Screen generator
{{Short description|Software to create data entry screens}}
A screen generator, also known as a screen painter, screen mapper,{{Cite book |last1=Pratt |first1=Philip J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jh8PAQAAMAAJ |title=Database Systems: Management and Design |last2=Adamski |first2=Joseph J. |date=1991 |publisher=Boyd & Fraser Publishing Company |isbn=978-0-87835-579-2 |pages=627 |language=en}} or forms generator is a software package (or component thereof) which enables data entry screens to be generated declaratively, by "painting" them on the screen WYSIWYG-style, or through filling-in forms, rather than requiring writing of code to display them manually.{{Cite book |last1=Budde |first1=Reinhard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1kGqCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA87 |title=Prototyping: An Approach to Evolutionary System Development |last2=Kautz |first2=Karlheinz |last3=Kuhlenkamp |first3=Karin |last4=Züllighoven |first4=Heinz |date=2012-12-06 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-3-642-76820-0 |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last=Hoffman |first=Paul E. |date=1982-07-05 |title=SCR Screen Manager, a screen generator by Reddox |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MjAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA58 |journal=InfoWorld |language=en |volume=4 |issue=26 |pages=58}}{{Cite journal |last=Del Rossi |first=Robert |date=1 October 1990 |title=The state of screen generators |journal=Data Based Advisor |volume=8 |issue=10 |url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.5555/129521.129528 |via=ACM Digital Library}}{{Cite journal |last=Bowerman |first=Robert |date=July 1983 |title=Relational database systems for micros |url=https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_datamation_52582203/page/n119/mode/1up |journal=Datamation |volume=29 |issue=7 |page=132 |via=Internet Archive}} 4GLs commonly incorporate a screen generator feature.{{Cite journal |last1=Gray |first1=M. M. |last2=Fisher |first2=G. E. |date=1991-03-01 |title=Functional Benchmarks for Fourth Generation Languages |url=https://www.nist.gov/publications/functional-benchmarks-fourth-generation-languages?pub_id=900436 |journal=NIST |language=en}} They are also commonly found bundled with database systems, especially entry-level databases.{{Cite book |last1=Gillenson |first1=Mark L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HMJqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA49 |title=Wiley Pathways Introduction to Database Management |last2=Ponniah |first2=Paulraj |last3=Kriegel |first3=Alex |last4=Trukhnov |first4=Boris M. |last5=Taylor |first5=Allen G. |last6=Powell |first6=Gavin |date=2007-03-16 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-10186-5 |pages=49 |language=en}} A screen generator is one aspect of an application generator, which can also include other functions such as report generation and a data dictionary.{{Cite journal |date=1987-04-20 |title=Key elements of CASE kits: Prototyping, code generators |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fKtIbDybloEC&pg=PA74 |journal=Computerworld |language=en |volume=21 |issue=16 |page=74 |via=Google Books}}{{Cite journal |last=Babb |first=Elizabeth A. |year=1985 |title=Increasing Productivity with the Application Generator Interface |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07399018508967756 |journal=Journal of Information Systems Management |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=57–67 |doi=10.1080/07399018508967756 |issn=0739-9014|url-access=subscription }} The earliest screen generators were character-based; by the 1990s, GUI support became common, and then support for generating HTML forms as well. Some screen generators work by generating code to display the screen in a high-level language (for example, COBOL); others store the screen definition in a data file or in database tables, and then have a runtime component responsible for actually displaying the form and receiving and validating user input.
