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Where can I find a overview of the Flexibility package in Macola?
- Thread starter Kflasph
- Start date
Technical docs exist in the MacSql\ProVBA directory for a Macola Progression install and I have never found any documentation for Flexibility on Macola ES. That being said, the documentation is almost useless due to its inability to be honest and provide real solutions to real problems.
Flexibility is a powerful tool that can be used to develop powerful solutions. However, features of the Flexibility environment and VBA do not work as expected and the developeer must use workarounds to develop solutions. In my opinion the best way to learn these workarounds is in a classroom.
If you are looking to understand Flexibility to develop solutions I would suggest taking a class from myself or one of the other Flexibility developers here on the forum. I have a class that I have taught several times over the last few years that can get a developer up and running in a very short time (dependending on your needs and ability it can take 1-3 days). If are interested you would need to contact me through our website below.
If you are looking to understand Flexibility from a business perspective, I would suggest reading through the archive of posts related to Flexibility on this forum. Amongst all the techno jargon you will find how Flexibility is being used and how it could be used.
Scott Travis
Flexibility is a powerful tool that can be used to develop powerful solutions. However, features of the Flexibility environment and VBA do not work as expected and the developeer must use workarounds to develop solutions. In my opinion the best way to learn these workarounds is in a classroom.
If you are looking to understand Flexibility to develop solutions I would suggest taking a class from myself or one of the other Flexibility developers here on the forum. I have a class that I have taught several times over the last few years that can get a developer up and running in a very short time (dependending on your needs and ability it can take 1-3 days). If are interested you would need to contact me through our website below.
If you are looking to understand Flexibility from a business perspective, I would suggest reading through the archive of posts related to Flexibility on this forum. Amongst all the techno jargon you will find how Flexibility is being used and how it could be used.
Scott Travis
- Thread starter
- #3
To re-enforce and to add to Scott's comments.
BTW Hello Scott.
Flexiblity should be renamed to Stretchability. Flex give you the ability to do very custom things with certain macola screens. Flexibility is Macola's implementation of VBA, much like the macro language for Excel, Access, Word, etc. Of course when you add the word Macola to the front of any description you can only get RESTRICTED implementations. Most every project that I have done in Flex requires workarounds. The basic problem is that you can not effect the actual workings or even interrupt them. You can only perform code in ADDITION to macolas processing. In other words if you have some particular need to process POP order inventory in a certain way that Macola will not handle you must find a way to work with the data after macola has done its thing. Only other option is to write outside VB projects and link them through flex using the shell statment.
Most disliked problems.
1. Not all the "allowed" events actually fire. i.e. Some gain focus events do not fire because macala is running a process at the same time and thus your flex does not get fired. Work around = Do the processing on the loose focus event.
Of course it may not fire either for the same reason.
2. Workarounds that involve gainfocus to handle something you wanted to do the the previous field may not work since a user may not tab into that field.
3. Many fields are not available to screens and thus the code must be wired to open the special form and then execute setfocus or some other event to fire your wishes. Example - Order entry line itme page. User defined fields can not be added to the form itself. Makes it difficult to fill one of them automatically based on some other piece of data.
4. Be careful where you write code. Some of ES does not allow you to write say behind the Customer Screen (ARCUSFIL screen.) If you write some major app in Progression behind the customer screen (Many of us have and for business reasons seriously rely on it), you will not be able to do the same processing under ES.
I could go on and on but that is enough for now.
Andy
Andy Baldwin
"Testing is the most overlooked programming language on the books!
BTW Hello Scott.
Flexiblity should be renamed to Stretchability. Flex give you the ability to do very custom things with certain macola screens. Flexibility is Macola's implementation of VBA, much like the macro language for Excel, Access, Word, etc. Of course when you add the word Macola to the front of any description you can only get RESTRICTED implementations. Most every project that I have done in Flex requires workarounds. The basic problem is that you can not effect the actual workings or even interrupt them. You can only perform code in ADDITION to macolas processing. In other words if you have some particular need to process POP order inventory in a certain way that Macola will not handle you must find a way to work with the data after macola has done its thing. Only other option is to write outside VB projects and link them through flex using the shell statment.
Most disliked problems.
1. Not all the "allowed" events actually fire. i.e. Some gain focus events do not fire because macala is running a process at the same time and thus your flex does not get fired. Work around = Do the processing on the loose focus event.
Of course it may not fire either for the same reason.
2. Workarounds that involve gainfocus to handle something you wanted to do the the previous field may not work since a user may not tab into that field.
3. Many fields are not available to screens and thus the code must be wired to open the special form and then execute setfocus or some other event to fire your wishes. Example - Order entry line itme page. User defined fields can not be added to the form itself. Makes it difficult to fill one of them automatically based on some other piece of data.
4. Be careful where you write code. Some of ES does not allow you to write say behind the Customer Screen (ARCUSFIL screen.) If you write some major app in Progression behind the customer screen (Many of us have and for business reasons seriously rely on it), you will not be able to do the same processing under ES.
I could go on and on but that is enough for now.
Andy
Andy Baldwin
"Testing is the most overlooked programming language on the books!
- Thread starter
- #5
Thanks Andy for the tips!
We currently using only the default processes in the Macola forms and it is interesting to know that you can build upon them. I'll use you tips as guidelines when developing new procedures.
Using this forum and reading past postings, I have been able to get an idea of how I need to start.
Thanks again for the help -
Kflasph
We currently using only the default processes in the Macola forms and it is interesting to know that you can build upon them. I'll use you tips as guidelines when developing new procedures.
Using this forum and reading past postings, I have been able to get an idea of how I need to start.
Thanks again for the help -
Kflasph
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