Data to script to image
I have not posted on my progress regarding the production version of the PrintPreview form, and I apologize. The hurdles have been relatively minor, but quite vexing.
I have moved the Data Server, Script Generator and Rendering Engine to the production environment. Since my last post, I’ve been trying to get them to work with no errors. There have been many problems, mainly with the new organization of the data servers.
Most of my errors have been ones of commission, where I forget the effects a single line of code can make. The other errors are ones of omission, where a single missing line of code can abort the entire process.
And it’s a complex process. The data server will grab and format the code from the source, the script generator will read tables describing the script and put the script together with the formatted data, and the rendering engine will create an image with the elements described by the script. In all, tens of thousands of lines of code are involved, in three different languages. And now, all that is working together to produce these two images:
Keep in mind that the images you see are described only as disparate parts of a relational database, composed of seven bound tables and a free table (the data file). These two images were created on the fly, and in less than 30 seconds. Subsequent versions of the underlying code will be much faster.
I still have many other things to do with this form before I am finished. I must add the display, image (page) switching, panning and zooming code, and code to delete the images when the PrintPreview form closes. I must also add the code that will interpret a double-click and open the original data source (in a form) for editing on the double-clicked field. This kind of backward connection is what makes HUD-1 so difficult to write, but so rewarding to use.
I also have the idea of allowing the PrintPreview form to open data files or forms on it’s own. It’s strange, but previous versions of the form could not do this, depending on being passed a command line parameter for its data source. This PrintPreview form will be much more complete!