Professional Computer Solutions Java Form
Tool Kit ['jFormTK']
Client / Server System
This document describes the Professional Computer Solutions
[Professional Computer Solutions] Java Form Tool Kit [jFormTK] design objects for the
Client / Server System.
TABLES |
TABLE 1 - Application Data Bases / Classes |
TABLE 2 - Types of Reports |
TABLE 3 - Report Writer Properties |
TABLE 4 - Client / Server PRO's |
NOTE: This document will use the PCS Survivor's List PLUS [SLPlus] Application to illustrate specific features of the 'jFormTK'. SLPlus is a program designed to document various financial and personal information that may be required posthumously. |
To view the Figures for this document create a new Browser window and display the Figures via the following URL: pp/ClientServerFigures.htm |
'jFormTK' Standalone System
Currently under development is the 'jFormTK' Java Stand Alone System. See Figure 1.
Each 'jFormTK' Application consist of a set of 'jFormTK' control
parameters and a set of Application unique data entry forms. The Application controls are
defined by the Software Designer via adjustments to the "Application Databases".
Each Application Form is defined via a Java subclass of the 'jFormTK' jFormForm Class.
These Software Designer controls and Form classes are depicted in Figure 1 [and Figure 4]
with a gold background and white foreground.
The following Table critiques the "Application Databases" [Figure 2]:
Database name: | description |
JFormTKDB | This Database primarily contains the Application
"Look And Feel" controls. There is a set of "Look And Feel" parameters
for each object of the Application. This "Look And Feel" set [Class jLAF]
consist of the following controls: 1. Background Color 2. Foreground Color 3. Font 4. Border Control 5. Line Border Color See the "Look And Feel" document for a description of the above controls and the 'jFormTK' Objects they are applied to [LAF.html]. NOTE: The default set of "Look And Feel" parameters for each 'jFormTK' object is derived from the following 'jFormTK' Control Parameters that are defined by the Application Software Designer at System initialization time: 1. Form Panel Background Color [light Gray] 2. Form Panel Foreground Color [black] 3. Tab Pane Background Color [black] 4. Tab Pane Foreground Color red] 5. List Background Color [white] The default colors are show in brackets. |
AppDB | This Database is designed to contain the Application
description fields and fields that contain information about the 'jFormTK' Software
Designers Company name. For example, for the PCS Survivors List PLUS Application the following two appDB elements are utilized: appDB.setappName("Survivor's List
PLUS"); |
AppForms | This Database contains an entry for each Form of a
'jFormTK' Application. This Database services the following fields for each Form:
This Class is used to control the "State" of each form and the order that the
Application forms shall be presented to
the Application End User when the "Next" Form is requested. |
AppCommonDB | This database is used to hold Application specific fields
that may be dynamically referenced by the Application End User. These fields are used to
service the "Common Database" item of the 'jFormTK' "Dynamic
Referencing" feature. This Class may also be used as a place holder for intermediate data. The elements of this Class are "Dynamic", i.e. they may be altered during run-time. |
Report Writer DB | This database contains the Application / Web Presentation
Reports. See the 'jReportWriter' Documentation [jReportWriter.html]. |
Registered User DB | This database contains the Applications End User
parameters, i.e. the information provided when the Application End User purchased the
Application. Some of the 'jFormTK' Registry elements are as follows: Name; Last Name;
Street; Suite; City; State; ZIP; |
'jFormTK' File I/O System
File per Form System
C:
C:\jFormTK
C:\jFormTK\Registry
C:\jFormTK\AddressBook
C:\jFormTK\userAccount
For example, for a Registered user named "James E. Crowell" there will be a "C:\jFormTK\JamesECrowell" File that will contain all the 'jFormTK' Application data peculiar to the James E. Crowell "Registered User".
Looking forward to the 'jFormTK' Client / Server diagram [Figure 4] you can see that
there will be multiple User Account Files hosted on the Remote Servers disk farm.
NOTE: the Collections API is a Java
1.2.1 implementation. It provides a better way of accessing a sets elements via the
usage of hash table technology.
Data Query Engine
'jFormTK' Data Query Engine [Class 'dataQueryEngine'] is designed to allow the 'jFormTK'
Software Designer to reference any
field of any form using a 'jFormTK'
reference ID [e.g. Cat2.Form2.Doctors.Name.2] or to reference any individual in the
Application End Users Address Book.
Recall that in the appForms Database description above there was identified a unique Form ID for each Application Form. This Form ID is constructed from the Category, SubCategory and File Name Field of the appForms' Database. Also, there is a unique Object ID for each field of each Form. The defining parameters for the unique Object ID are Group Name, Field Name and Set Number. The Group Name and Set Number identifiers are required if and only if [iff] the associated field is a field of a 'jFormTK' Form Table. A 'Reference ID is the concatenation of the 'Form ID' and the 'Object ID'.
