With the Design explorer view of the
Design perspective, you can view and modify
the design of your applications. It enables you to work on the instances
which constitute these applications: create, modify, import/export
instances, search for references, generate instances....
Here is what the Design explorer view
looks like:
The
Design explorer view
displays trees.
- The first level of each tree is constituted of a location. A location
can be compared to a Database. It the location is open, its name is
preceded by the
icon. If the location is closed, its name
is preceded by the
icon.
- If the location is open (to open it, right-click on it and select Open in
the popup menu), you can expand it and see the entity level. The number
of instances already existing in the location is displayed next to
the entity.
- The third level is constituted of the instances, if any. To see
instances here, you must have performed one of the following three
actions:
- Created new instances directly in the Design explorer view
(via the or any other entity).
- Imported, into the current location, a file containing a set of
instances (via the Import choice of the contextual
menu of the Design explorer view).
- Converted instances to the Pattern Driven Programming (PDP) model,
from the Pacbase explorer view of the Pacbase perspective,
into the current location (choice when you
right-click on an instance in the Pacbase explorer view).
To see the physical distribution of the instances into projects
and packages, you must open the Navigator view,
located next to the Design explorer view, in
the Design perspective.
Creating locations or instances
If you right-click
on an open location, on any entity or instance, the popup menu enables
you to:
- Create a location ().
- Create instances (, or , ... or any other
entity available). From the creation wizard which opens up, you can
also create a derived instance of a Program, Screen, Data Structure
or Dialog instance by selecting Derive. This
instance, which points to a referenced instance, will not contain
any design but will enable you to generate the referenced instance
without duplicating its design.
Importing/exporting, copying/pasting instances
If
you right-click on an open location, on any entity or instance, the
popup menu enables you to:
- Import/export a
set of instances, grouped in a file.
- Copy and paste instances,
or delete instances.
Refreshing, rebuilding your workspace
If
you right-click on an open location, on any entity or instance, the
popup menu enables you to:
- Refresh the workspace after updates.
- Rebuild your workspace, to make sure that
your Design perspective is consistent. All the
files and projects contained in your workspace are opened and if the
files contain instances, they are parsed and repaired (the existence
of the instances, their references, links to keywords... are checked
and updated if necessary).
- Rebuild the mapping between the designs and the generated
files.
Opening, renaming, moving an instance, searching for
its references
If you right-click on an instance (whatever
the entity), you can:
- Open the instance. The instance is then
displayed in its dedicated Pattern Driven Programming editor.
- Open the selected instance with... various
editors.
- The first editor is the flat editor, which displays the instance
in an xml format. You can modify the instance in this editor but it
is not recommended. It is advised to modify it in its dedicated PDP
formatted editor.
- Three other editors are also available by default: text editor,
system editor and in-place editor. You can also add other editors
in your preferences, accessed via the Window menu, .
- Refactor the instance. You can:
- Rename the instance. The new name is automatically
propagated to all the instance's links (references, keywords, instance
calls, lists...). Renaming an instance this way avoids consistency
errors.
- Move one or more selected instances to
another existing project and/or package, while keeping all their links
(references, keywords, instance calls...).
- Search for the instance's References. You
can search for its super references, i.e the
instances in which it is called, or its sub-references,
i.e. the instances it calls. Selecting one of these choices makes
you switch to the References view, where the
search results are displayed.
Possible generation types
You can generate:
- The design of a selected instance:
- A Program if you right-click on a Program and select ,
- A Screen if you right-click on a Screen and select .
- A non-SQL Block if you right-click on a Block and select .
This generation outputs a .cbl file, nested
under the instance in the Design explorer view.
Right-click on it and choose to
access the Cobol editor and views which will enable you to work on
the code and the design of the instance. (A contextual help is available
on this editor and views).
- The error messages of your applications. You generate the:
- Batch error messages if you select from
a location or a Data Structure (entity or instance level).
- Online error messages if you select from a selected Dialog or Screen.
