Chapter One: How to manage the updating area
Hello,
After different discussions already listed by Taher [1-9], Leila,
Nicolas and me tried another approach.
Instead of analyzing how to implement different functionalities offered
by modern js framework, we did analyzed how end user use, in general,
OFBiz and where we, as an integrator, waste more time to create a
screen.
To help on this huge task, we set some basic rules :
* Work only on screens supported by the theme, defined mainly in xml
* This concerns only screens used for back-office applications,
oriented to manage data
* A developer does not have to know all of js language (or other)
but can concentrate on the process/view with the end user to
manage a data
After a first brainstorm, we have identified three major cases :
1. Navigation and data display
2. View event result (data modification, calculation service, ...)
3. Update an area to refresh data (after data modification)
Case 1 and 2 are easy and currently managed by OFBiz (and missing stuff
will be simple to add), we concentrate our attention on case 3.
To update an area, we follow this pattern
1. We start from a context that display different information
2. That context display a submit form, use a link or another
mechanism to call an OFBiz event
3. After receiving the event return, we refresh the desired area
with parameters that can come from origin context or from event
return.
Currently with the screen widget, we can use within a form the element
`<on-event-update-area event-type="submit" area-id="" area-target=""/>`.
The problem with this use, is that your form needs to know the origin
context, to identify what are the areas to update and what are the
target to use for the refresh.
So your form needs to know where it comes from, what information need to
be updated in OFBiz and what will be updated after.
This increases complexity for the developer in the way that current form
implementation manages :
* the data and target to communicate with the server
* the behaviour (refreshment) to apply when receiving server response.
Example :
<form name="EditPartyRoleCustomScreen" type="single"
target="createPartyRole">
<field name="partyId"><hidden/></field>
<field name="roleTypeId">...
<on-event-update-area event-type="submit" area-id="PartyRoles_area"
area-target="PartyRolesCustom">
<parameter param-name="partyId" from-field="parameters.partyId"/>
</on-event-update-area>
</form>
If you want to reuse the same form, you need to create another screen
with a new form to redefine the on-event-update-area (for instance
create a PartyRole).
We change the thinking, because since it is the starting context that
better knows itself, it's the starting context that will realize the
updating operation. The starting context is the screen/menu that call
this form.
In general a form is contained in a screen (classic) that is called
through a link. So we move the idea on this link :
<link target="CreatePartyRole" link-type="layered-modal">
<parameter param-name="partyId"
from-field="customerParty.partyId"/>
<update-area area-target="ResumeInfoCustomer" area-id="xxx">
<parameter param-name="partyId"
from-field="customerParty.partyId"/>
</update-area>
</link>
And the form :
<form name="EditPartyRole" type="single" target="createPartyRole">
<field name="partyId"><hidden/></field>
<field name="roleTypeId">...
</form>
With this logic you can define a new usage of createPartyRole
without redefining a form just :
<link target="CreatePartyRole" link-type="layered-modal">
<parameter param-name="partyId"
from-field="partyRelationship.partyIdTo"/>
<update-area area-target="MyRelationAndDetail" area-id="xxx">
<parameter param-name="partyId"
from-field="partyRelationship.partyIdTo"/>
<parameter param-name="partyRelationTypeId"
value="IRL_LIKE"/>
</update-area>
</link>
After some use we identified as pro and con feedback :
* updating form is reusable and contains only code related to the
form action
* link being in origin context, the developer knows where he is and
where he wants to go
* Menu oriented management offers a quick vision on how the screen will
works
* update-area seems to be a too technical name
* we always have to manage area to update manually
* too many areas to update become a headache and not only for the developer
We did not explain how we have done it, to try to focus the discussion
on the principles.
It would be a pleasure to have some criticism of this approach, and we
would try, in a second chapter to introduce other concepts that appeared
after the screens were made more dynamic and others to lowers the
identified cons.
Thanks,
The Néréide Team
[1] https://s.apache.org/rf94
[2] https://s.apache.org/g5zr
[3] https://s.apache.org/XpBO
[4] https://s.apache.org/YIL1
[5] https://s.apache.org/836D
[6] https://s.apache.org/DhyB
[7] https://s.apache.org/Lv9E
[8] https://s.apache.org/zKIo
[9] https://s.apache.org/D6jx