Therefore, the Reference ID example show above [i.e. Cat2.Form2.Doctors.Name.2] is used to uniquely identify the following Field:
Each individual in the 'jFormTK' jAddressBook is uniquely identified by their "Proper Name". Also, data may be queried from the 'jFormTK' Address Book via the Type Field. For example, if Stephen J. Crowell is the assigned "Executor" in the Professional Computer Solutions Survivor's List PLUS Applications Address Book, his Address Book parameters may be queried by using the Name query with "Crowell,S*" or by a Type Query using "Executor".
The dataQueryEngine shall
control the file processing using Read Only and Read/Write
passwords.
Look
ahead to "Java Servlets"
In a Web Client / Server environment the objective is to allow the Client "Controlled" access to secure
data on the Server. If the goal is to display this information via a Web Browser, i.e. a
"Web Presentation", then Server side data must be available via basic Hyper Text
Markup Language [HTML] file processing.
Note: HTML is the primary language used by Web
Designers to produce "Web Presentations".
This functionality is generally accomplished via many available Sever Side Languages, e.g.
Common Gateway Interface [CGI], Server Side Includes[SSI], Active Server Pages [ASP], Java
Server Pages [JSP], etc.
Since this is the "Java" Form Tool Kit ['jFormTK'] the Client / Server methodology will be based on the Java Servlet and JSP technology. The JSP language actually generates Java Servlets.
Java Servlets reside on the Server, acting as a middle layer between a request coming from the a Web Browser, or other Hyper Text Transfer Protocol [HTTP] clients. A Servlet is always resident on the HTTP Server and uses a Java Thread to service each "Request" from one of many clients. Generally a Servlets "Response" is a text String with embedded HTML Tags / display data. Servlets also service "Session" IDs to maintain the "Secure Connection" with a Client.
Why do I mention Java Servlets at this time?
The stand-alone version of the dataQueryEngine shall
be designed with "Java Servlet like"
interfaces so that it is compatible with the Server version of the dataQueryEngine.
Addition Data Query
Engine Features
In any 'jFormTK' Application there are two types of reports:
Application Reports | Reports derived from the userAccount and sent to the local Printer. |
"Web Presentation" Reports | Reports designed for 2nd Party Individuals. The term "2nd Party Individuals" implies people who do not have access to the 'jFormTK' Application. |
The 'jFormTK' Report Writer Class [jReportWriter] is responsible for generating all of
the 'jFormTK' Application Reports. Each report added to the 'jFormTK' Report Writer is
assigned a Report Name and a Report Type.
The 'jFormTK' Report Writer instance is designed to encapsulate and manage all the reports
of a 'jFormTK' Application. Each Application report is assigned a unique "Report
Name" when it is added to the Report Writer instance. Each Report Writer item
[report] has the following Properties [see Figure 3]:
Property | Description... |
Type | Presently the available type are as follows: 0 None, 1 - Printer, 2 HTML, 3 Printer & HTML, 4 XML NOTE 1: Mask Bits 0 = Printer, 1 = HTML, 2 = XML |
Title | The Report Title, e.g. "Net Worth Report" |
Date / Time | Presently the available Date / Time modes are as follows: 0 None, 1 Date Only, 2 Date & Time |
Header | Header String, no Header if Header = "" [Default] |
Elements | String Array each Element represent a
"formatted Report item". Each "formatted Report item" may contain
multiple dataQueryEngine References and multiple Line Feed [LF] controls. SPECIAL CASE: HTML w/ Embedded dataQueryEngine References. - If the first entry of the String Array contains the following String the indicated file shall be processed in lieu of the String Array of Elements described above: "<EmbeddedHTML=File_Name>" |
Footer | Footer String, no Footer if Footer = "" [Default] |
AccessControl | Control String linked to the "Read_Only"
password. This field is used to identify what 'jFormTK' Reports may be accessed as a
function of the Read_Only password that was entered when the Privileged User
"Secure Interface". This field only applies to the 'jFormTK' Client / Server'
versions. Given the specific Read_Only password, only Application Reports with the matching AccessControl shall be presented to the 2nd Party Individuals Internet Browser. |
Note 2: The actual Report Processing is a function of the Type property and the 'jFormTK' Application Execution Mode, e.g. Standalone Application Execution Mode or Client / Server Execution Mode. Note 3: Note 4: If the XML bit is on in the Report Type, the only properties that apply will be the Elements property. The given Elements shall be used to indicate what fields of the userAccount shall be written to the XML file. The element String must contain only the dataQueryEngine "get" references since the output file is designed to be "pure" XML. |
The 'jFormTK' Report Writer instance shall be used to produce the "Reports" menu of the 'jFormTK' Applications "Reports" TAB. The menu selections shall be in the order that each "Report" was added to the 'jFormTK' Report Writer instance. The menu selection items annotation shall be the Title property from the 'jFormTK' Report Writer instance if it exist. If no Title was provided, the selection menu item annotation String shall be constructed from the "ReportName" and the "ReportType" properties.
