The PowerBuilder environment
When you start PowerBuilder for the first time, the Welcome
to PowerBuilder dialog box lets you create a new workspace with
or without targets:
When PowerBuilder starts, it opens in a window that contains
a menu bar and the PowerBar at the top and the System Tree and Clip
window on the left. The remaining area will display the painters
and editors you open when you start working with objects.
The System Tree
The System Tree provides an active resource of programming
information you use while developing targets. It lets you not only
get information, but also drag objects into painter views (such
as the Script view or Layout view) for immediate use.
The System Tree displays by default when you start PowerBuilder
for the first time. You can hide or display the System Tree using
the System Tree button on the PowerBar or by selecting Window>System
Tree.
Using the Workspace tab page
The System Tree has a single tab page that provides a view
of the current workspace. The Workspace tab page displays the current
workspace and all its targets. Most targets display the library
list for the target and all the objects in each PBL. The Workspace tab page in the
System Tree works like a tree view in the Library painter, but you
can keep it open all the time to serve as the control center of
the development environment.
You can set the root of the Workspace page to your computer’s
root directory, the current selection, or any directory or library,
as well as to the current workspace.
Working with targets To see the pop-up menu that lets you perform operations on
a target such as search, build, and migrate, you must set the root
of the System Tree to the current workspace.
The following illustration shows a workspace with two targets.
The first target, orders, has a second library in its library search
path.
Current target
The orders target is
bold, indicating it is the current target, which means that it is
the default target used in the New dialog box and for Run and Debug.
The current target is set whenever you:
- Invoke
an action in the System Tree, Library painter, or main menu that affects
a target or a child of a target, such as Build, Migrate, Run, or Debug.
Some actions, such as Search and Migrate, display a dialog box.
If you cancel the action by clicking the Cancel button in the dialog
box, the current target is not changed. - Open an object painter.
- Change the active object painter.
If you prefer to set the current target explicitly using the
Set as Current Target pop-up menu item for the target in the System
Tree or the File>Set Current Target menu item, clear the
Automatically Set Current Target check box on the Workspaces tab
page in the System Options dialog box. To open the System Options
dialog box, select Tools>System Options from the main menu.
Actions in the System Tree
You can use the Workspace page as the hub of your PowerBuilder
session. Pop-up menus let you build and deploy targets
and open and edit any object. Double-clicking an event or function
in the System Tree opens its script in the Script view. Events with
scripts have a different icon and are listed before events without
scripts.
Table 1-1 lists
the actions you can take on each item that displays on the Workspace
page. You can also set properties for each item, choose which object
types display in the tree view, change the root of the Workspace
page, and reset the root to the current workspace.
| Item | Menu action items |
|---|---|
| Workspace | New (opens New dialog box), Add Target, Open Workspace, Close, Incremental Build, Full Build, Deploy, Run, Debug, Show, Properties. |
| Target | New, Search, Set as Current Target, Remove Target, Library List, .NET Assemblies, Migrate, Incremental Build, Full Build, Deploy, Run, Debug, Show, Properties. .NET Assemblies only displays for .NET targets. |
| PBL | Search, Delete, Remove Library, Import, Import PB Extension, Optimize, Build Runtime Library, Print Directory, Show, Properties. |
| PBD | Search, Delete, Remove Library, Print Directory, Show, Properties |
| PowerBuilder object | Edit, Edit Source, Search, Inherit from, Run/Preview, Copy, Move, Delete, Regenerate, Export, Print, Properties. Edit Source is not available for project and proxy objects. |
| Functions and events | Edit, Properties.
The Properties dialog box shows the prototype of the function |
| .NET assembly | Show, Properties.
.NET assemblies can be added to the System Tree by selecting them |
The PowerBar
Like the System Tree, the PowerBar provides a main control
point for building PowerBuilder applications. From the PowerBar
you can create new objects and applications, open existing objects,
and debug and run the current application.
While you are getting
used to using PowerBuilder, you can display a label on each button
in a toolbar to remind you of its purpose. To do so, right-click
any toolbar button and select Show Text from the pop-up menu.
