Late Request for (small) 3.5 Documentation Add

Classic Servoy
1

I haven’t seen the 3.5 doc’s yet, but if the item below isn’t in there (and it’s not too late :? ) kindly consider:

“A paragraph or two on the significance of sorting through the relation versus sorting of the controller attached to a given form … implications for parent and child forms and tab panels …”

I was having trouble getting child records reliably sorted depending on how I entered a particular child record in a tab. If I selected the parent record first and then the tab control (index), all was fine. If I did it the other way round (tab control, index and then chose the parent record) the child record sort didn’t fire. Servoy simply chose the default order (primary key’s natural order - the initial sort setting for the form was ignored). No manner of tweaking (initial form sort order, onShow controller/foundset sorts, parent recordSelection sort firing) in any event or particular method sequence seemed to help.

I understand now (after some tinkering and experimenting in 3.5) how it works. For instance, as a developer I was making (incorrect) assumptions as to the applicability of the initial sort setting for a form in a related tabpanel context. I (incorrectly) assumed that child records would always remain sorted if they were sorted by default in a form through the initial sort setting. I assumed child records would simply be filtered (sort order preserved) by virtue of the parent-child tabpanel. Not so with sorting I discover!

What works reliably for me in 3.5 is the explicit issuance of the sort through the relationship. I had read the 3.5 Help screens on the regular controller.sort and the sort via the relationship. One cannot simply sort on a child form (via the controller, directly via the form’s foundset or even by explicit full_formname.controller) and then plan on the sort being “sticky”: the stickiness has conditions attached to it.

I think it would help one’s learning curve for the top level concepts on this topic to be communicated in the doc’s. Tips like the following would help the doc’s:

  1. When moving the parent form record in a tabpanel, make sure you issue a sort via the relationship to maintain the integrity and stickiness of the child table sort in all scenarios and event sequences. This can be accomplished by …

  2. Remember to issue a loadRecords(…) command when … and this should be placed in the … event area

Thanks!