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 Technical Specification

This is a quick guide to the technical and user features of the JDesignerPro development system and the BulletProof Enterprise Server. This document avoids lengthy explanations and general background about Web architecture. More feature details and architecture information can be obtained in BulletProof’s user manual and Feature and Screen Shot areas on this website.

JDesignerPro, the Development and Deployment System for Java
from BulletProof Corporation

JDesignerPro General Features

  • Written in Java
   JDesignerPro Development system written entirely in Java. Run locally or collaboratively, networked through browsers.
  • Creates pure Java code
   Automatic creation of pure Java source code, optimized SQL and server messaging through visual coding. Source can be modified by developer.
  • Visual drag & drop building
   The client application is built by dropping components and JavaBeans onto a canvas and linking them through the visual selection of their Methods and Parameters.
  • 3 tier system
   JDesignerPro is a 3-tier development system. The finished products are Web-based 3-tier applications Tier 1 is the JDesignerPro-built client with messaging to and from the Enterprise Server, the middle, or 2nd tier, and messaging via JDBC/ODBC to and from the database or other server process, which make up tier 3.
  • Business rules and logic on client and/or server
   Application logic and business rules can reside in all tiers. Developers can program into the Java client and into Enterprise Server or have calls go from the Enterprise Server to ORBs or server-side executables with server-side logic.
  • Runs on any OS with a Virtual Machine
   Install JDesignerPro on Windows 95, NT, Linux, Solaris, AIX, HP/UX, OS/2, Mac or anywhere there is a Java Virtual Machine.
  • Uses JDK 1.1.1 on the server.
   JDesignerPro uses the Sun JDK 1.1.1 technology on the server. This gives you support for JavaBeans and other new 1.1.1 features. The client applications are JDK 1.02 compatible and run fine on all current browsers.

Optimal Development System:

The optimal machine configuration to do JDesignerPro development includes:

  • Windows Hardware (this or better): Pentium 166 CPU, with big cache. 32MB RAM.
  • Software: Windows NT.
  • UNIX Hardware (this or better): Sun SPARC 5 or Creator 3D or equivalent. 32MB RAM.
  • Software: Latest version of Solaris, Linux, AIX, HP/UX.

Deployment Server Requirements:

In addition to the development system requirements, these things must be installed on the sever from which your JDesignerPro-built application(s) will be deployed:

  • A webserver such as any of the Netscape line of servers, Microsoft IIS or other robust HTTP server.
  • A database installed with the appropriate JDBC or ODBC drivers installed. Recommended databases include Oracle, Sybase, Informix, SQL Server, DB/2 or other enterprise database.

Client Requirements:

  • Any computer connected to the network that runs the Netscape Navigator, Communicator, MS-Internet Explorer. Network Computers like the Sun JavaStation, IBM NC, Oracle NC that run the JavaOS or Java browser are also compatible. A good minimum for the Memory Cache is 8MB and the Disk Cache is 20MB.

  • The user of this computer simply enters a URL in the browser. That Web page needs an applet tag, explained below, which launches JDesignerPro and any modules like HelpDesk or your own applications.

JDesignerPro Builder Details

Application Builder (App Builder), 33 total built-in components.

1. BulletProof Data Aware Components

  1. Columns - for adding any number of fields to a form.
  2. Search Panel
  3. Search Results List and Tree Control
  4. Detail Grid
  5. Summation Report Layout
  6. Chart Layout
  7. Choice Box
  8. List Box
  9. E Mail Client
  10. Alphanumeric Wireless Paging Client

2. Standard AWT Components

  1. Java Layout Panel
  2. Labels
  3. Text Field
  4. Text Area
  5. Button
  6. List
  7. Choice
  8. Radio Buttons
  9. Checkbox
  10. Scroll bar

3. BulletProof Extended Components

  1. JDPButtons - Graphics and/or text on any number of buttons. Numerous button icons to choose from.
  2. Chisel Panel - Chisel border with header to place around any part of form.
  3. Scroll Panel - BulletProof Layout type for automatically adding scroll bars if form goes over edge of screen.
  4. Tab Panel - Add any number of components to any number of tabs simply by dropping components.
  5. Grid Panel
  6. Tree Control
  7. Rich text - Color, sizing, wrapping, etc.
  8. Image - pass any image locator path for GIF and TIFF to display.
  9. HTML Panel - HTML browser to add to any application for clickable text within your app.

