[N-ORCA Developer] N-ORCA improvements

[Jacob E. <jac...@ya...>]

I created a (very) simple gui that just allows me to
open/edit/save/run a norca project file, and started
digging deeper into the way the framework and
generation libraries are put together. In the process
of doing this, I found (and fixed) a bug or two and
started working on several areas where I think n-orca
can be improved.

Below are some things I am planning on doing, but that
wanted to get your oppinions on first:

1) I have started creating a "quick-start" tutorial
and accompanying files. The simpleProducts example is
good, but it already comes with a lot of steps done
for you. I think it would be a good idea to have a
more comprehensive tutorial that guides a new user
through the entire process of setting up and running a
n-orca project, and then greating a facade, proxy, and
GUI to work with the generated objects. So I've been
writing down some of the obstacles I've run accross as
I've been trying to create a project of my own from
zero.

2) Create templates for parts of the facade, proxy and
GUI. As I go about doing this myself, I think there's
room for automation in these layers. 

3) Rename the project file extension to ".norca". This
is a pretty trivial thing, but would allow things like
having an icon, right-click support in Explorer, etc.

4) Add a version marker to the project class and
consequently the project file. Ideally, any changes
made to the project structure will always be
backwards-compatible, but such a marker could be
usefull in handling version conflicts later on.

5) Add things like DescriptionAttributes to the
Project class (and associated classes) for displaying
in the GUI.

6) I'm thinking about different ways to automate some
things like creation of SimpleEntity accessor methods
and retrieving batches of BusinessObjects. Currently
the framework only creates accessor methods for
retrieving/saving individual BusinessObjects. The
creation of SimpleEntity collections is possible for
retrieving lists, but the configuration and SQL to
retrieve each entity type must be done manually. I
think many of these could be derived automatically
based on relationships between tables/entities (i.e.
RetrieveProductByProductType). Also, I think it may be
usefull at times to retrieve a list of BusinessObjects
using the same logic. An example might be when I am
displaying a purchase order and its line items. With
the current setup, I would have two choices: create
the list of line items using a SimpleEntityCollection
and retrieve each line item object when it is edited;
or I could create an additional accessor method for my
LineItemDataAccessor. Currently, both methods would
require some manual work. It would be nice to be able
to specify a relationship between Order and LineItem,
specify that I want to create a
BusinessObjectCollection based on that relationship,
and have n-orca spit out the appropriate stored
procedure and C# code.

Tonight I'll send the alterations I've made so far,
but I wanted to get any feedback, constructive
criticism, or insults on the above plans. Let me know
if I'm missing anything or if I'm way off base.

Thanks,
-Jacob Eggleston


		
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