Transcript CREATING AN INTEGRATED DATABASE APPLICATION

Creating an Integrated
Database Application
Chapter 8
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Lesson A Objectives
• Understand the steps for developing a database
application
• Design a database application interface
• Use timers in a Forms Builder application to create a
splash screen
• Create form templates to ensure consistency across
application modules
• Learn how to reference application components in an
integrated database application
• Understand how to open and close form modules in a
multiple form application
• Learn how to display a report in a database
application
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Developing an Integrated Database
Application
• Design
– Creating the specifications for the application
components
• Module development
– Creating the individual form and report modules
• Module integration
– Integrating the individual modules into a single
application
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Developing an Integrated Database
Application
• Testing
– Unit testing: testing the individual form and report
modules to confirm that they work correctly as
single applications
– System testing: evaluates whether the modules
work correctly when you integrate them into the
rest of the system
• Deployment
– Packaging the integrated modules in an installable
format that you can deliver to customers
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Development Process
• Good practice to create separate form
modules
– Developers can each work on part of an
application
– Easier to work with
– Load faster in Web-based applications
• Files are integrated in project folder including
– All fmb files
– Graphic images
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Integrated Application
• Single entry point
• Single exit point
• Create a main form module
– Splash screen
– Switchboard - consists of command buttons that
enable users to access the most commonly used
forms and reports
– Pull-down menus
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Main Form Screen Design
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Creating a Splash Screen
• First image that appears when you run an
application
• Displays for limited time
• Use PRE-FORM trigger to set a timer
• Switch to main window when timer finishes
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Splash Screen Sample
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Creating a Splash Screen Timer
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Ensuring a Consistent Appearance
Across Form Modules
• Forms should have consistent look, feel and behavior
• Template form
– Generic form that includes graphics, command buttons, and
program units
– Store in a location that is accessible to all developers
– Base new forms on the template form
– Saves time
– Ensures consistent look and behavior
• To use:
– Select New --> Form Using Template from File menu when
creating new form
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Template Form
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Visual Attribute Group
• A form object that defines object properties,
such as text item colors, font sizes, and font
styles
• Assigned to Visual Attribute Group property of
form windows, canvases, and items
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Referencing Application Components
• Main form application uses program
commands to open other form modules and
to run report modules
• Application also references files that provide
graphic image data for images
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Path Specification Approach
• Specify the complete path, including the drive letter
and folder path, to the application file
• Works well for a development team that has
standardized on saving all of the project files to a
specific location on a file server
• Difficult to move the application to a different storage
location
• Can create a global path variable
– References a text string specifying the complete path to the
drive and folder
– Path information is stored in a single location
– Set global variable in PRE-FORM trigger
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Referencing Forms and Reports
Using Module Names
• Assign a module name to the form or report
in the Object Navigator
• Main application form can reference any form
or report using the module name if file is
stored:
– In default form or report folder
– Or available on Oracle Application Server
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Opening and Closing Forms in an
Integrated Database Application
• Use built-in procedures to open one form from
another
• Opening form is parent, new form is child
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Closing Forms
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Displaying a Report in an Integrated
Database Application
• Report displays a summary view of database data at
a specific point in time
• Can run as stand-alone applications or appear within
integrated database applications
• To integrate with database application:
– Install and start the local report server
– Configure the main application form so it generates the
report as an HTML file
– Display the report in a browser window
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Installing a Local Report Server
• Run an Oracle9i utility named Rwserver
• Pass parameters that instruct it to install a
new local report server and assign a name to
the local report server
• Installed as Windows service
• Start from control panel
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Starting Local Report Service
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Creating a Report Object
• Create a report object in the main application
form
• Top-level Forms Builder object in the Object
Navigator window that represents a Reports
Builder report file
• Configure its properties using the report
object Property Palette
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Displaying the Report Object
• Create a form trigger for the button that the
user clicks to display the report
• Trigger contains commands
– To configure the report filename and output
filename dynamically
– To run the report and generate an HTML output
file
– To display the HTML file in a browser window
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Displaying the Report in a Browser
Window
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Lesson B Objectives
• Learn how to create custom pull-down menus
• Understand how to display custom pull-down menus
in form modules
• Explore how to write program commands to control
menu items
• Learn how to create context-sensitive pop-up menus
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Creating Custom Pull-Down Menus
• Replace the default Forms Services pulldown menu choices with custom pull-down
menu choices
• Create a menu module
– Independent of any specific form
– Attach the executable (.mmx) menu file to a form
module in the form module Property Palette
– Contains one or more menu items
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Menu Components
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Creating Menus
• Use Menu Editor
• Menu code trigger performs action when
menu selected
• Menu properties are specified on Property
Palette
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Menu Item Types
• Plain
– Displays a text label and has an associated menu
code trigger that fires when the user selects the
menu item
• Check
– Specifies a property that users can enable or
disable
• Radio
– Specifies a selection in a group of menu
selections that behave like radio buttons
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Menu Item Types
• Separator
– Specifies that the menu selection appears as a
separator bar
• Magic
– Specify that the menu selection is one of the
following predefined magic types: Cut, Copy,
Paste, Clear, Undo, About, Help, Quit, or Window
– Have built-in functionality supplied by Forms
Builder
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Menu Access Keys
• Pull-down menu selections have an underlined letter
in the selection label
• Called the menu item’s access key
• Allows user to open or select the menu item by using
the keyboard instead of the mouse pointer
• First letter of each menu item label is the default
access key
• To override the default access key choice
– Type an ampersand (&) before the desired access key letter
in the menu label
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Menu Code Triggers
• Perform actions like opening a form
• Cannot reference specific form items
• Right-click menu item to open PL/SQL editor
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Displaying a Menu Module in a Form
• Compile the menu module
• Attach to form:
– Open the form module Property Palette
– Reference the compiled menu module file in the
form module’s Menu Module property value
• Copy the compiled menu module file to the
default form folder
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Using Program Commands
to Control Menu Items
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Using Program Commands
to Control Menu Items
• To use built-ins, reference menu items using
their system-assigned names
• Determine the system-assigned names of
individual menu items by viewing the menu
structure in the Object Navigator
• To dynamically change menu properties:
– SET_MENU_ITEM_PROPERTY('menu_name',
property, value);
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Menu Names
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Pop-Up Menus
• Context-sensitive menus that appear when
the user right clicks a specific screen display
item
• Top-level form objects
• Associate a pop-up menu with a specific form
— pop-up menu can appear only in that form
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Creating a Pop-Up Menu
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Create in Object Navigator
Open in Menu Editor
Define menu items
Change menu labels
Create menu code triggers
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Attaching a Pop-Up Menu to a Form
Object
• Attach a pop-up menu object to a form
canvas or to a data block item, such as a text
item, command button, or check box
• Change the object’s Popup Menu property
value to the name of the associated pop-up
menu object
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Summary
• Forms and reports can be integrated into a database
application
• A splash screen introduces an application and loads
a main “switchboard” screen with command buttons
to access commonly used forms
• Form templates and visual attribute groups are used
to maintain a common appearance between forms
• Pull-down and pop-up menus are used to launch
windows and perform application tasks
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