OS.bee Documentation for Designer

OS.bee Documentation for Designer

Here are frequently asked questions from designers which are not mentioned by other Documentation. In this Page, you could find the answer to your question.

Get Started

Pitfalls with new Eclipse installations

Be aware that when installing a new Eclipse environment to look at the preferences for DS Annotations and check the box "Generate descriptors from annotated sources" as OS.bee makes heavy use of automatically generated component descriptors in the OSGI-INF directory. It is unchecked by default for incomprehensible reasons.

Don't forget to set your target platform correctly as described in the installation guide.

Eclipse Installation / Installation SWF / New Project from GIT

Question:

Using Eclispe Neon, execution of Installation Software-Factory as described in the Installation notes, Connect to a GIT Archiv, After Building Workspace the application is not valid (see Screen-Shot) Try to clean the Project was not successful.

Answer:

The version of the installed Software Factory and the version needed for the project do not match.

Please install the appropriate Software Factory version.

cvs2app - question regarding ENUM types

Question:

cvs2app is mentioned in the documentation "App up in 5 minutes" and gives the possibility to create one app directly out of the csv file. One of the first steps is to create an entity, which is generated based on the information on the first line (which contains the column names). In consequence I have 2 questions regarding ENUMS:

• Is it possible to create an entity ENUM out the csv - FILE?

• Is it possible to use an existing ENUM entity during the creation of the app?

For example:

in the entity there is already a definition:

 enum type_ps {
            PROCESS_DESCRIPTION, ORGANISATIONAL
}

and the csvfile looks as follows:

ticket_type_number;ticket_type_description;ticket_type_ps_type
1;CRS handling;PROCESS_DESCRIPTION
2;Administrative;ORGANISATIONAL
3;Delivery package;ORGANISATIONAL
4;Software behaviour;PROCESS_DESCRIPTION

Answer:

Yes it is possible. When using the latest version (from feb 2018), it is possible to supply various meta-information to each column. One meta-info is the hint to the application builder that this column is meant to be a ENUM. By default it wouldn't be possible to guess that fact.

Launch Application from Eclipse (very slow)

Question:

When starting the Application from within the Eclipse it took very long time until the application is up. Are there some settings to be controlled?

Answer:

If you experience very slow performance with Eclipse itself as well as the application you launch from Eclipse it might be a good idea to check the virus scanner you have installed. Some virus scanners check all the files inside the Eclipse installation directory, the Eclipse workspace and the GIT repository which might lead to extreme slow performance. Ask your Administrator how to avoid this.

Structure of the documentation page

In the OS.bee Software Factory Documentation page, there are 3 Headlines used to structure the page:

1. OS.bee DSL Documentation
2. Other OS.bee-Specific Solutions
3. OS.bee Third-Party Software Solutions

At the end of Chapter one there are some helpful hints to work with eclipse. To start with Eclipse and the SWF these hints could be very useful.

• One more hint: to Use STRG-Shift-O to organize the import inside the DSL.

Modeling

I18N.properties (Reorganization of obsoleted values)

Question:

Each DSL has its own I18N.properties to translate the values. The property file includes values that are no longer used in the Modell-Description. (For example based on an addition correction of orthography)

The update of the properties seems to be one-way. Is there a function to reorganize the values (with the target to drop all obsoleted values)?

Answer:

No, there is no way to delete unused entries for security reasons. Translations to foreign languages are expensive. The modeler is responsible to delete obsoleted entries.

Display values from ENUMS in Table

Question:

We are using a perspective with the combination of table and dialog to maintain master data. The dialog contains combo-boxes to select values based on ENUMS. The selected value is displayed in the dialog, but is not displayed in the table. Is there a way to display the values of the selected ENUM in the table, with the objective to use the filter?

Answer:

This is not yet implemented but on schedule.

References to images

Question:

Using for example MENU.DSL Documentation:

package <package name>[{ 
expandedImage <expandedImage String>

Keyword expandedImage and collapsedImage is used to define the menu image when the menu expanded or collapsed. Where can we find the valid names of the Images to use in the String?