More components are adding in each release. If you require a specific component let us know and we'll construct it for you.

 

 4. BulletProof Non-Visual Components
  1. E Mail - for more control over E Mail client.
  2. Alphanumeric Paging
  3. Server Command - for application partitioning. Add server-side process calls to client events.
  4. Database - Database commands and procedures.

5. Custom Components

  1. Any compiled project within JDesignerPro can be re-used as a component in another application simply by dropping it in.

6. JavaBeans, Swing and other Components

  1. Import any JavaBean, Java component, Swing or other compatible component.

App Builder Property settings - Here is a partial list of the properties that can be set for a component. Introspection is used to expose a complete list of properties for each native and imported component.

  1. Layout Position
  2. Panel Layout type
  3. Popup mouse over message
  4. Component Status
  5. Tab order
  6. Font
  7. Font Style
  8. Font size
  9. Foreground/Font Color
  10. Background Color
  11. Enabled / disabled
  12. Visible / not visible
  13. Component Title
  14. Number of Buttons
  15. Button Icons / Text
  16. Component Alignment
  17. Tab Panel - # of tabs
  18. Specific Properties for E Mail, Alpha Paging, Report, Charting
  19. Text area height and column width
  20. Text area editable / not editable
  21. Number of Check boxes / Radio buttons
  22. Check box, Radio button grouping
  23. Scroll Bar default height, Min and Max values.
  24. HTML and Image file locations
  25. Additional properties depending on component.

JDesignerPro Builder - Layout and Data Binding

  • Component layout is not done with exact coordinate positioning. JDesignerPro uses only the Java Layout Manager methods to arrange components. This ensures WYSIWYG development and for final applications on all Java-compatible platforms.
  • During development, components appear exactly as they will on the finished application.
  • Data Aware components automatically call the Data Wizard. The Data Wizard allows access to any JDBC or ODBC-compatible data source driver. Multiple joins of various types may be done.
  • A single form may display data from a single or multiple data sources, even databases. For example, some fields may display data from Oracle, others from MS-SQL Server, etc.
  • Components and their source can be re-generated and edited by the developer. Data binding can be modified on the fly and the source will be regenerated automatically.
  • The design environment supports drag and drop of components.
  • The Layout View uses a tree hierarchy to clearly display the nesting of panels and components.
  • For database specifications, see JaggServer, below.

Interaction Manager

This is a visual system for linking components and defining their action events.

  • The possible action events for selected components are shown automatically in the Interaction Manager.
  • The Interaction Manager also displays all the methods of all the other components currently on the form. The methods to call for an action event are chosen visually from a tree hierarchy.
  • When a method is selected for an action event, the Interaction Manager then displays the parameters in another tree that match the method. Coding is done visually down to the parameter level.
  • Pure Java source is generated through this set of mouse clicks. Source can be edited and saved by the developer.

Source Editor

The source window displays the source generated by JDesignerPro and allows editing, new method creation, compiling and error message trapping.

  • Developers can view source at the component level by method and edit and save changes.
  • The source is also available for the entire module but may not be edited as a whole.
  • Source changed at the component level will be saved, compiled and retained as long as that component is not entirely regenerated. The data wizard will warn you if manual source changes will be lost when using the wizard to regenerate a component.
  • At the end of a compile, the completed screen module is automatically displayed and can be deployed to a menu in an application system or built directly into an HTML page, the HTML source for which is created by JDesignerPro and may be edited by the developer.

