Online Express

You complete your character-based application by defining its program processing logic using Online Express, a menu-driven painter with a graphical user interface. Online Express references the information that you have specified in the AppMaster Builder painters, and prompts you to define the processing logic for those specifications. You do the following to complete your application.

• Select the events for executing actions

  You can choose whether the end user executes actions by entering a value in a function field or pressing a function key. In addition, Online Express provides locations in your generated program - known as screen events - where you can execute actions during program execution. For example, you can perform a custom routine each time a program is invoked, or before displaying data on the screen.

• Select predefined program actions, or write custom actions

  Online Express provides predefined actions - including database read and write actions, and teleprocessing actions - that you can assign to your program. In addition, you can write and execute custom actions to supplement or override the predefined actions.

• Map screen fields to your database

  Online Express automatically displays all screen fields that you defined on your program screen so that you can map them to the appropriate fields or columns in your database.

• Define database access

  For each Query, Update, Add, and Delete action that you select, you must define one or more database calls that specify which record or records to read, and which database actions to perform on them - such as Obtain, Modify, Store, and Erase. Online Express predefines these database actions for you; you simply select the ones you need.

• Customize the database calls

  You can modify and supplement the default processing logic of database calls as follows:

  • Add your own source code at events
  • Override the default error processing of database calls
  • Define savekey storage. You define savekey storage area(s) to store record key values during program execution if your program must do any of the following
  • Update records with the Update, Add, and Delete actions.
  • Obtain records sequentially with the Next action
  • Display repeated record blocks that the end user can scroll with the Forward and Backward actions.
  • Re-read repeated record blocks so that the end user can update and delete them with the Modify and Erase actions.
• Define Commarea storage

  You use a program Commarea to store any data that your program passes between programs.

Before you access Online Express, be sure you have:

• Listed the components of your application in the Project Explorer.
• Painted your program screen in the Screen Painter.
• Created your database definition in the Data View Explorer.