OpenEdge Development:<br />Progress Dynamics Advanced Development Object type table

The Object Type table gsc_object_type really defines an object class. Object types are, in principle, hierarchical, so that an object type can inherit from other object types to define subclasses of other objects. Although this capability is not yet fully implemented in Progress Dynamics Version 2, the data structure is there to support it, and future releases will allow both the Progress Dynamics development team and application developers to define object types by subclassing other object types.

In the ADM2 code itself, of course, this is already done for SmartObjects, so that a SmartObject type, such as a SmartDataViewer, is defined in terms of a class hierarchy starting with smart.p and continuing down through visual.p, datavis.p, and viewer.p, and optionally container.p, if the viewer contains SmartDataFields. However, this hierarchy is not yet represented in the Repository itself and is defined by the nested include files that are part of the SmartObject’s code-based definition. What will happen in the future is that the definition of this hierarchy will be fully represented in the Repository itself, so that there is no need for the code that is currently compiled into the SmartObjects, including the procedures that act as drivers for objects defined in the Repository. When this happens, it will also be possible to define objects other than SmartObjects in the same hierarchical fashion, such as a class of widget, then a fill-in that extends the class of widget with specific attributes for fill-ins, then a class of date fill-ins, etc.

Object types are also used to define default values for many object attributes or properties, which are inherited by every object of that type that is created.

Table 8–1: The gsc_object_type table
FIeld	Description
object_type_code	This `CHARACTER` field is a unique character string to name this type of object.
object_type_descriptio n	This `CHARACTER` field can hold any useful description of the object type.
disabled	This `LOGICAL` field determines whether security checking is enabled for the object type. If the field is set to `YES`, then this object type is not checked by the security mechanism and full access is granted.
layout_supported	If this `LOGICAL` field is set to `YES`, then this is a noncontainer SmartObject that might require a layout if built dynamically.
static_object	Every `ryc_smartobject` record has a `static_object` field that identifies whether the object is either static, that is, having its own procedure file or dynamic, that is, generated strictly from data in the Repository. This `LOGICAL` field defines a default value for that `static_object` field for all objects of the type.
`deployment_type`	This `CHARACTER` field determines where objects of this type should be deployed. As with the `static_object` field, the field acts as a default for the `deployment_type` field stored in every `ryc_smartobject` record for the type. Valid values for this field are `SRV` for remote server only, `CLI` for client only, `WEB` for Web browser objects, or combinations as required, represented as a comma-delimited list, for example, `CLI`,`SRV`. This field assists developers in deploying applications on AppServers by helping define which objects should reside where.
`class_smartobject_obj`	An object type can be supported by a procedure that defines behavior for the type. This is the case for SmartObject classes, and might be true for other object types as well. If there is a class procedure for an object type, it is registered in the Repository in the `ryc_smartobject` table, like any other procedure. This object ID field points to that class procedure if it exists.
`extends_object_type_obj`	This object ID field defines the hierarchical relationship between object types. If it is defined, it points to the “parent” object type that the current object type extends or inherits from.
`product_module_obj`	Every object type is registered in a product module, and this object ID points to that record.