Table 1-2 lists
the buttons from left to right on the PowerBar.
| PowerBar button | What you can use it for |
|---|---|
| New | Create new objects. |
| Inherit | Create new windows, user objects, and menus by inheriting from an existing object. |
| Open | Open existing objects. |
| Run/Preview | Run windows or preview DataWindows. |
| System Tree | Work in the System Tree window, which can serve as the hub of your development session. For more information see “The System Tree “. |
| Output Window | Examine the output of a variety of operations (migration, builds, deployment, project execution, object saves, and searches). See “The Output window”. |
| Next Error, Previous Error | Navigate through the Output window. |
| To-Do List | Keep track of development tasks you need to do for the current application and use links to get you quickly to the place where you complete the tasks. |
| Browser | View information about system objects and objects in your application, such as their properties, events, functions, and global variables, and copy, export, or print the information. |
| Clip Window | Store objects or code you use frequently. You can drag or copy items to the Clip window to be saved and then drag or copy these items to the appropriate painter view when you want to use them. See “The Clip window”. |
| Library | Manage your libraries using the Library painter. |
| DB Profile | Define and use named sets of parameters to connect to a particular database. |
| Application Server Profile | Define the connection parameters for a particular server. You can then use this predefined profile whenever you need to connect to an application server. |
| Database | Maintain databases and database tables, control user access to databases, and manipulate data in databases using the Database painter. |
| Edit | Edit text files (such as source, resource, and initialization files) in the file editor. |
| Incremental Build Workspace | Update all the targets and objects in the workspace that have changed since the last build. |
| Full Build Workspace | Update all the targets and objects in the workspace. |
| Deploy Workspace | Deploy all the targets in the workspace. |
| Skip, Stop | Interrupt a build, deploy, or search operation. When a series of operations is in progress, such as a full deploy of the workspace, the Skip button lets you jump to the next operation. The Stop button cancels all operations. |
| Debug | Debug the current target. You can set breakpoints and watch expressions, step through your code, examine and change variables during execution, and view the call stack and objects in memory. |
| Select & Debug | Select a target and open the Debugger. |
| Run | Run the current target just as your users would run it. For standard PowerBuilder application targets, the application runs in the development environment. For .NET and server component targets, you must deploy the target |
| Select & Run | Select a target and run it. |
| Exit | Close PowerBuilder. |
Customizing the PowerBar
You can customize the PowerBar. For example, you can choose
whether to move the PowerBar around, add buttons for operations
you perform frequently, and display text in the buttons.
For more information, see “Using toolbars”.
About PowerTips
In the PowerBar, when you leave the mouse pointer over a button
for a second or two, PowerBuilder displays a brief description of
the button, called a PowerTip. PowerTips
display in PowerBuilder wherever there are toolbar buttons.
The Clip window
You can store code fragments you use frequently in the Clip
window. You copy text to the Clip window to save it and then drag
or copy this text to the appropriate Script view or editor when
you want to use it.
Using the Clip window
The Clip window displays a list of named clips, a preview
of the information contained in the clip, and a description. It
provides buttons to move Clip window contents to the clipboard,
copy clipboard contents to the Clip window, rename a clip, delete
a clip, and modify the clip’s description. Clips you save in
one workspace are available in all your workspaces; you might want
to use a naming convention that reflects this.
For example, you might use standard error-checking code when
you use the ConnectToServer function to connect
to EAServer. To copy it
to the clipboard, highlight the code in a Script view and select
Copy from the pop-up menu. In the Clip window, click the Paste icon,
and name the clip. The Clip Description dialog box opens so that
you can enter a description. To change the description later, select
the clip’s name and click the Modify button.
You can drag the clip from the Clip window to any script in
which you want to connect to EAServer.
You can also use the Copy icon to copy the clip to the clipboard.
You can hide or display the Clip window using the Clip Window
button on the PowerBar or by selecting Window>Clip.
The Output window
The output of a variety of operations (migration, builds,
deployment, project execution, object saves, and searches) displays
in the Output window.
When you start a new PowerBuilder session, the Output window
has a single tab, Default. New tabs are added as you perform operations.
| Tab | Contents |
|---|---|
| Default | General information about the progress of full or incremental builds and project deployment |
| Debug | Debugger output, including the paths of assemblies loaded to support .NET debugging |
| Errors | Messages that indicate problems that prevent the build or deploy process from completing successfully |
| Warnings | Warning and informational messages |
| Search | Output from search operations |
| Unsupported features | For .NET targets, names and locations of features not supported in the target type |
Using the Output window
You can hide or display the Output window with the Output
button on the PowerBar or by selecting Window>Output.
You control operations in the window using the Skip, Stop,
Next Error, and Previous Error buttons or menu options.
Tabs display in the order in which they are created and remain
in the Output window for the rest of the PowerBuilder session. To
clear the output from the tabs automatically when you start a new
build, make sure that the Automatically Clear Output Window check
box on the General page of the System Options dialog box is selected.
You can also clear and close tabs manually from the pop-up menu.
When appropriate, lines in the Output window provide links
that invoke the correct painter when you double-click on that line.
The pop-up menu also provides the options Edit and Edit Source to
open an object in a painter or the Source editor. You can copy the
contents of the current tab to the Windows clipboard, save its contents
to a text file, or print its contents to your default printer.
