A service oriented 4GL
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Referenced Objects
A main design decision behind EntireJ was to make it possible for application developers to re-use as much of their code as possible. EntireJ provides the following constructs to give this opportunity to developers:
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Referenced Blocks
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Referenced LOV Definitions
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Object Groups
Referenced LOV Definitions
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An LOV stands for a List Of Values. When an LOV is attached to an item, the user sees an icon next to it indicating that a list of values is available for the given item. When the user types a value into the field the value entered is validated against the LOV. The user can also open the LOV and choose a valid value from the list provided. This ensures that a valid value is always used
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It is very normal in applications that a given LOV is used in various items on various forms. In EntireJ all LOV definitions are saved as Referenced objects and can be reused in any form that needs it. If a change is made in the LOV then it is made in one place and not in every form that it is assigned.
Referenced Blocks
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When an application has various forms that need to display the same information, e.g. Customer Addresses, Search Blocks etc. then the applications can use Referenced Blocks. Referenced blocks make it possible to create a block with items and screens that can be used within any form that requires it. Lets say we have four forms that should show a customers address information, we create a referenced block and then add this to these four forms. If a change needs to be made to the block it can be made in once place and all four forms will automatically have the changes.
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Because EntireJ forms are constructed, from their definitions, at runtime, the referenced information is added at runtime
Object Groups
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Object groups take reusable objects to a totally new level
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Object groups make it possible to groups, not only referenced LOV definitions and Blocks, but also canvases. This enable application developers to create small parts of an application that can be reused in any form within the application
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If for example, the application has customer information and search blocks displayed in the top half of every form, then the developers can create an object group that contains all required blocks, LOV’s and canvases. If a change needs to be made to any part of the customer header block, then it is made in one place and not in the many forms that implement this block
Object groups are an extremely powerful tool for creating reusable code in large applications