Answer:

The images can be selected by using hitting <CTRL>+<space> right behind the keyword. This will lead you to the image picker. Double-click on "Select icon...“ , then you can select the image from the image pool. The corresponding name will be added to the model. If you want to add own images to the pool follow How to add pictures.

Perspective with master/slave relationship

Question: We created a perspective with a "master" table and 5 related "slave" tables. The target is to select one row in the master table and automatically filter the data rows in the slave tables related to the selected data. Where can we find information about the way to realize this goal?

Answer: With "master" you probably mean an entity that has relative to the "slave" an one2many relationship. Views of their underlying tables will synchronize if they share a filter with the selection of another table. The filter must use the same entity as the entity of a table that selected a row. So every datamart of a "slave" must have a condition in a many2one join where the "one" side is the entity that should synchronize while selecting rows. In effect the selected row tries to change all filters to the same ID if the same entity is used. This applies to all open views in all open perspectives. In datamartDSL, using the keyword "filtered", the result in the application is a combo-box in the header of the table, which allows to select a value which is used as a filter of all tables of the perspective which have use the same condition; using the keyword “selected”, the result will be a list-box.

filtered (optional) => Combo-box

selected => List-box

Perspective use border to show boundary for each sash

Question:

Is it possible to show border between each sash-container used in a perspective? From our point of view the arrangement is not pretty clear to the user. It could be helpful to get a clearer view to show (optional) real visible border between sash-container and even between parts. for example:

• green border between parts of a sash-container
• blue border between sash-container

Is this already possible?

Answer:

For the moment there are no plans to colorize borders by means of grammar keywords. It is possible by changing the CSS for the currently selected theme.

Datainterchange Export (does not overwrite existing file)

Question:

We defined an interchange for a specific entity. The created TriggerView is called in a perspective, which is called in the menu. We also used an adjusted dialog with a toolbar with the export command. When the defined target filesystem is empty, the export file was created. A second try to export the data does not create a new file. Is there something to consider to allow an "overwrite" of existing data?

Answer:

Datainterchange tries not to overwrite already exported files and appends a running number to the end of the filename. When it is not work, you have to debug. The Action-buttons of the created Trigger-View are accidently colored as disabled but they are not. This will be changed in the future.

If you think they are very pale (not easy to read). It is also possible to define the layout of the buttons.

Logged in user as part of the data-record

Question:

We want to create an entity, where the logged in user, who insert a record is referenced in each data-record that be created. Is there a way (function or something else) to handle this request?

Answer:

This request is already a ticket.

bpmn2 file reference in blip-DSL

Question:

There is no hint about where to save the *.bmpn2 files. So we created a subfolder in net.osbee.app.XXX.model.blip, which is named of “bpm”. Using the new subfolder we created a new jBPM Process Diagram. As the description during the creation we remove "defaultPackage." as Prefix for Process-ID: The model is simple (Start-Event / User-Task / End-Event) When we try to reference the bpm2 model inside the blip-dsl, the name could not be resolved. Is there something to take care about?

Answer: You must right click the new folder “bpm” and when the mouse is over "Build Path", select "use as source folder". After this is done you should press STRG+SHIFT+O in the Blip DSL to "organize imports".

How to add the missing icon images to a new created ENUM combo box

Question:

Defining an ENUM at the entity DSL model instance, a corresponding combo box is created, but the corresponding icon image for each ENUM component is missing.

