About Creating Data Forms

You create a data form in one of three ways:

• Use the Designer to interactively design your data form, and save its binary representation in a library.
  
  
• Use the Vermont Views library of functions and write the code that creates a data form at run-time.
  
  
• Use the Designer to interactively design your data form and the Source Code Generator to generate its source code equivalent. Compile and link the module with your application.

For most applications, the recommended method is to use the Designer to create your forms. The Designer is fast, flexible, and easy to use. You can implement any Vermont Views feature using the Designer. When you save a Designer data form, all the information you have specified for that form (size, color, field types, and so on) is saved in binary representation in a library. During application execution, information about the form is read from the library using a single function call. Information about creating data forms using the Designer is presented in detail in the Designer User's Guide. Information about using Designer data forms in your application is introduced in this manual in Chapter 5, "Using Designer Data Forms." Useful information is contained throughout this manual, the User's Guide.

The alternative method, writing forms in code, may be useful for some applications. If your application uses only a few simple forms, it may be more efficient to create those forms in code. Information about creating data forms in code is presented in Chapter 6, "Writing Forms in Code."

The Vermont Views package contains a utility program called the Source Code Generator (vvdsrc.exe). If you use the Designer to create your forms, you can use the Source Code Generator to generate the source code equivalent for your form. You can then use the generated source code as a compilable module. Using the Source Code Generator is not desirable for many applications, but it is a useful tool in cases when you want to create a form using the Designer but do not want to use a Designer library at run-time. The Designer User's Guide contains a complete discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of using generated source code, as well information about how to use the Source Code Generator.

Note: The Source Code Generator is distinct from the Main Generator. The Source Code Generator generates the source code equivalent for creating a form at run-time. The Main Generator generates a prototype main() module for your application.