Long description of Figure 1: Graphical Toolbox runtime environment (rzahh504.gif)
found in IBM Toolbox for Java: Displaying your panels at runtime
This figure illustrates how the elements of the Graphical Toolbox runtime environment
interact with application code.
Description
The figure is composed of several boxes of differing shapes, sizes, and colors
that are connected to each other by lines terminated by arrowheads at one or
both ends.
In order to visualize the figure, it is useful to divide it into three columns
and four rows, numbering the areas in sequence from top left to bottom right.
fo example, The first row contains areas 1, 2, and 3; the second row contains
areas 4, 5, and 6; and so on:
- The image of a dialog box that occupies areas 2 and 5 represents the GUI
interface for your Java program. The dialog box features a variety of options,
like check boxes, text fields, and so on.
- Two tan cylinders at the top of area 1 are labeled PDML Source and Resource
Bundle. These cylinders represent PDML source and Java resource files that
reside on a storage medium.
- One tan cylinder in area 10 labeled PDML Serialized represents one or more
serialized PDML files that reside on a storage medium.
- Five blue rectangles that surround the bottom portion of the dialog box
represent components of the Graphical Toolbox. Starting at the leftmost rectangle
and moving counter-clockwise, they are labeled:
- XML Parser (Pure Java) in area 4, which represents the IBM XML Parser.
- Runtime Managers (Pure Java) in area 7. Your Java program is a client
of one or more of the objects contained in Runtime Managers: Panels, Property
sheets, Wizards, and Layout.
- Common Data Exchanger (Pure Java) in area 8.
- Common Formatters (Pure Java) in area 9.
- Common Handlers (Pure Java) in area 6.
- Three green rectangles represent code provided by the application programmer
and are labeled:
- Custom Handlers (Java Application) in area 3
- Custom Formatters (Java Application) in are 12
- User Interface Data Beans (Pure Java) in area 11
- Lines connect many of the shapes:
- A line that has a single arrowhead (on one end) indicates an action.
Single arrowhead lines point toward a function or component that uses
the object from which the line originates. In the following description,
the word "use" means that a line with a single arrowhead points
toward an object from the component that acts upon it.
- A line that has a double arrowhead (one at each end) indicates an interaction.
These lines connect objects that share a two-way exchange of information.
In the following description, the word "interact" means that
the components are connected by a line with a double arrowhead.
The GUI interface for your Java program (the image of the dialog in areas 2
and 5) interacts with the Runtime Managers for the Graphical Toolbox (the blue
rectangle in area 7).
The Runtime Managers, which are pure Java, contain panels, property sheets,
wizards, and the GUI layouts. To generate the GUI, the Runtime Managers use
a Java resource bundle (one of two tan cylinders in area 1) and PDML data. Runtime
Managers can process PDML data in one of two ways:
- Using serialized PDML files (the tan cylinder in area 10)
- Using the IBM iSeries XML Parser (the blue rectangle in area 4), which in
turn uses (parses) the PDML source files (one of two tan cylinders in area
1)
Your GUI-enabled Java program operates on data in one of two ways:
- Having the GUI interface interact with custom handlers (the green rectangle
in area 3) and common handlers (the blue rectangle in area 6)
- Having the common data exchanger (the blue rectangle in area 8) use the
GUI interface to obtain information
The custom handlers, common handlers, and the common data exchanger all interact
with the user interface data beans (the green rectangle in area 11), passing
information back and forth. The common data exchanger interacts with common
formatters (the blue rectangle in area 9) and custom formatters (the green rectangle
in area 12) to convert the data into appropriate formats for the user interface
data beans.