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Why Deploy on the Web?
Architecture for Web Deployment
Configuration
Security
Deploying an Application
Improving Your Applcation Interface

HTML Emulation for Tables

Improving Your Application Interface

The Web deployment software provides mechanisms to improve the appearance of your applications.

There are several ways to improve the appearance of your application:

You can use your own page frames in the header and footer.
You can enhance your screens by inserting HTML tags in your .per files for automated HTML emulation for pure interpretation of HTML tags by the browser.
You can modify the application itself to improve its appearance.

Supplying Your Own Headers and Footers

Standard page headers and footers are generated by default; however, you can supply your own headers and footers. The Dynamic 4GL HTML server will load the header and footer of the page named in the configuration file.

For example, you can add a corporate-style page frame with logo, background, title, standard references to the home-page and other information.

HTML Tags

You can use standard HTML tags in your applications. In addition, you can represent tables using HTML emulation.

Disabling Password Display

There is a new tag for designing your interface. Use the class="Password" parameter in the .per file to disable the display of passwords in your application. The parameter generates the HTML tag <INPUT type=password ... >.

Using the "Password" tag, you can disable the display of the user's password (the password is replaced by asterisk characters). Include the following code in the .per file:

f005 = customer.password,class="Password",invisible,not null,required;

The following tag is generated:

<INPUT TYPE="password" NAME="Ef005_11" SIZE=15 VALUE="">

 

Similarities Between a .per File and an .html File

A .per file is a screen description file for 4GL. An .html file is a screen and resource description file for any Web browser.

Both file types are in ASCII format.

4GL

HTML
User interface is done through screen. User interface is done through pages.
A field can be either dependent on a database or completely independent. A field is independent of any data source.
A form may or may not depend on a table. A page does not depend on any table.
Forms are defined by non proportional ASCII characters. Pages are defined by proportional characters and special HTML tags.
International characters are quite difficult to manage. All international characters are a sequence of ASCII characters. For example, "é" is represented by "&eacute;".
Forms are not expandable without modification of the form compiler. HTML is "expandable" through new tags that can be interpreted by specific software (web form compiler, browser, etc.)
  There is a notion of forms in HTML. An HTML form is contained in a page. A page can contain more than one HTML form. An HTML form contains several fields, buttons and widgets.