This generation outputs a .txt file which
you will have to integrate into the error messages file used by the
applications
- The COBOL descriptions of one or more Data Structures in a file
(copybook) if you select from a location
or a Data Structure (entity or instance level).
This file is then
available for a subsequent insertion in programs, through the use
of the COPY statement.
A single Data Structure
can be used to generate several descriptions, each one adapted to
a particular need in the programs. (i.e. in the FILE SECTION or
the WORKING-STORAGE SECTION, taking the internal
and input formats into account). This generation outputs a .cpy file.
To see its content, open the Navigator view,
select the appropriate project/package, right-click on the file and
select .
- The files which will contain the code lines of one or more Macros
if you select from a location, or on a Macro
(entity or instance level). You must select this choice if you want
to:
- Enter the code lines of a Macro and if they do not exist yet.
- Overwrite the existing code lines of a Macro (either they have
been entered in VA Pac and imported into RDz (via a drag and drop
or a copy/paste) in the Navigator view, or they
have been directly entered in RDz). If the code lines of the Macro
already exist, a message warns you that the content of the .cblgen file
will be re-initialized.
This generation outputs .cblgen files in
the Navigator view. To see the content of a .cblgen file,
open the Navigator view, select the appropriate
project/package, right-click on the file and choose or .
You will then access the .cblgen editor and the Macrostructure
tags tree view, in which you will enter the Macro code
lines. (A contextual help is available on this view and editor).
Dispatching Macros
The dispatch
macro choice is available from the location and the Macro
levels (entity and instance levels).
You should select it if
your Macros already exist in VA Pac and have been generated in a single
file. You must then put this file in the Navigator view
of the Design perspective (via a drag and drop
or a copy/paste) and give it a .cblgen extension.
If
you do not select this choice, the code lines of all the generated
Macros will remain in this single file
On the other hand, if
you dispatch the Macros to packages (equivalent of Libraries), one .cblgen file
will be created for each Macro included in the VA Pac generated file.
To see these files, go to the Navigator view
and select the package you have specified in the Dispatch Macro wizard.
Using the migration help
The migration
help choice is available from the Program instance level.
This
function is useful when you migrate the code of a Program generated
in VA Pac to RDz. It positions warnings on the lines which are generated
from the Program's design wherever it detects discrepancies between
the code generated in VA Pac and the locally-generated code.
The toolbar
The
Design explorer view
has its own toolbar, which enables you to:
- Go back (
icon). This command navigates
to the most recently-displayed state of the view with a different
element at the top level. This button becomes available once you double-click
on an entity line and consequently see its instances alone in the Design
explorer view. Clicking this button then returns the view
to the same hierarchy from which you double-clicked on the entity
line. The hover help for this button tells you where it will take
you.
- Go forward (
icon). This command navigates to the state of the view with
a different element at the top level that was displayed immediately
after the current state. For example, if you have just selected the back command,
then selecting the forward command in the resulting
display returns the view to the same hierarchy from which you activated
the back command. The hover help for this button
tells you where it will take you.
- Go up (
icon). This command navigates to the location level. The
hover help for this button tells you where it will take you.
- Expand all (
icon). This command expands all the tree nodes in the Design
explorer view
- Collapse All (
icon). This command collapses all the tree nodes
in the Design explorer view
- Link with Editor (
icon). This command links the active editor to
its corresponding instance in the tree of the Design explorer view.
If this button is not clicked, changing the active editor will not
update the selection, in the tree of the Design explorer view,
to the instance being edited.
- Change the sort and display of instances in the Design
explorer view. Click the white upside-down triangle icon
and select:
- Top Level Elements to indicate which element
type will constitute the top of the hierarchy in each location tree:
folders (default. These are represented by the entity types), packages
or projects.
- Sort to specify a new sort criterion: by
name (default), package or project.
- Display to display additional information
on each instance line in the tree: package, project and/or label.
You can combine the three choices. If you want to remove one of the
selected information from the line, just select it again in the menu.
This new setting will then automatically be saved and associated
with the Design explorer view, until you change
it again.