Multiple screen forms in 4GL
Posted in 1997
Hi, We're currently using Informix 4GL version 4.0 (Standard Engine) under SCO UNIX. The database is accessed by VT100 terminals. We have an application which necessarily has fairly big records and we are *desparate* to be able to have 4GL forms go over multiple screens (like they do in ISQL), so you can arrow down through the fields and at the bottom field the screen flips over to the rest of the fields. Then, when you've finished updating you can press ESCAPE for the whole record to be updated in one block. It also needs to work in the same way for queries and updates. So far, the only way I've found to do this is by splitting the fields up into two forms, and updating each one separately. But this is a MAJOR pain for the users of the application (who are not computer literate), as it means they need to do two database updates and cannot switch easily between the two forms. Things like queries and field updates are more complex too. Also, if the form expands to go over three screens, things get even more complicated. Does anyone know a way around this limitation? Is it fixed in later versions? I know that we could consider switching to a Windows front-end with ODBC which would get around the problem (using Access or something), but this is not possible at present. Thanks for any suggestions! Wookie