MxPart or a user interface is the aggregate of means by which people (the users) interact with an application. The user interface provides means of input and output. Input allows the users to manipulate with data in an application. Output allows the application to produce the effects of the users' manipulation. To work with an application, the users need to be able to control the data and assess the state of them. The quality of the user interface is measured by the amount of effort the user must expend to provide input for the application and to interpret the output of the application, and how much effort it takes to learn how to do this. The process of using the application effective, efficient and satisfying must be primary objective of any good development tool.
In MX-Developer it is possible to design user interfaces on several different segments. The main and most frequently used segment is building user interface with MxPart component. With MxPart component it is possible to develop user interfaces that can be accessed through a navigation menu or it can be implemented in a workflow and is displayed as a part of business logic.
The other two alternatives of building a user interface is when creating a wizard with MxWizard component or custom editor with MxComplexEditor component. Implementing these two components also involves designing user interface. The method of designing an interface is basically the same for all three components. The design itself consists of three basic steps:
- Creating user interface surface with appropriate designer
- Adding controls to the design surface.
- Setting initial properties for the controls.
User Interface Surface
Although it is also possible to create user interface by manually writing your own code, components enable the developer to do this work much faster, efficient, transparent, etc. If Mx component is used, the possibility of producing a bug is eliminated. Therefore a component such as MxPart is the best way to design user interfaces.
Adding Controls
It does not matter which component is used the method is the same. Controls are dragged with a mouse from the Toolbox. Controls are intended for visual representation of data. Several different controls such as Grid, Combo, Text, Chart, Report, etc. are available. The developer is not limited to the list of controls that MX-Developer offers. Developer can also use custom made controls or any other control at his disposal.
Setting Properties
After the user interface is designed the data, data binding and the behaviour of user interface must be defined. This is achieved by setting properties for individual control as well as the user interface in general. This way it is also defined which data is displayed and the method in which the end user can manipulate with it. Each control offers different set of properties which can be used to completely customize an interface.
In This Section
Overview of how an user interface should be build using MxPart component.
Instructions on how to create MxPart item in Visual Studio.
Overview of what project components really are and how to use them in MX-Developer.
Overview of individual control, its purpose, features and detailed instructions on how to use it and configure it.
Explains the main principal of navigation in MX-Frame applications.
Overview of state management feature, along with property descriptions and instructions on how to implement it.