System Maintenance

JDesignerPro’s System Maintenance features allow the System Administrator to control all the deployment aspects of an application. These include Application Menu hierarchy, User information, user and group authorization, and system settings. A menu in JDesignerPro is a Tab with a title that loads a screen module when the tab is clicked. The settings include:

1. System Maintenance
  • Search and Result lists to display the available systems.
  • The ability to create and modify systems.
  • System Number - To allow multiple application systems deployed from the same server.
  • Description
  • Font sizes and colors - To control the System-wide look and feel.
  • Default date format.
 4. User Menu Authorization
  • Username, First and Last Name
  • Status - non-editable here.
  • Initial menu to start at login
  • Authorization codes and group for each user.
2. Menu Maintenance
  • Search and Result lists to display the available menus.
  • The ability to create and modify menus.
  • Parent Menu name and Option number
  • Menu pointer and Module parameter to load Java class.
  • Colors of the tab and its title text.
  • Status - Active/Inactive
  • Authorization Codes/Levels - for user and group Access Control
 5. User System Authorization
  • User ID, Username, First and Last Name
  • Status
  • Systems - A list of the application systems to which this user can login.
3. User Maintenance
  • Search and Result lists to display the available users.
  • The ability to create and modify user profiles.
  • Username and Password
  • Status - Active, Pending, Suspended, Cancelled.
  • Name, Address, E-mail, Phone
 6. User Billing Details
  • Username, First and Last Name
  • Status
  • Credit Card information

By keeping these System Maintenance items on separate screens, different System Administrators can have differing levels of access to user profiles, authorizations and billing information. The billing information is handy for online service businesses that use JDesignerPro systems on their website.

Tools

The Tools feature of JDesignerPro is a set of light weight database tools to facilitate remote management. These include:

  • Database Maintenance. Use this Java front end to administer remote database tables. This area allows creation, modification and dropping of tables in any database viewable by JAGGServer. Proper login access to the databases is required before these actions can be done.
  • SQL Interactive. A handy screen for doing adhoc queries over any of your databases. Comes with a built in SQL wizard to help those unfamiliar with SQL syntax create queries easily.

BulletProof Enterprise Server, the Scalable Application Server and Middleware

The BulletProof Enterprise Server is JDesignerPro’s middle tier. JaggServer is the service running in the Enterprise Server that handles the transmission of data and requests to and from your JDesignerPro client applications. The messaging to JaggServer from the Java client is automatically built into your JDesignerPro-built applications. When JDesignerPro creates the source for your front-ends, that source includes all the necessary calls to JaggServer, including the SQL. The protocol used is based on the JaggServer API. BulletProof plans to continue to open JDesignerPro to handle IIOP, CORBA and other vendors messaging between the JDesignerPro-built client and any middleware.

Today you can get to CORBA objects through standard products like the I-Kinetics OpenJDBC and Visigenic VisiBroker products.

The Enterprise Server is written in Java and uses the JDBC specification. It's features include:

  • Application logic and Business Rules. You can create your own server side processes and applications that run in the Enterprise Server.
  • Executing database stored procedures. Results can be returned to the client or other server-side events can be triggered based on results.
  • Calling other server-side applications and processes. Server executables, written in any language, can be called to run. The data returned from a server executable can be sent to the client in an array.
  • Scalability with connection management. JaggServer automatically handles connection scalability. The number of end-users who may be logged into a system concurrently is over 10,000. When a user logs in, JaggServer assigns a database connection. If that connection lays idle for a few seconds, JaggServer will reassign that database connection to another request. Only the clients that are requesting access to the data at any one moment are given a connection to the database. These client connections are opened and closed quickly. Depending on the level of activity and amount of data accessed, each actual connection to the database can handle one hundred or more clients.
  • JDBC and ODBC connectivity. JaggServer puts out JDBC calls. Compatible database drivers include Oracle 7, 8, Personal Oracle 7, Oracle Workgroup Server and Oracle Universal Server, Informix, Sybase 10, Sybase 11, MS-SQL Server, Access, FoxPro, IBM DB/2.
  • Application delivery. When a user logs in to a JDesignerPro system, JaggServer handles the delivery of the Java client screens to the user as the user requests each screen. The user is delivered only the applications screens to which that person is authorized.
  • State Management. Both the Java client and JaggServer maintain state information during a user session. Even if the user loses the network connection, the state is maintained and information can be saved once the connection is restored. There are no Cookies or other complicated mechanisms to worry about, state is handled automatically.
 


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