iTP Active Transaction Pages (iTP ATP) Programmer's Guide

HTML Forms Generator
iTP Active Transaction Pages (iTP ATP) Programmer’s Guide—522292-002
C-3
Choosing Request and Reply Messages
In the text entry box labeled Pathway Server Class, enter the name of the server class as
defined in the PATHCOM configuration file for the environment where the server class
runs.
Use the radio buttons to indicate whether the server class is written in C or COBOL.
Under TMF Options, use the check box to indicate whether the transaction will be TMF
protected (that is, whether an atp.transaction object will be instantiated). In the
text entry box, indicate the condition under which the transaction is committed; the
condition must be based on the value of the reply code and has the same syntax as the
Reply Code column in the message-layout table.
Use the radio buttons after the heading Message Layouts to indicate one of the following
three options:
•
Use dictionary at runtime. If you select this option, the script creates an
atp.dictionary object that continually monitors changes in the DDL
dictionary. This option ensures that the message layouts are kept up-to-date as the
application runs but implies a potentially large number of disk accesses to read the
DDL dictionary.
•
Imbedded definitions. If you select this option, the Forms Generator reads the
dictionary once and creates the correct message structures in JavaScript on the web
page. If the DDL dictionary changes, the message structures will be out-of-date
unless you regenerate the script. You could, of course, modify the generated script
manually after the dictionary changes.
•
atp.field constructors. If you select this option, the Forms Generator creates
atp.field objects for each message and its constituent fields (just as dview
does). If the DDL dictionary changes, the message structures will be out-of-date
unless you regenerate the script. You could create new constructors and paste them
into the script, but this approach can be tedious and error prone. This option can
provide better performance than either of the others, but the maintenance cost makes
Imbedded definitions a better choice for most applications.
Use the check boxes after Appearance Accessories to indicate whether the generated
page should have a sketch of the message structure and/or an HTML link to the
definition of the form. A sketch, displayed in the upper right corner of the screen, can
clarify the structure of a long, complex message and provide a quick way to navigate
among message components: click on a component of the sketch to position to the
corresponding component in the full message layout. An HTML link to the form
definition displays an encoded version of the information you entered to create the form.
Click on the Generate HTML Form button to generate an HTML page that
communicates with the specified server class. Click on the Reset button to clear all
settings on the current form.
Finally, the Forms Generator displays the generated page. If you are using Internet
Explorer, that browser might attempt to interpret the HTML instead of just displaying it;
the result will be a garbled display. In this case, use the browser View Source option,
then copy and paste, or use the browser Save As option to save the page.