| Creating the user interface / Widgets | |
A formField is a type of form object that can be used to display data or take input.
A formField is presented to the user through a widget; the most commonly used widget, Edit, defines a simple line edit box that allows the user to enter a value directly into the formField. Other widgets, such as the Combobox and Checkbox, present the data contained in the field in a user-friendly way. For example, a ComboBox defines a dropdown box of values, allowing the user to select from a list of valid values for the underlying formField.
In the Properties View, the fieldType property of a formField may be set to specify that its data type is derived from the data types in a database table or that it is Non_Database, indicating that the data type is not derived from a database column.
If the data type is to be derived from a database table, the databaseName property of the form must be set to a database for which there is a database meta-schema file listed in the Db Schemas tab. The sqlTabName and colName properties of the formField must be selected from the tables and columns in the schema file. The dataType property will be automatically filled based on the data type for the table column in the schema file.
A form has built-in validation to insure that the value entered into a formField is compatible with the declared dataType in the form definition file. Additional validation routines can be specified in your BDL program.
The values entered into formFields are stored in variables in the Genero program, which may be used in the program in any way. A common use is to provide values for SQL statements that update a database.