About building PowerBuilder applications
You can build many types of applications with PowerBuilder.
For traditional client/server applications, you need to
create an executable version of your application that you can deploy
to users’ machines. If you’re building a distributed
application with PowerBuilder, you typically build a client executable
file and either a server executable file or a server component that you
can deploy to a transaction server. For some types of distributed applications,
you need to build proxy objects. For others, you create HTML files
or Java classes.
Using the Project painter
You use the Project painter to create and maintain PowerBuilder projects
that build all these different objects. The Project painter allows
you to streamline the generation of the files your application needs
and to rebuild easily when you make changes. For some project types
there is a wizard to help you set up the project.
The following table lists the types of projects you can create,
what you can build using the project, and whether there is a wizard
to help you set up the project:
| Project | What it builds | Wizard |
|---|---|---|
| Application | An executable file and optional dynamic libraries |
Yes |
| Automation Server | An automation server (formerly called an OLE automation server) that can be used with COM-enabled clients to access functions in a custom class user object |
Yes |
| COM/MTS Component | A COM server that can be deployed to MTS and/or used with COM-enabled clients to access functions in one or more custom class user objects |
Yes |
| Jaguar Component | A Jaguar component that is deployed to Jaguar CTS and can be used with any Jaguar client to access functions in one or more custom class user objects |
Yes |
| Jaguar Proxy | A proxy object that can be used by a PowerBuilder client to access functions in a Jaguar component. The Jaguar component can be built with PowerBuilder or another development tool |
Yes |
| JavaBeans Proxy | Java classes that allow a pure Java client (application or applet) to access functions in a distributed PowerBuilder server |
No |
| Proxy Library | A proxy object that can be used by a PowerBuilder client to access functions in a distributed PowerBuilder server |
No |
| Web.PB | An HTML page that can be used to access functions in a distributed PowerBuilder server from a web page |
No |
For how to create a new project, see “Creating and opening a project”.
Building executable files
If you are building an executable file, there are two basic
ways to package the application:
- As one standalone executable file that contains all the objects
in the application - As an executable file and one or more dynamic libraries
that contain objects that are linked at execution time
Read the chapter on packaging your application for deployment
in Application Techniques
to get an understanding
of the best way for you to package the application. Then follow
the procedures in “Defining an executable application
project” to implement your strategy.
Building other types of applications
To learn more about the application architectures you can
build with PowerBuilder, see Building Internet and Enterprise
Applications
. Then for an overview of how you use the
Project painter to build different types of components, see “Building components and
proxies”.
Providing other resources
You may need to provide additional resources that your application
uses, such as bitmaps and icons. There are two ways to provide resources:
- Distribute them separately
- Include them in a PowerBuilder resource file (PBR)
and build an executable, a dynamic library, or a component using
the resource file
For more information, see “Distributing resources “.