN-NEW-ITEM-INSTANCE o ON-VALIDATE-FIELD WHEN-VALIDATE-ITEM o ON-NEW-RECORD WHEN-NEW-RECORD-INSTANCE o ON-DATABASE-RECORD WHEN-DATABASE-RECORD o ON-VALIDATE-RECORD WHEN-VALIDATE-RECORD o ON-REMOVE-RECORD WHEN-REMOVE-RECORD o ON-CLEAR-BLOCK WHEN-CLEAR-BLOCKo New triggers:
o WHEN-BUTTON-PRESSED
o WHEN-CHECKBOX-CHANGED
o WHEN-RADIO-CHANGED
o assigned to whole group, not individual selection
o WHEN-TIMER-EXPIRED
o ON-POPULATE-DETAILS o ON-CLEAR-DETAILS o ON-DELETE-MASTER
Windows/Canvases:
o A canvas is like a painting, on which items are placed o A window frames a canvas or a portion of a canvas o There can be only one window associated with each canvas, but there
can be multiple canvases assigned to a given window o A new block can appear on a new canvas in a new window or on a new
canvas in the same window, or on a stacked canvas in the same window. o Windows may be modeless (unrestricted) or modal (must acknowledge) o No more page 0, non-displayed items are put on a null canvas
Blocks:
o Can have scroll-bar for moving through the records o Handles Master-detail-detail properly
o Use integrity constraints for Master-detail o Specification of action on master delete
o cascading delete
o non-isolated (no delete if details exist)
o isolated (delete even if details)
o Can specify next-navigation block, previous-navigation block
o Navigation style (from last item in the block)
o same_record
o change_record
o change_block
LOV's:
o Can be specified for use in validation o Have "auto-reduction"
o Can have "auto-display" o Can have "auto-confirm" o Can have "auto-skip"
o Long-list (forces a specification of narrowing parameters) o One LOV used in multiple places (to return the same values to the
same place(s))
Relations:
o Change a relation and the triggers are also changed appropriately o Can be modified after creation of default block o Can be created outside of default block creation o Query options on detail block
o Immediate auto-query
o Deferred with Auto Query
o Deferred without Auto Query
Timers:
o Display a clock
o Check the status of a runtime condition periodically o Display time-conditional alerts
o examples:
Would you like help?
It's been x minutes since your last commit.
Layout Editor:
o Proportional spacing of multi-record display o Proportional change of spacing of multi-record display o Standard graphical tool box
o Rulers
o Objects can be aligned vertically or horizontally
o Align Top
o Align Bottom
o Align Center
o Distribute
o Stack
o Objects can be overlapped
o Grid lines with adjustable grid spacing and adjustable unit of
measure
o Graphical objects can be created or imported, grouped, etc.
o TIFF
o JFIF
o BMP
o Oracle Graphical Format (object created by Oracle*Graphics)
Change of Terminology:
o Enforce Key Copy o Page Canvas o Echo Input Secure o Field Item o XXX_FIELD XXX_ITEM o SET_FIELD SET_ITEM_PROPERTY o FIELD_CHARACTERISTIC GET_ITEM_PROPERTY o BLOCK_CHARACTERISTIC GET_BLOCK_PROPERTY o APPLICATION_CHARACTERISTIC GET_APPLICATION_PROPERTY o CALL CALL_FORM o CALL_QUERY CALL_FORM
Query:
o Case insensitive query
Sharing Code:
o PL/SQL Procedure Library
o When procedure is changed, no forms need be regenerated.
o All procedures called into memory when one is used in form.
o Copy Objects (same as before)
o Reference Objects (same as before)
System Variables:
o System.mode
o NORMAL
o ENTER-QUERY
o QUERY
Functions and Packaged Procedures:
o Now called BUILT-INs
o LIST_VALUES vs. SHOW_LOV('lov_name',x,y)
o READ_IMAGE_FILE('filename', 'file_type', 'item_name')
o SHOW_ALERT
o predefined constants: ALERT_BUTTON1, ALERT_BUTTON2, ALERT_BUTTON3 o CREATE_TIMER
Menus:
o Menu items
o Plain
o Check
o Radio
o Separator
o Startup code (like a key-startup trigger)
o List or Tree display
o RUN_PRODUCT for interactive run of reports, etc.
o Roles have not changed, and are still not the v7 database roles
Conversion:
o Forms (v3 to v4)
o Field Text item o Input Allowed Enabled, Navigable o Echo Input (ON) Secure (OFF) o Enforce Key Copy o LOV Text item, LOV, and Record Group o Trigger names o Popup pages New canvas and windowo Menus (v5 to integrated forms/menus v4)
o Must attach to a form after conversion
Things that will work that we thought wouldn't under the new version:
o Stacked Canvases, e.g. pop-up page shows the next x columns of a
wide table.
o No regen needed for different runtimes, simply runform40x or
runform40 for GUI vs. CM on the same platform. I'm sure that the regen would be needed for different platforms.
Things that won't work that we thought might under the new version:
o Menu parameter validation for type
o Menu LOVs (not sure yet)
o Reordering of items is now a pain - no spreadsheet
Things that may be a problem for us:
o No character mode development environment, no MAC version yet. o host(command) sends command to client host, e.g. MAC or PC o release date of the "real" (non-beta) versions is late - probably
in Oct. or Nov.
o MS Windows will be the platform of choice. We'll have to always
wait for others.
o .fmt file output not available yet, so conversions a mess to
cleanup. Can't search/replace trigger names. o generate does not automatically save the source to a file. Save
creates *.fmb or *.mmb. Generate creates *.fmx or *.mmx. o list items data is hard-coded, doesn't come from a table. o checkbox default must be the checked or unchecked value. o User defined (named) visual attributes cannot be assigned to more
than one text item at a time.
o Items "grouped" in the layout editor are ungrouped when you end the
design session.
o Images, only JFIF and TIFF currently supported
Outstanding Questions:
o Macintosh Development Environment release date?
o Menus, number of parameters still limited to 58? o Menus, parameter validation of types? o Menus, parameter LOVs? o Forms, Use of Integrity Constraints - If you specify the use of
integrity constraints, will they be used even if disabled? During the development phase, the DBA is constantly disabling and re-enabling constraints in order to maintain something. o Will the conversion change names of things within trigger text, e.g.
something in a DO_KEY() or in an EXECUTE_TRIGGER()? o When will the ascii *.fmt files be available? o Forms, Text Item Case insensitivity - If you use this, do the
indices on the base tables get used or bypassed? o Forms, size limit on dynamic where and order_by? o Forms, debugging still shows trigger firings? What about on-error
and on-message.
o In a multiplatform environment, the host commands will go to
different machines. Is there a way to know on which platform the user is running, so that the proper command can be constructed accordingly? o Can v4 forms be run from old v5 menus? o What is the minimum PC configuration to run the developer as a client
to a VMS database?
the end Received on Mon Jul 26 1993 - 20:21:35 CEST