Reusing lines of Xbasic in multiple events; Scrapbook? Code Library?

[MarionT]

Hello -

Last week, I needed to learn how to take a series of fields, build a concatenated string, and stuff it into a field in my table (so I could use it in various views/reports without having to re-build the string each time).

Steve Workings taught me to build it in: Code.Server-SideEvents.CanUpdateRecord

This works, but only for records that I am updating.
So I'm copying the same code into Code.Server-SideEvents.CanInsertRecord

My Question is: I'm pretty sure there is some way I can have the code in 1 place (the scrapbook? the code library?) and use it in both the CanUpdateRecord and CanInsertRecord

so that if I need to alter the concatenation formula, I'm only having to do it in one place, not two.

Can someone point me to what I need to learn to do this?

Thanks

[Peter.Greulich]

Re: Reusing lines of Xbasic in multiple events; Scrapbook? Code Library?

Create a global UDF - or as many as you need and when you publish check off "Compile functions into an.AEX file". Then your functions will be universally available throughout your app.

[MarionT]

Re: Reusing lines of Xbasic in multiple events; Scrapbook? Code Library?

Thank you Peter - I think I'm getting close, but not at home plate.

1. I have what I think is a global udf, created in the Code Editor and saved as a Function.

FUNCTION DateDueTermsText AS C ( )

dim txt as c = ""

if (val(DataSubmitted.Numerator) / val(DataSubmitted.Denominator)) <> 1 then

txt = "" + DataSubmitted.Numerator + chr(47) + DataSubmitted.Denominator + ": "+DataSubmitted.PhaseQualifier1

else

txt = "" + " blah blah blah"

end if

DataSubmitted.TermsText = txt

END FUNCTION

2. In the component where I'm trying to get this to appear, I:
- set the Control Type as Custom
- set Custom Control Property as: TermsText_Render = DateDueTermsText()
- set GridProperties.Miscellaneous.Xbasic.aex file set as Databasename.aex

3. I publish the web project, toggling on 'compile functions into an .aex file'

4. When I launch in a browser, I'm getting the following error when I attempt to update a record or insert a record into the table associated with the grid component that utilizes the Custom Control:

Error in custom control xbasic: not found Data Submitted not found



so, what does this tell me... seems to me that the UDF doesn't know how to talk to the component to find out the specific field data? or ????

[Steve Workings]

Re: Reusing lines of Xbasic in multiple events; Scrapbook? Code Library?

Your function needs to return a value like this:

FUNCTION DateDueTermsText AS C ( )
    txt = "whatever you need to assign to txt"
    DateDueTermsText = txt
End Function

Then, in your CanInsertRecord event, you do this:

DataSubmitted.TermsText = DateDueTermsText()

[MarionT]

Re: Reusing lines of Xbasic in multiple events; Scrapbook? Code Library?

@Steve -

Thank you; I had written an email to you about this, but decided to see if I could solve it at the forum without bothering you - I know you had mentioned this when we spoke, and I 'blew it off' because I wasn't ready ...

I've now adjusted the CanInsertRecord event, as well as the CanUpdateRecord event....

and I have changed the TermsText Field back to being a text control (not a custom control, as explained in the video)

Ok - that seems to have gotten me a bit closer, altho now I have an error message on the inserts and on the update....


Error executing CanUpdateRecord event handler: command: if (val(DataSubmitted.Numerator) / val(DataSubmitted.Denominator)) <> 1 then Not found
DataSubmitted not found.


OK. Let's KISS - I've stripped away the If...Else... Endif
and I''m still getting errors:
Error executing CanUpdateRecord event handler: command: txt = "" + DataSubmitted.Numerator Not found
DataSubmitted not found.


If this is too complicated by forum, can you shoot me an email and we'll find a time when you can show me by TeamViewer?

[Jberry]

Re: Reusing lines of Xbasic in multiple events; Scrapbook? Code Library?

Better to answer it here if possible Marion because I'd like to know the answer too :)

[Steve Workings]

Re: Reusing lines of Xbasic in multiple events; Scrapbook? Code Library?

There are probably a couple ways to do this. Code example first:

CanInsertRecord:

function CanInsertRecord as v (DataSubmitted as P, Args as p, PageVariables as p, Result as p)
with PageVariables
Result.Cancel = .f.
Result.ErrorHTML = ""

	DataSubmitted.DESCRIPTION = DataSubmitTest(DataSubmitted)

end with
end function

User Defined Function:

FUNCTION DataSubmitTest AS C (DataSubmitted as P)

	dim new_Description as c = ""
	new_Description = "Test: " + DataSubmitted.DESCRIPTION
	DataSubmitTest = new_Description
	
END FUNCTION

I think the most important point worth explaining is that the UDF didn't "see" the DataSubmitted. OK, you knew that, but what to do about it? You can see that the Event already contains DataSubmitted as a Pointer variable, and since the UDF wasn't seeing it -- but we need it -- we need to pass the Pointer variable and all its values into the function. By doing this, all the DataSubmitted values are now available.

If I haven't explained this well enough or I need to detail this more, let me know.

[MarionT]

Re: Reusing lines of Xbasic in multiple events; Scrapbook? Code Library?

Hi Steve -
Ok.... I am implementing as a test, and.... super - it works.

Now I'll see if I can factor in some of the actual field data, not just the word 'test'

super - that works too (altho, it seems I have to have all the parts of the concatenation on one long line)

Now let me see if I can do the update....yep - that works too

excellent excellent excellent.

Thank you!

[Steve Workings]

Re: Reusing lines of Xbasic in multiple events; Scrapbook? Code Library?

There's nothing "wrong" with long code lines for the concatenation, but there are other ways too. Here's one:

dim myNewVal as c = ""
myNewVal = "This is the first part of the sentence " 
myNewVal = myNewVal + " and then I added in this value " + datasubmitted.something
myNewVal = myNewVal + " along with more like this " + datasubmitted.somethingelse
myNewVal = myNewVal + " and if I want a crlf I can add that in like this. " + crlf()

[MarionT]

Re: Reusing lines of Xbasic in multiple events; Scrapbook? Code Library?

got it

I figured there was a way.

Makes it easier to read/edit when it is broken up onto several lines