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CHAPTER 33

Generating
Applications

IN THIS CHAPTER

Preferences Navigator812
Starting the Module Data Diagrammer816

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Application generation is the creation of screens and reports. Before you begin working with the actual screens, however, you'll need to set up some standards and preferences by using the (RON). Then the tool you'll use in the development of these objects is the Module Data Diagrammer. Modules can be generated from the business functions in the Function Hierarchy diagram by using the Application Design Wizard. However, the diagrammer can be used to design the screens and reports by selecting which table and column usages will be performed in the module.

Preferences Navigator

Use the Preferences Navigator to set up the standards for generating screens and reports for an application. You can start it from its own icon (your system might show "Pref ") or from the Repository Object Navigator (RON) or the Module Data Diagrammer via the Tools Preferences Navigator option. Figure 33.1 shows the screen and toolbar buttons .

Figure 33.1.
The Preferences
Navigator screen.

Where Are Preferences Used?

There are multiple levels at which preferences can be set:

Default
Application
Domain
Table
Constraint

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Column
Module
Table Usage
Item Group
Constraint Usage
Column Usage

Initially, you start from RON or the icon itself to set up the application-level preferences. These are preferences that will be used universally throughout all of the application.

What Do Preferences Do?

There are multiple areas of preferences that can be set:

Coding Style Preferences
End User Interface Preferences
DBA Preferences
Generator Preferences
Generate Options Preferences
Form and Menu Attachment Preferences
Layout Preferences

If you want all of your objects (such as windows , pages, and blocks) to have the same functionality and look, set the preferences at the applications level. Preferences have a hierarchy. If you set an application-level preference and set the same preference at the module level, the module-level preference will be used. The same applies to table usages. They will override preferences at the module and application levels. After you have made a change to the preference, you cannot reset it simply by selecting its original value. You must choose Edit Unset to revert the value back to its original setting.

Named Sets

You can have several preferences that are commonly grouped together to obtain a certain look and feel; however, not all modules should look and act this way. You can group those preferences together by creating a named set. To create a Named Preference Set, choose Set Create. To view existing sets, choose View Named Sets Window. After the set is created, you can attach the named set to the specific modules or table usages that they apply to by choosing Set Reference or Dereference to remove a reference to a named set. You may attach only one named set to a specific object; however, the other preferences can be set by using a different named set at the application level or simply by absorbing preferences set at the application level. This applies at the lower levels as well.

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NOTE

Named preference sets are sharable across applications in the same repository.

Protection

If you have worked long and hard at obtaining the perfect look and feel to a form or report that you've generated, you might want to protect those settings from changes by yourself or others. You can protect the preferences by choosing Utilities Protect From Update. Only the person who set the protection or the administrator can reset the preference to allow update. You may reset the protection by selecting Utilities Allow Update. When protection is set at a higher level, you may not update the preference at a more detailed level. Consequently, it is a good practice to restrict protection to the more detailed levels.

As with protection, the administrator may Freeze/Unfreeze preferences. You can select these options from the Utilities menu also.

There are icons that appear next to the preference to differentiate preferences at different levels ”ones that are a part of a named set, protected ones, and frozen ones. The most used are a pinned preference indicating that preference has been frozen or a blue or red gate indicating protection.

Calling from the Module Data Diagrammer

When you are generating the modules, start from the Module Data Diagrammer so that you can set specific preferences for a specific module. The Preferences Navigator will open to the module and detailed table usage that you are currently in. You will ordinarily go through multiple iterations of setting preferences and testing the outcome until you are comfortable with the appearance and functionality of your module.

What Do the Codes Mean?

Select View Description to see the abbreviated codes' descriptions for the preference or look at the hint at the bottom of the screen. As always, when you are unsure of what the preference actually does, you can click the question mark in the toolbar and then click the text in question to get a description, as well as a list of allowable values. The online help is very helpful in deciphering the meaning of the text; however, much of what you will learn is through trial and error. I encourage you to create named sets when you have arrived at a group of settings that you are comfortable with.

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NOTE

You can set preferences for Visual Basic, but you cannot generate anything in Visual Basic at this time.

Saving Your Preferences

When you are satisfied with your preferences, click the Save icon, the first icon from the left.

Generating the Calling Module

If you accessed the Preferences Navigator from the Module Data Diagrammer, you can generate the module by clicking the Generate icon.

Furthermore, as with the Repository Object Navigator, a plus sign next to an object indicates that it can be further decomposed, and a minus sign indicates that it is at the bottom level.

Marking a Preference

Suppose you are looking at a preference in Application Preferences. Then you jump to a preference in table preferences and you want to go back to the preference in Application Preferences. You either have to do a lot of scrolling back and forth on your screen, or you have to do a lot of decomposing and recomposing. To go back to a certain point quickly, you can set a mark on it. To set a mark, click the Set Mark icon. When you are ready to go back to that point, click the Go To Mark icon. You can only mark one item at a time.

Searching for Preferences

If you know the name of your preference or block of preferences but are not sure where they are on the preference hierarchy, you can find the preference or preference block with a search. Fill in the blank box to the right of the first icon on the icon bar. Then click the Search Forward icon to look down the hierarchy for the search item or click the Search Backward icon to look up the hierarchy for the search item.

The Preferences Navigator is an underrated tool that can vastly improve the construction phase of a project when used effectively. Not only will you benefit from the standard appearance and functionality of your forms and reports, but you can eliminate post-generation modifications altogether. The next phase of the Designer/2000 cycle involves the Module Data Diagrammer, covered in the next several sections.