Data Objects


The JDesignerPro Data objects are advanced data-bound components that will each kick off our famous Data Wizard. Each Wizard walks you through choosing the data, setting pull downs and other form elements, laying out fields, tags, colors, etc. Once you finish the Wizard, all the pure Java code, SQL and server messaging are created for that object to retrieve the data from the database and display it how you defined.

TIP: The best way to learn how to use the Wizard objects is to go through the walk-through Tutorials in the manual and the multimedia tutorials located on BulletProof's website at www.bulletproof.com.

Another great way to understand how BulletProof's objects can be implemented is to open them from the examples folder in the JDesignerPro directory. Once open in the Application Builder, look at the source code and the Interaction Manager to understand how they are implemented. Look also at the Examples tab to see how they function. For information about the methods for each component, please see the API documentation.

Columns

The Columns component allows you to place one or many data fields on the screen. Simply drop the Columns icon on a panel and the Data Wizard will appear automatically. The number of fields and exactly which fields will appear is determined by your selections in the Data Wizard.

Step through the Data Wizard and define the Column settings to your needs, pressing accept at each screen. To change the columns that are on the screen, do not delete the field from the screen layout. To change the columns used, highlight the Columns component in the Layout View and go into the Data Wizard to deselect or select additional columns. Press Accept all the way through, at each Data Wizard screen. The columns will regenerate according to your new settings.

When the columns are building you will see "Loading…" flash on the bottom left of the Layout Screen. When the source generation is done, the columns will appear on the screen laid out in a perfect vertical set.

To rearrange the columns, drop the desired column lines on other column lines in the Layout View tree. For example, to move the City and Zip fields so they are on the same line as State, we drag them onto the Sateline1. First drag the citylabel1, then cityline1, then ziplabel1 and z pline1, in succession onto stateline1. If they do not redraw, click twice on Main and choose Refresh.

Search Panel

The Search Panel is a Java object to handle searches by field name or other criteria. It is a form element with pull downs, a criteria entry field and Search Buttons. To allow end users to search by field name, the developer simply chooses the field names in the Search Panel Data Wizard. All the necessary code for making pull-downs, a user-enterable search text field and the SQL query code behind the panel is done automatically by JDesignerPro.

The Search Panel is usually linked to another data component, such as Grid, Columns or Result List. These other components will display the data found by the Search Panel.

The Search panel has built-in And and Or ability. Enter a search term in the criteria field and press the button to the far left. Then enter another criteria in the field and press And or Or. The new search will be run and the results passed to the result list or columns. The And and Or searches can only be done once, they cannot be continually compounded. The next search must be a regular search, after which you can do another And or Or.

When creating a Search Panel, make sure the exact tables, joins and unique keys are chosen as those chosen in the Result List or it may not work properly.

Result List and Drill-down Tree

The Result list object is similar to the Search Panel in that the developer can define a sorting and result list panel to display the results of a Search. A flexible wizard allows the sorting by any field or other criteria and definition of the result list as a simple list or a tree structure. The tree structure option is an effective method for end-users to look at results. The results can be visually searched by opening folders to reveal records within.

Detail Grid

The Detail Grid is a reusable Java component in which the developer can place data from any table on screen. The Grid Data Wizard allows customizable functions such as pull-downs, colors, column placement and width and more. This Grid can be used as a detail for a Master Detail form or similar program. The Grid’s methods and parameters are explained in the Interaction Manager section.

Report Layout

Let your end-user generate reports based on their own choice of data by using the JDesignerPro report wizard to create the report and the layout. The report functions allows you to set up searching criteria, totaling and a structure the reported columns. The Report Layout allows grouping by any set of columns. With it you can total and sub-total numeric data elements. Colors of the columns can be changed and other properties set in the Data Wizard.

Chart Layout

The Chart object in JDesignerPro is also a reusable Java class with which the developer builds a charting screen that will chart data based on end-user queries. Unlike GIF-generated charts, the JDesignerPro charts are "live" which means they can be regenerated on the fly, based on any new data the user retrieves. There are several chart types to choose from.

These charts can be resized to fit any section of the screen you desire. They should be made so that the labels can be read by the end user and there are not too many elements to fit on the axes within that space.

Choice

This is a simple component into which you may pass a field in a database to build a stand-alone choice box. Its values may come from your own entered in the choice table or from another set of tables. In the latter case you are building a dynamic pull down that will display and return values from tables instead of a static list.

In the Static list, the elements on the left hand side are the ones that will appear on the GUI. The right side is a list of the values that will be put in the database if the corresponding value is chosen. These values can be the same or entirely different.

List

This component is the same as the Choice component, but its values are displayed in a scrollable list rather than in a pull-down.

Combo Box

The Combo Box allows both a choice from a list and the user to enter from the keyboard. As a data-bound component, your users have a dynamic combo box which will always show the updated list from the database.

JDP Text Field

The JDP Text Field data component gives you a handy way to add a single data-bound field to any form. As with all other Data Objects, simply drop it on your screen or in the Layout View location you desire and the Data Wizard for it will appear. It is similar to the Form object but much simpler.