Answer:

For the solution have a look at How to add pictures. We would like to enforce the usage of icons in OS.bee. So if you use EnumComboBox without images, there will be a "missing icon" icon appears in the combo-box, it was introduced with intent to remind the designer that there is a missing icon. There is still a problem, in the case, for example there are 10 Enum values per Enum type and 10 Enum types are used in an entity, 100 image names must be generated and deposited. Even if all use the same picture. This takes a lot of effort and costs time - just writing the file names per picture. Some of the designer wants to use EnumComboBox without images. Although great user experience comes from great effort, for designers who want to hold on to the slipshod way we will introduce a setting in OS.bee preferences to avoid displaying icons at all when at least one of the entries of a combo box is missing. For a pretty user experience we must decide between text and icon per combo box.

table DSL (as grid) create new data records

Question: Is it possible to create new data records while using a grid? Existing data records can be changed for defined attributes (editable prop) using a double-click on the data row What must be changed to allow the creation of data rows?

Answer: This is not yet possible, but on schedule.

DSL entity (Multiplicity of properties)

Question:

We defined an entity for customer data, with the goal that some attributes must be entered during creation of new data-records. To use only the property seems not to be enough to prevent a data-record to be saved, without filling non-nullable attributes. What have to be done to reach the goal?

Code-example:

var int [1]customer_no
var String [1] customer_name
var boolean portalrequired
var String country

Snippet of documentation

Answer: This is a very interesting question. So I will explain some important facts about binding and validation (formerly known as Plausi). As OS.bee implements the Model-View-Controller pattern, UI fields, business logic and data layer are strictly separated. The link between them is realized by a "bean binding" mechanism. This mechanism propagates changes between the MVC elements in every desired direction. There is a layer between this mechanism which is called bean validation. For every direction of binding a validation can be implemented to avoid or allow a certain change. Even conversions between values from model to presentation and vice-versa are implemented in the binding mechanism. There are some pre-defined validation rules available in the Datatype DSL. As we follow the domain concept to define things as close to the base of the DSL hierarchy as possible, this is the place to go for validations.

For your request, you must define a new datatype as following:

datatype StringNotNull jvmType java.lang.String isNotNull[severity=error]

You can apply a validation rule to every "non-primitive" jvmType (jvm = Java Virtual Machine): Double, Integer..., but not for double, integer... Validation rules are cumulative. The severity of the user response on violation of the rule is definable in 3 flavors:

1. info
2. warn
3. error

Each of them stylable via CSS. The following validation rules are available right now:

• isNotNull
• isNull
• minMaxSize (applies to Strings)
• maxDecimal and minDecimal (applies to Double, Long and Integer - Float is not supported by OS.bee)
• regex (regular expression must be matched - for the advanced designer)
• isPast (applies to date)
• isFuture (applies to date)

► Examples:

datatype DoubleRange jvmType java.lang.Double maxDecimal (10.00) minDecimal (20.00)
datatype String5to8Chars jvmType java.lang.String minMaxSize(5,8)

As a last step you must use the newly created datatype in your entity to let the validation work. There is one additional validation accessible as keyword from the Entity DSL. If you want to enforce the uniqueness of an attribute value like "fullName" you can use the unique keyword in the entity.

► Example:

entity Employee extends BaseID {
	persistenceUnit "businessdata"
	domainKey unique String fullName

When you are about to save a newly created entry, during bean validation the database is accessed and it is verified, that the given attribute content is not already in the database. Else a validation error with severity error appears in the front-end.

UI-Design

Question:

Is it possible to design a Combo-box/List-box where I can sort the entries by myself? Like in eclipse > Configure Working Sets... Here I ‘m able to select Up / Down to sort the working sets.

In the moment I realize this in the entity with the field listPrio:

entity Title extends BaseUUID {
persistenceUnit "businessdata"     
domainKey String 
title var 
int listPrio 
}

Then I sort the entries by giving a value for listPrio. But this is not a good solution.

Answer:

Sorry, not for this time. Sounds useful. I will create a ticket for it.

DSL Dialog: Autosuggestion for DomainKey or DomainDescritpion

Question:

I develop an address management. In the Entity DSL, I have the fields:

domainKey String decription
var String firstname
var String lastname

If I create a user:

firstname: Hans
lastname: Maier

Is it possible to get for the field description automatically suggested the value: Hans-Maier? Like a kind of derived or Operations in Entitiy DSL, but only for suggestion.

