Release 10.1A: OpenEdge Development:
Progress Dynamics Advanced Development

Object instance table

The ryc_object_instance table contains a record for each instance—each distinct usage or context within the application—of each SmartObject. This, therefore, represents a running instance of an object on a container, and every SmartObject instance is identified and distinguished based on the container in which it is run, that is, the context that makes the use of the object distinct. The object_instance table facilitates the allocation of specific attributes, links, and page numbers for the specific instance of an object.

The table holds object IDs that point to its container (container_smartobject_obj), the SmartObject that it is an instance of (smartobject_obj), its object type (object_type_obj), and its product module (product_module_obj). It also has these other fields:

system_owned — If this LOGICAL field is set to YES, this record can only be modified by users with a system-owned flag.
layout_position — This CHARACTER field is a code indicating where in the layout of a container the object belongs. The Layout Manager then uses this to automatically position objects at run time. The standard layout used for all container windows you build using the framework is now the “relative” layout, and for this layout type, the layout_position is always a three-character code. The first character is M if the object is anywhere in the main section of its container (which effectively means anywhere except the bottom line) or B if it is on the bottom line. The second and third characters are digits representing the row and column of the object, corresponding to the grid position you assign to it in the Container Builder. The row corresponds to the row 1–9 in the Container Builder grid. The column number corresponds to the column A–J of the Container Builder grid. For older containers, which mostly means container windows that make up some of the framework tools themselves, such as the windows on the Progress Dynamics Administration menu window, other layout types are used, and in this case the layout_position is something different, for example, top, center, bottom, etc. These other layout types are supported for backward compatibility only.
instance_name — The instance name CHARACTER field identifies the object instance uniquely within a container. It can simply be the same as the object name, or it can be changed to distinguish between two occurrences of the same object in the container (such as a toolbar used in two different places in the container). In the case of SDOs as containers for DataField objects, this name field holds the actual name of the field to use in the SDO field list. It should, therefore, never contain a table name or other prefix. Usually, the name matches the object name of the DataField object, but can differ, for example, where two tables exist in a single SDO with common field names. The use of the name field emulates the alias functionality that exists within SDOs, where a database field can be renamed in an SDO. In the case of an object used in a container, the field holds the name given to the instance in the Container Builder. This can be the same as the object name, or it can be different to distinguish between multiple instance of the same object in a container, or to identify its specific use within the container.
instance_description — The instance description CHARACTER field defaults to be the description from the , but it can be changed to describe the use of the object within the container, such as “top container toolbar” or “toolbar for order browser.”