Creating an Integrated Database Application

1. Creating an IntegratedDatabase Application Chapter 8 A Guide to Oracle9i

2. 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 Oracle9i

3. 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 Oracle9i

4. 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 Oracle9i

5. 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 Oracle9i

6. 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 Oracle9i

7. Main Form Screen Design A Guide to Oracle9i

8. 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 Oracle9i

9. Splash Screen Sample A Guide to Oracle9i

10. Creating a Splash Screen Timer A Guide to Oracle9i

11. 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 Oracle9i

12. Template Form A Guide to Oracle9i

13. 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 Oracle9i

14. 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 Oracle9i

15. 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 Oracle9i

16. 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 Oracle9i

17. 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 Oracle9i

18. Closing Forms A Guide to Oracle9i

19. 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 Oracle9i

20. 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 Oracle9i

21. Starting Local Report Service A Guide to Oracle9i

22. 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 Oracle9i

23. 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 Oracle9i

24. Displaying the Report in a Browser Window A Guide to Oracle9i

25. 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 Oracle9i

26. 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 Oracle9i

27. Menu Components A Guide to Oracle9i

28. Creating Menus • Use Menu Editor • Menu code trigger performs action when menu selected • Menu properties are specified on Property Palette A Guide to Oracle9i

29. 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 Oracle9i

30. 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 Oracle9i

31. 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 Oracle9i

32. 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 Oracle9i

33. 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 Oracle9i

34. Using Program Commands to Control Menu Items A Guide to Oracle9i

35. 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 Oracle9i

36. Menu Names A Guide to Oracle9i

37. 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 Oracle9i

38. 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 Oracle9i

39. 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 Oracle9i

40. 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 A Guide to Oracle9i