Answer:

Yes. After the definition of all attributes, you have the possibility to define methods that can be called by JPA thru annotations.

 
domainKey String description
	...
	@PostLoad
	def void makeFullName() {
		description = firstName+"-"+lastName		
	}

Remember that decription is completely transient. You could also use @PrePersist or @PreUpdate.

DSL Table

Question:

I have a Table with 100 address data.

Is there a possibility of multi-selection?

► Example of selection of 5 addresses:

• I want to delete in one step 5 addresses.
• I want to send to these 5 addresses the same email.

Answer:

Not for the OSBP version. If you have the BPM option, then the token for BPM can be built using a selectable table. The resulting workload could send emails or deletes against the data base in the following system task.

datamart DSL (condition filtered) table does not refresh

Question:

In a perspective we use organigram / table (user) / dialog (user). The table based on a datamart using the semantic element conditions. Not all position in the organization have assigned user. When a position with assigned user is selected the data rows of the table are filtered. When a position is selected (where no user is assigned) the table does not refresh. What can we change in the model to refresh the table even when there is no corresponding data?

Answer:

DSL authorization (CRUD)

Question:

We tried to authorize the CRUD operations for some position in different ways. All CRUD operations for a given entity "Customer"

Position Accounting

Position ProjectIntern

Assumpiton:

• For each positon there i a user available
• Each position has an assigned rolte (organization)
• Both user uses the same perspecitve (table/dialog)
• The dialog uses a general toolbar with the necessary actions

Login with user assigned to Position Accounting, create a new datarow (new Customer) and save the data (o.k) Login with user assigned to Position ProjectIntern, select the new Customer in the table, activate delete Button (Row deleted not expected) Is there something to take care about we neglected?

Answer:

DSL Menu(UserFilter/SuperUser)

Question:

When a User marked as SuperUser logged in our Application and the Menu-Modell contains a definition for UserFilter. The Menu is no longer shown inside the application.

The last lines of the Menu-Model

The generated Menu in the application looks like this:

If the UserFilter line is included and the application restarted, after login, the application looks like this: (User,Position, and Menu are not visible)

The entity UserAccount and UserAccountFilter have been consider in authorization-DSL with Value ANY assigned to the role used by the user with attribute SuperUser.

Answer:

Printer Selection (Default Printer)

Question:

The Combo-box (Client-Toolbar) for the print-service shows all Printers from the client operating system. The default printer of the operating system is not the preselected for the application. It is possible to define a print-service for each user within the dialog UserAccount? Is it possible for an administrator to select Print-Service for foreign user without having all print-services on his local operating system? Or is it possible to preselect the default print-service insinde the client?

Answer:

DSL Entity Enum with own images

Question:

We tried to create own images for Enum-Values following the document How to add Pictures hosted using URL:

► Example:

 
enum TypeDocument {
             PDF, DOCX      }
entity Customer {
persistenceUnit "businessdata"
domainKey String customerKey
id int no
var boolean portalrequired
           var String country
           var TypeDocument documenttyp }

Own Fragment Bundle

Question:

1. There is no hint about image sizes, are there some restrictions?
2. There is no preferred way to transfer the created images into the folder (We use Copy and Paste, are there other ways?)

The application started from within Eclipse, Create new data-record using a dialog, the created images are not shown inside the Combo-Box. Can you help me about what went wrong or what is missing?

Answer:

Core Dev

New event for statemachines

Statemachines working in combination with UI model can exploit a new feature of the component SuggestText. The SuggestText-component will send an event "onSelection" as soon as the user picked an entry of the popup list. FiledName must be a field definition of the controls section of the statemachine model. The first letter of the name is capitalized to meet the camel Case naming convention. E.g. the field "foo" which is bound to a SuggestText component will emit the event "onFooSelection". Using this event in a statemachine can trigger an action after a user selection of a SuggestText-popup-entry for further processing.

