A Guide to Oracle9i1 Creating an Integrated Database Application Chapter 8

A Guide to Oracle9i2 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

A Guide to Oracle9i3 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

A Guide to Oracle9i4 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

A Guide to Oracle9i5 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

A Guide to Oracle9i6 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

A Guide to Oracle9i7 Main Form Screen Design

A Guide to Oracle9i8 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

A Guide to Oracle9i9 Splash Screen Sample

A Guide to Oracle9i10 Creating a Splash Screen Timer

A Guide to Oracle9i11 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

A Guide to Oracle9i12 Template Form

A Guide to Oracle9i13 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

A Guide to Oracle9i14 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

A Guide to Oracle9i15 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

A Guide to Oracle9i16 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

A Guide to Oracle9i17 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

A Guide to Oracle9i18 Closing Forms

A Guide to Oracle9i19 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

A Guide to Oracle9i20 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

A Guide to Oracle9i21 Starting Local Report Service

A Guide to Oracle9i22 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

A Guide to Oracle9i23 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 8

A Guide to Oracle9i24 Displaying the Report in a Browser Window

A Guide to Oracle9i25 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

A Guide to Oracle9i26 Creating Custom Pull-Down Menus Replace the default Forms Services pull- down 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

A Guide to Oracle9i27 Menu Components

A Guide to Oracle9i28 Creating Menus Use Menu Editor Menu code trigger performs action when menu selected Menu properties are specified on Property Palette

A Guide to Oracle9i29 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

A Guide to Oracle9i30 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

A Guide to Oracle9i31 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

A Guide to Oracle9i32 Menu Code Triggers Perform actions like opening a form Cannot reference specific form items Right-click menu item to open PL/SQL editor

A Guide to Oracle9i33 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

A Guide to Oracle9i34 Using Program Commands to Control Menu Items

A Guide to Oracle9i35 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);

A Guide to Oracle9i36 Menu Names

A Guide to Oracle9i37 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

A Guide to Oracle9i38 Creating a Pop-Up Menu Create in Object Navigator Open in Menu Editor Define menu items Change menu labels Create menu code triggers

A Guide to Oracle9i39 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

A Guide to Oracle9i40 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