Tech Articles


The dwSyntax Tool


Thank you Sandy Barletta!

Just after the earth began to cool (I think it was in the PB3 time frame), I discovered the DWSyntax tool created by Sandy.

‘Round about that time I had been exporting DataWindow objects (this was before “edit source” folks) in order to get functional syntax for my dwModify() calls. Lo’ and behold I discovered this nifty GUI that would allow me to browse the dwDescribe(), dwModify(), SyntaxFromSQL() argument syntax for any DataWindow item or for the DataWindow object itself.

Fast forward to the present day. Let’s say you need to change the expression of a computed field at runtime, much as I illustrated in another tip on dynamically “creating” DataWindow groups.

From the PowerBuilder IDE, open the “New” dialogue. Select the “Tool” tabpage, and then select the “DataWindow Syntax” item.

Image

 

From the tool’s menu, navigate to Syntax>Modify>Attributes.

Image

 

From the “Object” DDLB, choose “ComputedField”.

Image

 

From the “Attributes” listbox, select “Expression”.

Image

 

You’re then presented with two versions of the syntax’s template; one for Modify() call usage, the other if you prefer dot notation. Copy/paste the template syntax and replace the bracketed portions as appropriate with explicit values or with reference variables.

DWSyntax offers this functionality without breaking a sweat. To really start utilizing the power of the tool, browse its “create” syntax capabilities…

Image

 

…or its GUI have you build SyntaxFromSQL() syntax from scratch…

Image

 

If you’re relatively new to PowerBuilder, you may find this tool to be instructive. If you’re an experienced PowerBuilder developer, I hope you enjoy the productivity this tool will provide.

Comments (0)
There are no comments posted here yet

Find Articles by Tag

Database Connection Web API Class PowerBuilder Compiler Mobile Event Handler Oracle Database Painter PFC ActiveX Bug C# Jenkins TortoiseGit Excel Export OLE SOAP TFS DataWindow Window Transaction Android Debugger Git SqlModelMapper Source Code WinAPI Validation File Open Source Web Service Proxy Debug RibbonBar Builder IDE API RibbonBar Database Table Schema Icon PDFlib NativePDF CrypterObject Expression Source Control Resize Database COM Trial Database Table Data Script Design UI Modernization SDK Export JSON Database Profile Graph BLOB Event Data PostgreSQL ODBC driver SnapObjects PostgreSQL SQL Stored Procedure SQL Server .NET Assembly DataType GhostScript Repository External Functions RichTextEdit Control Authorization WebBrowser Authentication Syntax PowerBuilder (Appeon) DevOps Model PowerBuilder REST Migration Variable Installation SqlExecutor XML Array Encryption PBDOM InfoMaker .NET DataStore JSON 32-bit Menu DragDrop TreeView DataWindow JSON RESTClient Branch & Merge Automated Testing License PowerServer Web Encoding Deployment DLL Outlook Sort PowerServer Mobile ODBC JSONParser SVN UI Themes CoderObject Import JSON Database Table Configuration Testing HTTPClient Elevate Conference Linux OS UI Interface SnapDevelop Performance Filter Import Messagging MessageBox .NET Std Framework Platform Windows OS Azure Charts PowerScript (PS) PDF Debugging Event Handling Database Object Windows 10 Icons iOS OAuth TLS/SSL OAuth 2.0 Application 64-bit JSONGenerator Text OrcaScript Service Error CI/CD