The Repositories (Magic xpa 3.x)
The workspace of a Magic xpa application is constructed of a collection of repositories in which the building blocks of the application are defined, accessed and managed. Magic xpa projects are often very large, mission-critical applications. The Studio itself helps you keep your work organized, dividing your work into repositories. Within each of these repositories, you can further categorize your entries into folders.
Every Magic xpa application utilizes the following repositories:
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Models – A collection of prototype definitions for the basic elements of the application, which includes data and visual elements.
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Data Sources – A collection of all the data sources of the application, including databases and XML documents.
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Programs – The core elements of the application. The executable entities that make the application run and function.
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Help Screens – A collection of help pages, tooltips, and comments screens used by the application.
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Rights – A collection of all the available user rights, which are referred to by the application for automatic resolution according to the assigned rights of the user running the application.
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Menus – A collection of menus and context menus that are used throughout the application.
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Composites Resources – A collection of all the components used by the application.
Any modification introduced to each of the elements in each repository is reflected immediately in the referencing elements providing full inheritance and immediate reflection of cross application changes.
The development paradigm of Magic xpa is based on references made throughout the application to connect the various elements into a fully functional application.
Magic xpa’s repositories use these internal reference numbers to keep track of the various objects behind the scenes. Therefore, if you delete or move an entry in the repository, the numbers in the Magic xpa Studio will be renumbered, but Magic xpa will use the internal number so references to all of the entries will not be lost.
The pre-definition of every element in the application allows for constant reuse of the pre-defined elements. Prime examples of this are Magic xpa’s models and components. The models can be used to define the look and feel of every interface object, including text fields, radio buttons, tables, table columns, print formats, and Web browser screens. You can take this a step further by creating a library of models, data sources, and programs that are reusable across many projects. You can also upgrade the library without changing the project that uses it. These libraries are called Magic xpa components.
