Adding Process Logic to a Dialog › Summary

Summary

In this chapter, you enhanced dialog XXXDADD so that it performs all operations necessary for final production use. You added processing logic to the dialog by performing the following steps:

1. You defined two process modules by using the IDD menu facility:
   • Process module XXXDADD-PREMAP displays the dialog's map with a message for the user.
   • Process module XXXDADD-RESPONSE evaluates end-user input and stores department information in the database.
2. You added the process modules to dialog XXXDADD by using ADSC:
   • As a premap process, process module XXXDADD-PREMAP will be executed whenever dialog XXXDADD begins execution.
   • As a response process associated with [Enter],R process module XXXDADD-RESPONSE will be executed whenever the user presses [Enter] input data on the map for dialog XXXDADD.
3. You executed the Department application to see how the process modules affect execution of dialog XXXDADD:
   • You added new departments, one at a time, by entering department information on the dialog's map.
   • You transferred to function MODDEP when you were finished using ADDDEP to add new departments.

Both developers and users can execute a dialog to test its process logic. Based on tests, developers and users often suggest modifications to process logic.

For example, after testing a fully developed dialog, users might find it confusing that the current screen is redisplayed if it contains input errors when the user enters BACK or EXIT. As an application developer, you might modify the application so that BACK and EXIT exit the user unconditionally from a dialog. To do this, you would use ADSA to modify BACK and EXIT, making the associated functions immediately executable.

As another example, users testing dialog XXXDADD might request that, after a new department is successfully added, the screen be redisplayed without the department's information. This modification would make it more obvious that the redisplayed screen can be used to add another department.

In the next chapter, you will modify process module XXXDADD-RESPONSE so that it redisplays an initialized screen after a new department is added to the database.