effort forms 4 application

• Quoting Norbert_at_Klst.Tynet.Sub.Org to All dated 02-22-94 ***
  > are about 300 attributes, 80 relationships, 10 m-m rel. among them. the
  > main function is data entry (not mass entry). i have no experience with
  > forms 4. can anybody give me an idea of a calculation basis?
  

First, your learning curve will be significant, because successful Forms 4.0 development requires GUI and PL/SQL experience. For an expert Forms 3.0 coder, adjustment to the GUI paradigm alone can take weeks. However, let's assume for the moment that the development team in question are expert Forms 4.0 developers.

Forms 4.0 allows a large degree of abstraction from the database level. In other words, the number of forms and the structure of your application need bear little relation to the size and complexity of your database. As always, the more thought and energy placed into the database, the less work there is to do on the front end. (More than general principle, Forms 4.0 contains some nifty work-saving features that you can exploit if you have taken the time to implement the proper constraints and relationships in the database.)

That being said, a default form of average proportions (3 lookups and a master-detail relationship) will take approximately 1/2 a day to make functional, and another 1/2 day to make visually appealing -- and then, of course, you need to run it by the users. Note that these estimates are for expert Forms 4.0 designers.
Visual design presents its own challenges, and without some kind of visual standards or prototype templates developed -up front-, aesthetics will be what consumes all of your time. I cannot stress this enough.

Michael Stowe
Director of Technical Services
Constellation Engineering
stowe_at_aol.com Received on Wed Feb 23 1994 - 20:00:00 CET