HMG-IDE In Short

HMG-IDE Harbour MiniGUI Integrated Development Environment is a comprehensive and highly sophisticated project management utility. It is also extremely facilitated to easily use.

It’s possible to build and manage an entire project from scratch under this utility; without needing cryptic batch command ( .bat ) file, without interesting endless compiler / linker switches, etc.

HMG-IDE is more than a project maker :

  •  A clever form editor
  •  A database files ( Tables ) manager
  •  A report builder / editor

HMG-IDE_InShort

HMG-IDE come as two flawor : ANSI and Unicode versions. Dont worry about it, this two version works almost exectly same; only difference is Unicode supoort. You may use either depending on either your need to Unicode or not.

HMG-IDE has four part :

Control Panel : This main window is constituted on a menu bar and a tool box, having many command buttons with descriptive tool tips.

Project Browser : You can view, select and inspect all project elements in this window. henever you add or exclude a project element (module (program source file), form, resource, report …), IDE automatically updates the project browser.

Object Inspector : This window is for view and change properties and events of GUI elements in your forms.

Form design board : A chalk board for designing forms and directing its graphical elements.

 

Browse by IDE

BROWSE is a control a few complicated than others. However HMG-IDE successfully support it.

In this sample we will build a Browse based application in a few steps using HMG-IDE.

Step – 1 : Make a folder for this sample.

Step – 2 : Copy TEST.DBF and TEST.DBT from \hmg\SAMPLES\TUTORIAL folder to your new folder.

Step – 3 : Run HMG-IDE and chose “New Project”.

IDE will ask you location and name for the new project; denote the folder you had build in the first step and give a name, say “IDEBrowse”.

IDE will build a new main module named “Main.Prg” and a new main form named “Main.fmg”

Step – 4 :

Double click “Main.prg” in the “Modules” tab of “Project Browser” window for editing this “main” module:

IDE send this module (.prg) file to your programing editor.

You will see your main program written by IDE :

#include <hmg.ch>

Function Main
 Load Window Main
 Main.Center
 Main.Activate
Return

Step – 5 :

Since BROWSE is a table based control, we must have a table and files opening/closing routines; these aren’t duties of IDE.

So add this two little procedures to the main.prg for opening and closing table:

Procedure OpenTables()
Use Test Shared
Return
Procedure CloseTables()
Use
Return


 Step – 6 :

Now, it’s time for making some arrangements on the form:

Title :

– Click  “Object Inspector [Main.Fmg]\Form\Properties\Title” :


– Give a “Title”, say “IDE Browse Sample” to form :


On Init Procedure :

– By clicking “Object Inspector [Main.Fmg]\Form\Events\OnInit” ;


– Assign OpenTables() procedure name to this event:

On Release Procedure :

– By clicking “Object Inspector [Main.Fmg]\Form\Events\OnRelease”;

– Assign CloseTables() procedure name to this event:

Step – 7 :

Now, we can place BROWSE control in our form:

– Click BROWSE button in the Toolbox:

– Then click anywhere in the form :

– Re-size control by dragging “resize” mark at the lower rigth corner :
 

 
 – If required, change placement of control by using “replace” mark ( at the upper-left corner )

 

– By using these two marks, you can place control in the form whatever you like:


 Step – 8 :

And now, we will make some arrangements on the BROWSE control :

After activating ( by clicking on it ) BROWSE control;

By selecting “Object Inspector[Main.Fmg]\Browse_1\Properties” give these properties to Browse_1 control:

– “Fields” property :

{‘Test->Code’,’Test->First’,’Test->Last’,’Test->Birth’,’Test->Married’,’Test->Bio’}

– “Headers” property :

{ ‘Code’, ‘First Name’, ‘Last Name’, ‘Birth Date’, ‘Married’, ‘Biography’ }

– “Widths” property :

{ 150, 150, 150, 150, 150, 150 }

– “Work Area” property :

Test

Note that “array” properties requires open and close curly-braces (‘{}’),  character properties doesn’t requires quotation marks (“”).

.
If you want allow editing  abilities to user, you have change default values (.F.) of these properties to .T.

 ALLOWEDIT
 ALLOWAPPEND
 ALLOWDELETE
 

Last Step :

That is All !

