[Lazarus] lfm file format

[Marc Santhoff]

On So, 2014-04-06 at 21:03 +0200, Michael Van Canneyt wrote:
> 
> On Sun, 6 Apr 2014, Marc Santhoff wrote:
> 
> >>> by a generator program. If there is any existing code that can be reused
> >>> it would be very helpful.
> >>
> >> This is too vague. What do you want to achieve?
> >
> > I'm thinking about a programm that:
> > - opens a database
> > - generates form and source for each table
> > - uses mapping db-type -> gui component
> > - uses configuration
> >
> > If you ever used the "Database Form Wizard/Assistant" of Openoffice you
> > know what I want. Not exctly that way, but in result a basic form that
> > can be trimmed to fit by hand afterwards.
> 
> Yes !
> 
> Please consider donating that to Lazarus :)

I thought about it, could be a good idea to get help.

> If you do, here some ideas:
> - Allow both grid/detail form.

Try the Wizard of Openoffice, the third (or so) step let's the user
switch between
- grid
- label above input field
- label in front of input field
- flating left to right, top to bottom (I'm not interested in this)

> - Let the user control to some extent the kind of control that is generated.

See mapping above. I was thinking about a type->component list to use at
generation time.

> - Having the ability to specify lookup controls for foreign key fields are important.
>    That may include creating a new dataset that fetches data from the referenced table.

I know, that's what e.g. Butler (java, on sourceforge) does. Not sure if
this is too much work for a first start.

> I have created such a wizard for Delphi (closed source) and it really helps creating 
> forms very quickly. Having this available in Lazarus would be a real asset.

To reduce workload my idea is to have a standalone program. This saves
me from learning Lazarus' internals and wizard API. Maybe someone else
could take this task somewhen.

Currently I'm only in a pre-planning phase, my goal know is to check how
much work this would be, because it's a spare time effort.

[I knew I would open a can of worms ;)]

-- 
Marc Santhoff <M.Santhoff at web.de>