Examples
Examples of screen generators include:
- IBM Screen Definition Facility II:{{Cite book |last=Bert |first=Joseph J. Le |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GbxQAAAAMAAJ |title=CICS Essentials: For Application Developers and Programmers |publisher=McGraw-Hill |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-07-035869-0 |pages=19 |language=en}} generates screens for CICS BMS, IMS MFS, ISPF, GDDM and CSP/AD.{{Cite web |title=Screen Definition Facility II |url=https://lookupmainframesoftware.com/index.php/soft_detail/dispsoft/2046 |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=Lookup Mainframe Software}}
- Performix for Informix.{{Cite journal |last=Schussel |first=George |date=February 1983 |title=Mapping out the DBMS territory |url=https://www.georgeschussel.com/wp-content/uploads/articles/1983%20Mapping%20out%20the%20DBMS%20territory.pdf |journal=Data Management Magazine |issn=0148-5431 |oclc=1796752}}
- Microsoft Visual Basic{{Cite book |last=Langer |first=Arthur M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pcm9BwAAQBAJ |title=Analysis and Design of Information Systems |date=2013-03-14 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-1-4757-3492-8 |pages=162–164 |language=en}}
- the forms component of Microsoft Access
- Oracle Developer, in particular its Oracle Forms component
- the QDesign component of PowerHouse
- SystemBuilder/SB+
- the Screen Painter component of SAP's ABAP Workbench{{Cite book |last1=Markandeya |first1=Sushil |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iV8wBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA649 |title=SAP ABAP: Hands-On Test Projects with Business Scenarios |last2=Roy |first2=Kaushik |date=2014-11-17 |publisher=Apress |isbn=978-1-4302-4804-0 |pages=649 |language=en}}
- the FoxView component of FoxPro.{{Cite journal |last=Campbell |first=Greg |date=1988-11-15 |title=FoxBASE Plus/LAN |url=https://archive.org/details/PC-Mag-1988-11-15/page/n260/mode/1up |journal=PC Magazine |volume=7 |issue=19 |pages=261}}{{Cite journal |last=Duncan |first=Judy |date=1991-08-19 |title=FoxPro speeds up query results |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l1AEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA57 |journal=InfoWorld |language=en |volume=13 |issue=33 |pages=57}}{{Cite journal |last=Bauman |first=John |date=1990-06-01 |title=SnapApp: the application generator for FoxPro |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA8714876&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=10906436&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon~ff2cd5e9&aty=open-web-entry |journal=Data Based Advisor |language=English |volume=8 |issue=6 |pages=12–14}} FoxView was originally developed by Luis Castro as a dBASE screen generator named ViewGen; Fox purchased it and bundled it with FoxPro 1.0.{{Cite web |title=The History of FoxPro - People That Contributed With Other xBase Tools |url=http://www.foxprohistory.org/people_other.htm |access-date=2025-01-04 |website=www.foxprohistory.org}} Later, Fox replaced Castro's code with their own screen painter code.{{Cite book |last=Nietz |first=Kerry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=usRJNC6xyewC&pg=PA99 |title=FoxTales: Behind the Scenes at Fox Software |date=2003 |publisher=Hentzenwerke |isbn=978-1-930919-50-1 |pages=99 |language=en}}
- dBASE included a built-in screen generator in dBASE IV onwards;{{Cite book |last=Littlefield |first=Warren M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lFRJBG4EPOYC&pg=PA205 |title=dBASE-From the Dot Prompt: An Introduction to Structured Programming Using dBASE IV |date=1993-06-04 |publisher=State University of New York Press |isbn=978-1-4384-1107-1 |pages=205–220 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Ross |first=Paul W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LTi_DN_LCSIC&pg=PA601 |title=The Handbook of Software for Engineers and Scientists |date=1995-10-25 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-8493-2530-4 |pages=601 |language=en}} in dBASE III and earlier, third party screen generators were available, including the already mentioned ViewGen
- DPS 1100 for UNIVAC 1100 series mainframes.{{Cite journal |date=January 5, 1981 |title=Univac Combines Screen Generator, Handler |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J_iAWQ5n914C&pg=PA93 |journal=Computerworld |language=en |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=93 |via=Google Books}}{{Cite book |url=https://bitsavers.org/pdf/datapro/datapro_reports_70s-90s/Univac/1100/70C-846MM-20_8507_Sperry_1100_60.pdf |title=Sperry 1100/60 System |date=July 1985 |publisher=Data Pro |pages=13}}
References
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