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formax: enterprise-applications on terminals

formax is a tool for developing and executing user friedly character based database applications with extreme efficiency. The concept of Oracle Forms is combined with curses as the terminal interface, ODBC for universal database access and JavaScript for the trigger language. The result is the most efficient solution possible for the end-user. The applications can be build with minimal effort using a nocode approach.
Click on the image for a non technical description:

formax

Introduction

formax accesses the database and generate a screen that presents the data. The source form (.inp in practice a sql-script to create a sqlite3 database) is compiled into a binary (.frm in practice a sqlite3 database), that is run by the runtime component. The form is used to view and edit data in a database driven manner. The environment supplies builtin record creation, query, delete and update modes, each with its own default data manipulations. This minimizes the need for program code. formax can be seen as a "Nocode RAD" (Rapid Application Development).

The running form has an event driven interface and implements event handling functions called triggers which are automatically invoked at critical steps in the processing of records and the receipt of keyboard strokes. Different triggers may be called before, during, and after each critical step. Each event function is initially a stub, containing a default action or nothing. Programming therefore generally consists of modifying the contents of these triggers in order to alter the default behavior if necessary.

formax encorporates the concept of Oracle Forms with modern standards and current database best practices and technologies including all required enterprise features:

  • single column autoincrement primary key field
  • database integrity enforced through database
  • JavaScript for client scripting
  • regular expressions for validation
  • freedom to choose the database provider
  • multiple differnt databases simultaneously accessible
  • full logging of all queries in a single place
  • no free SQL for the enduser
  • no operating system exits in the form-engine
  • 3FA security can be setup easily

Status

Edge 1.5.0 is useable for single block single page forms. Don't hesitate to create any issues when in trouble.

Feature roadmap

  • 1.8 triggers
  • 1.9 in-field editing
  • 2.0 multi-record fields
  • 2.1 multiple blocks and master-detail
  • 2.5 list of values - subforms
  • 3.0 menue multiple forms
  • 3.5 transaction processing
  • cqy.y: 5 shift/reduce conflicts
  • sap-like batchinput
  • key macros

Playground

You can play with an example form simply by connecting ssh to formax.toarx.de with user scott and password tiger. If you are using PuTTY you must set for the session:

Window->Translation->Remote character set = ISO-8859-15
Connection->Data->Terminal-type string = putty

Install

Fork in github and create codespace or download and extract https://github.com/freakout42/formax/archive/refs/heads/main.zip

System preparation is needed to install the dependencies:

On codespace/debian/Ubuntu do the following:

sudo apt-get -y update
sudo apt-get -y install build-essential
sudo apt-get -y install python
sudo apt-get -y install unixodbc
sudo apt-get -y install libsqliteodbc
sudo apt-get -y install libncurses5-dev
sudo apt-get -y install flex

On RHEL/CentOS/Oracle/Alma/Rocky do the following:

sudo yum -y update
sudo yum -y group install "Development Tools"
sudo yum -y install python3
sudo yum -y install unixODBC
sudo yum -y install unixODBC-devel
sudo yum -y install ncurses-devel
sudo yum -y install sqlite
rpm -i https://github.com/freakout42/formax/releases/download/v0.9.9/sqliteodbc-0.9998-1.x86_64.rpm

Then do the following to build and install formax into /opt/arx/. Nothing outside /opt/arx/ will be touched in any way by the installation with the exception of /etc/profile.d/arx.sh which only adds /opt/arx/bin to the PATH.

./configure
make
sudo make install
. /etc/profile.d/arx.sh

Getting started

The following will guide you to creation, execution and maintenance of a form by using the components of formax. makeform (create), runform (execute) and editform (maintain). First change into a new directory where your development will live. Create a new database including the table depts with:

sqlite3 mydb.sq3
create table depts (id integer primary key not null, dname text, loc text);
insert into depts values (10, 'ACCOUNTING', 'NEW YORK');
insert into depts values (20, 'RESEARCH',   'DALLAS');
insert into depts values (30, 'SALES',      'CHICAGO');
insert into depts values (40, 'OPERATIONS', 'BOSTON');
.quit

You should now have a sqlite database in mydb.sq3. Create a default form for the table depts and execute it:

makeform deptform Departments depts id dname loc | sqlite3 myform.frm
runform myform.frm mydb.sq3

You will be in Insert-Mode and can enter data for new records. Press Enter without new data will get you into Query-Mode. Quit from the form after playing around with Ctrl-Y. Read the user guide for more information how to use the form.

Change the form layout and the default behaviour of the form with the editform utility. This will bring up your editor with the layout of the form and a form to maintain the field behaviour and at least the editor again with the full .inp-file for your form. You can test your changes by running runform again:

editform myform
runform myform.frm mydb.sq3

Read the developer guide for more information how to modify the form.

Documentation

User Guide Developer Guide Operator Guide Contributor Guide Have fun and profit.

License

GNU General Public License Version 3, 29 June 2007
Copyright (c) 2024, Axel K. Reinhold. All rights reserved.