Web Presentation
Feature
The primary design objective of the 'jFormTK' "Web Presentation" feature is to
allow 2nd Party individuals to view userAccount information.
Using the Survivor's List PLUS [SLPlus] Application as an example, the SLPlus Registered User specifies an "Executor" and an "Alternate Executor". It is imperative that these individuals have access to a "subset" of the Registered Users userAccount, i. e. the specific userAccount information that the Executors would need to perform their assigned responsibility.
The Java Form Tool Kit [jFormTK] Software Designer has 4 ways of using the 'jFormTK' Report Writer to produce the 2nd Party "Web Presentation" Report. They are as follows:
XML A closer look
XML is on the "leading edge" of todays technology.
The disadvantage to using XML for a "Web Presentation" is the fact that the
Internet Browser must be XML aware. The XML aware Browsers are Internet Explorer [IE] 5.0
or Netscape Navigator 6.0 [perhaps].
However, the XML advantages are numerous in that the newer browsers make judicious
use of the markup language and the XML file can be easily used by other contemporary
software applications in the future.
Please consider that the XML file generated by the 'jFormTK' Stand Alone Application is
NOT "encrypted".
This is an Application Software Designer decision
whether to allow "non-encrypted" XML file
production.
If not XML, then HTML
If your "Web Presentation" target audience must be allowed to use
"any" Internet Browser, then the XML file should NOT be used. For example, the
PCS Survivors List PLUS 'jFormTK' Applications "Web Presentation" is
designed to be accessed by the SLPlus Registered Users Executor or alternate
Executor on an "unknown" computer system. There is no guarantee that the
Executors would have access to an Internet Browser that is XML aware.
Therefore, SLPlus will produce its "Web
Presentations" by constructing HTML files that will be delivered to the 2nd
Party individuals. Both the 'jFormTK' Report Writer "formatted Report item".
Option and the "Embedded HTML Files" Option may be used for this SLPlus
requirement implementation.
More on building
HTML files via the 'jFormTK' Report Writer
HTML files may be produced in two ways using the 'jFormTK' Report
Writer as follows:
String Array of "formatted Report item"
The Software Designer produces an 'jFormTK' Report Writer Report using a String Array of
"formatted Report items" that contain embedded references to the 'jFormTK'
dataQueryEngine. The embedded references use the 'jFormTK' 'Reference
ID' to indicate the fields [or fields] from the Application End User
"userAccount" whose content will be placed into the "Web Presentation"
output HTML file.
Note: This approach is generally
used when the report is required to be sent to the Printer as well as a 2nd Party
Individual HTML file.
2nd Party Individual
File(s) Deployment
The "Web Presentation" file(s) to be distributed to
the 2nd Party Individuals are unique for each 'jFormTK' Application. If the
Application Software Designer decided to use the XML Report Writer operation, then the 2nd
Party Individuals should be provided copies of the appropriate XML and HTML files. If XML
was not used, then just the Application generated HTML files need be distributed.
If multiple HTML files are produced by the 'jFormTK' Report Writer there shall be an option to
produce a "Web Presentations Control" HTML file. This file shall consist of a
"Generic" HTML Table with entries for each HTML Report. The Report entries shall be in the same
order they were added to the Report Writer instance.
Note: The above "Generic" HTML Table file generation and the Server Side
'jFormTK' Report Writer shall use the 2nd Party Individuals "Read_Only" password and the
respective Reports "AccessControl" [see Table 3] to determine which Reports will
be added to the Table and accessible via the "Privileged User Interface" [Figure
4].
'jFormTK' Standalone System Pros & Cons
Pros
Cons
'jFormTK' Client / Server System
A better way to maintain and execute the functions of a Java Form Tool Kit ['jFormTK'] Application is to deploy the System as a Client / Server Application.Deploying a 'jFormTK' Application on an Remote Server gives the Software Designer the ability to control their environment when resolving problems or deploying Application version upgrades. The following procedure would be followed during the marketing of the 'jFormTK' Client / Server Application:
STANDALONE CONs | Client / Server resolution |
Like all Standalone systems the backup procedures are left to the Application End User | Two copies of the userAccount automatically exist, one on the Server and another copy on the customers HDD. |
Updates to the 'jFormTK' Application may be required periodically | Updates are made automatically when the Client / Server Secure "Session" is established. |
There could be a conflict with the 'jFormTK' Web Presentation if the output medium produced by the "Web Output" option is not compatible with the 2nd Party Individuals Computer System. | The Client / Server Application
system shall
be designed to produce the "Web Presentation" reports dynamically from the
userAccount on the Server. The 2nd Party Individuals are given a
"Read Only" password that enables them to run their "Specific" Reports
at any time. Their computer platform is independent. All they need is an Internet connection. |
The "Web Presentation" XML / HTML files are "Static" and "non-encrypted". | The content of the "Web Presentation" is current to the date the files were last created by the 'jFormTK' Application Registered User, i.e. the 2nd Party Individual... |