User Operations

Each application created with WOW contains different operations. These operations are the backbone of any application created with WOW. There are many different types of operations that can be created with WOW. Examples of these types are: SQL, HTML Code, and Execution Group. Each available operation type will be described in greater detail in this chapter.

To add operations to an application, select the application name from the list of applications on the main menu. Next, follow either the Setup Operation(s) hyperlink in the side panel or the Operations button in the toolbar. This will display all of the operations in the application. Choose the Create Operation button to create a new operation.

The operation creation screen allows you to specify several different attributes of the operation.

Basic

• • Label - A unique name identifying the application for the user that appears in a list with all of the operations that have been created for the application.

  • Title - The title that will be displayed when the user is viewing the list of operations.

  • Operation Type - The type of operation you would like to use.

  • Description - A brief description of the purpose of the operation.

  • Operation Code - The actual code that will run when the user selects this operation. For SQL Operations, this must be a valid SQL statement for the database the application is connecting to. Incorrect code may cause WOW to return unfavorable results.

  • Instructions - Text that will be shown to the user when the Operation is executed. This text is shown if the operation is an SQL statement that contains "where <column_name> = ?" where <column_name> is a valid column name from the indicated table. It may include details on what the operation does, how it is run, etc. This field may include actual HTML code to enhance the formatting. For example, you may want to make the instructions stand out by specifying the text be heading 1: "<h1>Instructions for the Operation</h1>".

  • Database Explorer button - Launches an application in a separate window to assist the user with building an SQL statement (for the Operation Code field). It provides a list of fields for a specified table and and provides options to help build a basic SQL statement.

    • NOTE: [Minimum Version: WOW 7.0]

Display

• • Allow Details - Determines whether or not the Details button is shown in the results table. This button allows the user to view the contents of one row in detail. By default, the Details button is shown.

  • Allow Inserts - Determines whether or not the Insert button is shown in the results table. This button allows users to insert new rows into the table. By default, the Insert button is shown.

  • Allow Updates - Determines whether or not the Update button is shown in the results table. This button allows users to update the contents of a row. By default, the Update button is shown.

  • Allow Deletes - Determines whether or not the Delete button is shown in the results table. This button allows users to delete a row from the database. By default, the Delete button is not shown.

  • Display Group - Determines how WOW separates different operations. All operations with the same Display Group will be grouped together (in the table of contents or drop down navigation area)when the application is run. Specifying a Display Group allows related operations to be displayed next to each other. Any name that would help with grouping the operations will work in this field.

  • Display Order - The order in which the operations should be displayed. Operations with lower display orders are displayed before operations with larger display orders. Display Order also determines the order of the Display Groups. Within a given Display Group, the lowest number in that set is shown first. The lowest number from each Display Group is the used to determine the order of the Display Groups.

  • Display Columns - Shows which columns should be displayed. Typically, an SQL operation will return multiple columns from a database table (or tables), and will display all of these columns to the user. If you only want to display some of the returned columns, list those columns in this field (separated by commas) and only those columns will be shown.

  • Properties - Controls specialty features of the operation such as page breaks, columns displayed, button text, business graphs, etc.

Advanced

• • Connection Alias - The database connection that was set up for the operation. By default, operations use the connection alias specified in their application. If an operation needs to use a different connection, select it in this field.

  • Operation Class - [PRO] A custom java class allowing you to override the execute method to change the default operation behavior. For example, if a table is displayed by the operation and there are no rows to display, you could instead display the add screen.

  • Row Count - Specifies how many rows are displayed in the results table. If the number of results is greater than this value, links are generated on the results table allowing the user to page through it. The default is set at 50 rows. This field should be adjusted based on your system performance and connection speed.

  • Row Coll. Class - [PRO] Specifies which RowCollection subclass this particular operation will use. To use a row collection named MyRowColl in the com.mypkg package, specify the following: com.mypkg. MyRowColl

  • Row Class - [PRO] Specifies which Row subclass this particular operation will use. To use a row subclass named MyRow in the com.mypkg package, specify the following: com.mypkg. MyRow

  • Parameters JSP - [PRO] Parameters refers to the search prompts given when using dynamic prompting in an SQL statement. Use this field to specify a custom parameters JSP to replace the default for that particular operation. To use a JSP named myJsp in the "…\webapps\WOW65\user\planetj\jsp" folder, specify the following: /user/planetj/jsp/myJsp.jsp

  • Caching Level - Sets the caching level of the operation. Caching deals with how WOW stores the information so it can be used later. It is similar to any other caching that you would use with a web browser, etc.

