4.5 Use Application Templates
It is recommended that all RDML programs be created from an "Application Template".
By using "Application Templates", it is easy to ensure that site standards for program layout, screen layout, report layout and transaction styles are closely adhered to.
That is, a template can control and pre-define the "look", but more importantly the "feel", of an application.
Some things to consider about templates are:
- They can generate complete programs when "Creating a new function".
- They can generate just small blocks of code directly from the RDML editor (e.g.: your site standard report header layout).
- They increase accuracy, productivity and consistency.
- They can standardize the "feel" or "style" of any number of standard transactions to exactly your site standards. This is more important to end users than the "look".
It is strongly recommended that you put aside time to develop or enhance the shipped application templates to exactly match your site standards.
This process is time consuming and requires a lot of testing.
The short term benefits may not even be apparent.
However, the long term benefits will justify the cost of doing this.
A recommended technique for doing this is "retro-fitting".
Create an RDML application program that performs some common type of "action" on, say, a customer master file.
Work the function over and over, until it represents exactly what you like in terms of a site standard for the "look" and "feel" of the "action".
Copy this function into a template, then "generalize" it so that it is capable of generating functions that perform the "action" on any file or files.
You now have a standard for the "look" and "feel" of that type of "action".
The consistency that this template produces will be of vast benefit to your end users and make the creation of programs that need to perform the "action" very fast, very easy and very accurate.
Refer to Application Templates for more information.