Duplicate translations

Each DSL and some other bundles come with a set of dedicated I18N property files, containing translatable items and the preset amount of target language translations. Each language has its own key-value pairs. The keys are derived from element-ids or other designated translatable strings inside a DSL grammar. All bundles of a product's target platform are scanned for those property files at startup of runtime and translations are cached inside the DSLMetadataService for fast access. By the way, DSLMetadataService also holds the models of all DSL for reference at runtime. Occasionally it happens that the same key is used in different models but with or without valid translation for each target language. There is no need to translate the same key over and over again. Since today there is a method to detect the best translation for each language using the Levenshtein Distance Algorithm. The idea is that the more distant a value is from its key, the better is the translation. On startup, the translation cache is filled with those translations that are most distant from the key. In other words: correct translations that compete against defaults or sloppy translations will make it to the cache, thus increasing the quality of the displayed translation. Additionally there is a new console output indicating duplicates in bundles as error information and surviving translations per language and key as debug information.

Edit WelcomeScreen

As for today it is possible to edit the WelcomeScreen and save the new content permanently in the Preferences of your product. This is how it works: Start the application and stay at the Welcome Screen. With the right-mouse button while holding down the STRG+ALT keys, click 5 times at the top-left area of the Welcome Screen. The sensitive area is 50px in square. A rich text editor will appear instead of the static screen. Use the tools of the editor and if you are ready, do the 5 times click stuff again to save it and switch back to static mode. If you want to display images from the in-build themes, you must enter the following path preceding the filename: VAADIN/themes//image/logo_osbee.png for example. It is the currently selected startup theme e.g. osbp. Here is a list of in-build images you could try (The images are taken from pixabay.com): 2M1AXEU9Q2.jpg app-loading.jpg binary-797263_1920.jpg binary-797274_1920.jpg bkgnd1.jpg cpu-564789_1920.jpg grid-684983_1920.jpg grid-871475_1920.jpg key.png logo_osbee.png padlock.png personal-95715_1920.jpg rain-455120_640.jpg statistics-706383_1920.jpg Top_view.jpg U68NITW3EI.jpg U68NITW3EI_s.jpg

If you need to restore the original WelcomeScreen just delete the tag welcomeScreen from your preferences file.

Search

When you think about searching and retrieving data, two use cases will come into your mind:

• find an entry of an entity to edit its properties
• find an entity to establish a reference.

For both cases there is a new feature dealing with filters and search views. If you want to pick an entry and don't know exactly its name, you filter all of your entries by means of filtering. There are two types of filters implemented:

• Compare filters (using keyword “filter”)
• Range filters (using keyword “range”)

Compare filters can match an attribute by a set of comparison operators:

• equal
• unequal
• greater
• greater equal
• less
• less equal
• like (you could use the following wildcards:

  % matches any number of arbitrary letters

  $ matches exactly one arbitrary letter).

Range filters expose two fields (from...until) where the inclusive borders of the range can be applied. You can supply filter metadata at the entity model by using the keywords "filter" and "range" like this:

 
domainKey String fullName
var String firstName
var filter String lastName
var range BirthDate birthDate
var range double salary

this means that "lastName" will have a compare filter, where "birthDate" and "salary" will have a range filter. In addition to this filters on direct attributes it is also possible to walk along the reference tree and add so called nested attributes for filtering. How deep the tree is iterated can be defined in the metadata by using keyword “filterDepth” like this:

 
ref filterDepth 01 Position position opposite employees

And in the Position entity:

 
var filter String payType

The keyword “filterDepth” limits the depth of iteration, in the example to 1 iteration. The resulting search view is automatically generated and looks like this:

The filtering can be accessed by the filter button right to the combo-box dropdown-button or you can place a search-view inside a perspective by using this syntax:

 
part EmployeeSearch spaceVolume "60" view search in MemployeeDto depth 3 filterColumns 1

In the perspective you can override the depth metadata from entity and tell the layouter either to arrange all filtering attributes in 1 column or 2 with the keyword “filterColumns”.