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from the menu bar. You can also save your work by pressing the Save icon. At this point, you can name your diagram or keep the default.

Placing Screen Items of Different Windows or Canvases

It is often necessary to display data on more than one window or canvas. For example, you might have an employee's personal information on one window and his or her address on the next window. To move an item to a different window, select the New Window icon. Click and drag around the tables that you want included in this window, and a double line will appear around those tables to indicate a new window. You might also want to place tables in a pop-up list. To add a pop-up list, select the Pop List. Drag the cursor around the tables, and the pop-up will be indicated by a single line around the objects.

Sometimes you will want some of your data to print on a different page than the other data. To move an item to a new page, select the New Page/Report icon. Click and drag around the tables, and a single line will appear around the objects.

Generating Screens

Once you are satisfied with your definition of the module, you can generate it by clicking the Generate icon. Make sure the tables your module uses exist on the database. The DDL has been generated. (See Figure 33.10.)

Figure 33.10.
The Generate tab in
the Generate Form
screen.

Options When Generating the Screen

The following tabs are available for setting options for module generation: Form Option, Menu Option, Compile, Run, Template, and Other.

The Form Option tab (see Figure 33.11) enables the user to select where the generated form will be located and how it will be generated.

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Figure 33.11.
The Form Option tab
in the Generate Form
dialog box.

CAUTION

The generator does not seem to like long pathnames; therefore, you might want to map a network drive not in use to a more specific path .

If your file server supports filenames eight characters long, the module name must be fewer that nine characters long. The filename will become the module name followed by .fmb for the binary file and .fmx for the executable file.

CAUTION

If your database resides somewhere other than where the repository resides, you must include and connect strings everywhere indicated.

The Menu Option tab looks the same as the Form Option tab. It shows the location of the menu that needs to be generated to attach to the form, if the default menu will not be used.

NOTE

Create the screen using Developer/2000 Forms Designer and attach the main menu to the screen.

The Compile tab (see Figure 33.12) lets you specify if and where compiled forms will be generated. You can choose not to generate executable code or to put it in a different place than the compiled code.

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Figure 33.12.
The Compile tab in the
Generate Form dialog
box.

The Run tab enables you to select whether the form should be run after it is generated and the command to run the form. The default is to prompt you to run.

The Template tab (shown in Figure 33.13) enables you to enter a template form and a menu template for generating the form. You are actually entering in the directory in which the form is located. The form names are located in the Preferences Navigator at the application level under TEMPLATES.

Figure 33.13.
The Template tab in
the Generate Form
dialog box.

The Other tab enables you to enter any log you want to keep, any library being used, and any default terminal information needed to run the screen.

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CAUTION

Be careful in specifying any library path information. When you move the forms, the library path is hardcoded into the form and you might encounter some problems.

Options When Generating the Report

The Report Options tab in the Generate Report dialog box, in which you generate report modules, lists the options you have for generating a report. (See Figure 33.14.)

Figure 33.14.
The Report Options tab
for generating reports .

When you are ready to generate the report, press the Start button. As the tool generates, the cursor will turn into turning gears.

Saving Options, Exiting, Stopping, and Interpreting the Generator

To save the options you have set, press the Save Options button. This will prevent you from having to reset the options each time you generate a new module.

To exit the generator, press the Dismiss button.

To stop the generator prematurely, press the Stop button. After a few seconds, the generation should stop and display a message telling you that the module was not created.

As the generator goes through its functions, it will display any warnings (which will not prevent generation) and stop on any errors, also displayed.

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Summary

Application generation is the generation of screens and reports using the Module Data Diagrammer and Module Generator, and the preferences you've determined with the Preferences Navigator. Using the Module Data Diagrammer, you can set up the look and feel of your screen or report. When you are satisfied with your module definition, you can generate your screen or report. Your screen or report will be well-documented in the module definition and created to the exact specifications defined in the Module Data Diagrammer. You should always make full use of all the tools in order to achieve 100 percent generation.

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Part VII

In This PART

• Introduction to Developer/2000
• Oracle Forms
• Oracle Reports
• Oracle Graphics
• Developer/2000 Integration
• A Preview of Developer/2000
• Release 2.0

Developer/2000

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