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The responsive user interface of apps created with Code On Time is intuitive.  Nevertheless the grids and forms do display generic text to provide basic user instructions.

This is an example of a grid view with the header text displayed above the data.

This is how the data form may look.


Each description can be changed individually in the Project Designer.

If you prefer a minimalist user interface then the descriptions may appear to be excessive. The unique architecture of apps created with Code On Time makes possible altering various aspects of an app with a just few lines of code.

For example, enable shared business rules in your app by selecting the corresponding option in Settings | Database Model & Business Logic | Shared Business Rules section of the project configuration. Re-generate the app. If you have existing custom "code" business rules, then open each rule and change the base class from BusinessRules to SharedBusinessRules.

Application framework will create an instance of SharedBusinessRules class or a custom version of it whenever a client request is processed through the server-side code. The framework retrieves the XML description of the corresponding data controller to handle the request.Then it provides the app with a chance to perform changes to the in-memory copy of the data controller. If the matching business rules class indicates that it supports data controller virtualization (customization at runtime), then the customization code is invoked. By default, no customization is performed. Developer can override virtualization code to make changes to the controller.

The header text definitions in views of data controllers are as shown in this sample:



Changed the file ~/app/App_Code/custom/Rules/SharedBusinessRules.cs as follows:

namespace MyCompany.Rules
{
    public partial class SharedBusinessRules : MyCompany.Data.BusinessRules
    {

        public override bool SupportsVirtualization(string controllerName)
        {
            return true;
        }

        protected override void VirtualizeController(string controllerName)
        {
            NodeSet().SelectViews().SetHeaderText(string.Empty);
        }
    }
}

Save the code file and observe that all views in the app are displayed without descriptions:



You can customize your data controllers selectively by inspecting the name of the data controller specified in the argument of VirtualizeController method.

Take you minimalist presentation even further by removing category descriptions in form views with this code.

protected override void VirtualizeController(string controllerName)
{
    NodeSet().SelectViews().SetHeaderText(string.Empty)
        .SelectCategory("c1").SetHeaderText(string.Empty).SetDescription(string.Empty);
}

Your forms will now have an even more streamlined data-only presentation:

Release 8.7.10.0 is yet another steps towards the wonderful v9. This release features exceptional speed of code generation when you are making project design iterations. If you have an existing project created awhile ago, then make sure that you can generate it with the new release to get ready for Live Project Designer in Code On Time v9.

Unlimited Edition Trial is also included. The new release removes the limit on the number of data models in the project. You can create apps with any number of entities.

We are accepting requests for private live demonstrations of Offline Sync. A number of framework enhancements are introduced in the release in the preparation for the launch of this new exciting product. Just a few clicks will magically convert your online database app into disconnected (always offline) application.

If you would like to see the demo of Offline Sync then please open a support ticket and let us know your availability. Numerous changes to the Offline Data Processor (ODP) are included in the release. The completion date of ODP is rapidly approaching. We will switch the version numbering to 8.8.0.0 when ODP is released to production.

The following features and bug fixes are included in release 8.7.10.0:

• (Touch UI) Calendar view correctly evaluates values of primary key fields when the presented in summary mode (dashboard).
• (Client Library) Visible When and Read Only When expressions correctly evaluate $master.FieldName expressions.
• (Offline Sync) Data download is initiated when "starting.app" event is triggered to prevent blinking.
• (Framework) If an app without authentication is asked to confirm the user identity by Cloud On Time on branded app then a suggestion to add membership to the app is displayed. The app without a security system will not be installed.
• (Model Builder) Command "Add all entities" will create data models for each remaining entity in alphabetic order.
• (Touch UI) Tab bar algorithm shows "More" button with invisible tabs in fewer situations. Most of the time all tabs will be visible if there is a real estate on screen. Previously "..." option was rendered even when there was some space to fit the tabs at the bottom of the screen.
• (Framework) Cached ~/touch-settings.json will be reloaded if it has changed or if web.config has changed.
• (Project Wizard) New Project form does not show the name of the previously selected project in the window title anymore.
• (Framework) Commit result is marked with date+time in "Date" property when returned to Offline Data Processor.
• (Touch UI) Method $app.touch.toSmartDate(d) will return a smart date produced from the supplied date value.
• (Framework) Exception is not raised when calling headerField() method on a data view that was not fully initialized.
• (Touch UI) The text of static lookup items is presented correctly in grid/list/cards. Radio Button List, Check Box List, and List Box correctly show the selected value in edit mode for such items.
• (Touch UI) The background of the field name in context menu displayed for field values is matched with the background color of the popup.
• (ODP) If the entire set of rows is provided and the partially-loaded  set of rows does not exist then the row-by-row processing with key comparison is not performed.
• (ODP) If pageSize is not defined in ODP configuration then the default value is 100.
• (Touch UI) If event menuitem.app has stopped selection of menu item then the visual "selected" style is applied to the previously selected item.
• (AppGen) Data access objects and Blob.generated.cs(vb) files are re-generated when controllers are changed.
• (AppGen) Adaptive code generation minimizes transformation of unchanged files.
• (AppGen) Publishing of the app will cause refresh of the ApplicationServices.Generated.cs(vb) file during the next code generation session.
• (Framework) Arguments in the URL specified in the root of the app will not cause an exception when CMS is enabled.