  • Cache for 1 Day - Checks and stores cache for 1 day.

  • Cache for 1 Hour - Checks and stores cache for 1 hour.

  • Cache for 1 Week - Checks and stores cache for 1 week.

  • Cache for 15 Minutes - Same as check cache and store results, except the results are only stored for 15 minutes. After that they are removed from the cache.

  • Cache for 30 Minutes - Same as check cache and store results, except the results are only stored for 30 minutes. After that they are removed from the cache.

  • Check results after a DB read - After results are read from the database store them in the cache.

  • Check cache and cache results - Check the cache before reading the database; if the database is read, then store the results in the cache afterwards.

  • Check cache on DB read - Check the cache before reading the database.

  • No caching - Do not use caching for this operation.

  • JSP File - [PRO] The JSP file to use for displaying the results of this SQL operation. This field currently gives five choices:

  • Existing List or Insert - If any records are returned, then list them. If not, go to insert view.

  • Header/Detail Reports - Return results in a report format with header, details, and footer.

  • Single Row Edit - Returns a single record in the details view with editable fields.

  • Single Row View - Returns a single record in the details view.

    • Tags: Go directly to details view, row or record details right away

  • Details JSP - [PRO] Determines which JSP file to use when displaying the details of a single result of this operation. To use a JSP named myJsp in the "…\webapps\WOW64\user\planetj\jsp" folder, specify the following: /user/planetj/jsp/myJsp.jsp

  • Parent Operation - Used to identify the tab parent operation when defining tab operations.

  • Depends On - Advanced use only.

  • Usage ID - Can be assigned to identify a particular usage. This can be used to dynamically copy data with the same usage ID. UI code can be written to look for fields with a particular usage ID such as an electronic store where JSPs might anticipate a RowCollection coming in with usage fields for ID number, image, price, etc.

  • Execution Rule - Normally, when a user chooses to run an operation containing user parameters, the operation is not run until after the user fills in values.

  • Prompt then Execute- When a user chooses to run an operation containing user parameters, the operation is not run until after the user fills in values. This is the default behavior.

  • Execute then Prompt - When a user chooses to run an operation containing user parameters, the operation is run first (using default values for the parameters) then the user is prompted.

  • Execute Only - When a user chooses to run an operation containing user parameters, the operation is run without ever prompting the user. This type of operation works well for associated inserts, updates, and deletes where the prompt parameters are actually set within code or grabbed from some other source (like default values) where user prompting is not needed.

Tags: Execute immediately, Execute then prompt

• • Next Operation - Allows the selection of another operation to execute when the current operation completes. The current operation completes when a row is inserted, updated, or deleted. At that time, the next operation is executed.

Administration

• • Security Type - [PRO] The type of security measures to use.

  • Security Level - [PRO] Used when the Security Type is set to Level Security. Specifies the minimum Security Level users must have in order to view and run the operation.

  • Auto Run Op. - Allows you to specify an operation that will automatically run on a set schedule. The pull-down for this field displays any available Auto Run operations created within the application.

  • Execute Authority Operation - [PRO] Used when the Security Type is set to Operation Security. Specifies the User Authorization Operation used to limit access to the operation. Only users matching the specified criteria will have access to view and run the operation. If no operation is selected, all users will be authorized to execute this operation. All User Authorization Operations defined for the current application should appear in the drop down selection.

  • Auto Run Status - This field only applies to Auto Run operations. Disabled means do not run this operation, even when Auto Run is enabled for the application. Enabled means always run this operation when Auto Run is enabled for the application. Production Only means run this operation in the production environment only. Development Only means run this operation in the development environment only.

I am going to COPY the operation, scroll down to the "Internal" section of the WOW builder and assign the application in which I want to COPY this operation.

Now, this operation will exist in BOTH applications without re-writing it.

TAGS: menu item, application functions, move operations