Form steps and dynamic tasks - has anyone tried it?

[Kjetil Kilhavn]

An update for the benefit of my favourite mailing list.

Fredag 16. mars 2012 10.05.20 skrev Mike Pokraka:
> Sounds like you're looking at all angles.
I've made the mistake of spending too little time in the think/design phase 
too many times already, so I am at least trying to look at all angles :-)

> I might mention that I just used POPUP_GET_VALUES as an example. Nothing
> stopping you from putting your own dialog FM together, the idea remains
> the same - dynamic control from a single method.
I understood that, and thought about the own screen routine solution as well. 
That's why I made the comment about screens in a function group being quite 
close to the FORMS solution as far as I could see.

I've received the go-ahead signal from the business to create a new solution 
instead of trying to shoehorn it into the old one, so I've got options at 
least. The current solution will live on for a while, but will actually be 
replaced by one of the two new scenarios, which is a good reason for not 
touching it.

The screen includes text editors, so it isn't really a matter of a simple 
form. There is custom code in the screen already.

One thing I *do* like about the FORMS solution is the workflow integration - 
i.e. the workflow toolbox which gets included. In order to make the users aware 
that sometimes it is a budget approval and other times a prognosis (of an 
addition to a product) different tasks will be used anyway.

> As to the reporting angle, I often use BOR and OO versions of the same
> object in the same WF for compatibility reasons. I don't know how your
> stuff works, but from a simplistic view I would:
> 1. rip out the form step
> 2. Create an OO class to represent the same object
> 3. create a FM to do the form dialog
> 4. Plug FM into a data entry method on the class
> 5. Add new OO object info WF and put dialog step where the form step was
> 
> As I said, it's a simplistic view and 
> there are many ways up a mountain...
Indeed. The report which gives them an overview of the active workflow will be 
rewritten and will use an interface to get data from the old and new solutions 
to abstract away from the actual implementation and allow for future changes.

> Have fun,
> Mike
-- 
Kjetil Kilhavn (+47 40220607) - Blue Consulting AS (http://www.bluec.no)