Click “Run” button ( or select “Run” from Project menu or simply press F5 key) for see results :


You have now a BROWSE based HMG application generated  by IDE.

When you use “Run” command or attempt to closing   your form by clicking “X” button, IDE ask you saving it ( if any change you have made ). You may also use Project\Save Form menu command.

Since IDE is a “Two-Way Form Designer”, you can edit .fmg files by double clicking its name in the “Forms” tab   of “Project Browser” window.

And since .fmg files are pure HMG source code, you can open a .fmg file by your editor to see  form source  code generated by IDE. Inspecting this code may be useful for better understanding and learning HMG.

You can also edit this file manually, but under your own risk ! Some modifications may not suitable to the standards of Form Designer.

HMG IDE Basics

HMG-IDE

Harbour MiniGUI Integrated Development Environment is a comprehensive and highly sophisticated project management and form design tool. It is also extremely facilitated to easily use. HMG-IDE has four windows:

  1. Main Window (Control Panel),
  2. Project Browser,
  3. Object Inspector and
  4. Form Design Board.

You may use IDE for project management, for form design purpose or for both.

HMG-IDE Main Window ( Control Panel )

The main window is constituted on a menu bar and a tool box, having many command buttons with descriptive tool tips. This tool box may consider two sections:  project management tools and form design tools. Form design tools are divided into a “main controls” area and a “builders” area.

The project management tools allow you all project based works with interactive manner. This includes building and running projects without complex batch processing and environment configuration tasks. Project management tools buttons are:

Project Management Buttons

Project Browser

The Project Browser window’s tabs: Project Browser Tabs

  1. Modules,
  2. Forms,
  3. Resources,
  4. Reports,
  5. Configuration,
  6. Include and
  7. Tables

You can view, select and inspect all project elements in this window. Whenever you add or exclude a project element (module (program source file), form, resource, report …), IDE automatically updates the project browser.

Object Inspector 

The Object Inspector window is for view and change properties and events of GUI elements in your forms. Object Inspector

You can observe and modify properties and events value of graphical elements of your form in the Object Inspector window.

Form Window

The form window is a chalk board for designing forms and directing its graphical elements. New or existing, when you open a form, this windows also opened by IDE. With only two clicks you can easily place controls on your form: the first on desired button of control in form design tool box and the second one is anywhere in form you like. After placed, you can resize and change its place by dragging.

HMG IDE FormWindow

Controls :

In GUI programming jargon, GUI elements are called as control. HMG offers tons of controls and HMG-IDE successfully supports all of them.

At the beginning you have a form (window) and then you can easily replace any control onto this form. Simply click button of control to used, and then click any place on form to indicate placement (upper left corner) of control.

In short, you can build a complete form by only two clicks for each control. For example, suppose that we want putting an image control on our form; the button of image control is here:

First click this “image” button the toolbar of HMG-IDE, and then click anywhere in the form. This clicked point in the form, will be left upper corner of control; in this case : image.

This isn’t image itself, only a place-holder for image control.

When you placed a control in your form, IDE assign default values to its properties and events.

You can change the placement of control dragging by mouse with upper left corner ( point no: 1) of this place-holder and resize it with lower down corner ( point no: 2 ).

As first placed and whenever you select (click) any control in the form, this control come active in Object Inspector.   And as following on Object Inspector, every control has many properties and events. Since IDE assigned default values to all properties and events of that control, we don’t have learning meaning of all of them, at least at the beginning.

Whenever you change these values interactively on the form, IDE also updates them internally. You can observe and modify them in the Object Inspector window. HMG forms are designed “two way” manner. Saved in a readable format; in fact they are pure HMG source codes, neither binary nor cryptic. You can separately open,  inspect and also modify them. When opened by IDE, they are automatically converted to visual form.

Yes, you can edit .fmg file out of HMG, via any text editor when necessary. But please be careful, some points may be left out standards of IDE, though they have legal syntax.

IDE Toolbar :

IDE Toolbar ( indicated in above image by “Form Design Tools” ) has a button for each control. Every button has its own tool-tip; when mouse cursor keep over a button, tool-tip become visible and say name of this control.

Anyway here long name of all control is here:

Builders :

HMG-IDE has several builders for some relatively complex controls: You can use these features for placing  appropriate controls in your form: