METHOD AND APPARATUS OF DEVELOPING A BUSINESS APPLICATION COMPUTER-PROGRAM

摘要

A high-level business application computer-program development environment for extending the functionality of fourth-generation programming languages such as Progress. The environment provides for the definition of a series of windows for user interaction. Each such windows procedure is initially independent of any program module, and is based on a pre-arranged program template. A binding utility removes and relocates portions of each windows procedure into a global include file, this file a portion of the computer program created. In a further embodiment, the environment allows automatic tracking and updating of program variables defined in different program modules, a librarian utility to track and store program source files, compact support files created by the environement being extended, as well as to un-compact such support files on an as-needed basis. Through program templates, multi-tasking and multi-threading of program execution support is also provided.