Overview of User Interface Features

ACUCOBOL-GT® is part of the extend® family of Micro Focus solutions.

In addition to the standard display handling included in ANSI-85 COBOL, ACUCOBOL-GT offers a comprehensive set of extensions for programming and managing Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs). With these extensions, an ACUCOBOL-GT developer can add a full-featured, native GUI to an existing program entirely in COBOL. The purpose of these extensions is to:

• allow developers to create a fully graphical program in COBOL for use on systems such as Microsoft Windows.
• allow developers to use a mix of graphical and character-based interfaces in one program. Graphical features can be added to an existing program without the need to rewrite the entire user interface.
• allow programmers to develop graphical interface specifications that are portable to a variety of host systems.
• support graphical features in a way that is natural for COBOL.
• mimic existing COBOL screen syntax as closely as possible to simplify the task of reworking a character-based program into a graphical program.
• avoid the need to do event loop programming that is common for graphical systems, but foreign to most COBOL programs.
• make it easy to add new graphical capabilities in the future.

ACUCOBOL-GT supports the emulation of graphical controls and windows on character-based systems. This emulation allows you to more easily write a single program that will run on both character and graphical systems. ACUCOBOL-GT supports the emulation of floating windows and the following control types: label, entry field, push button, radio button, frame, check box, list box (including infinite capacity list box), and combo box.

You can also use ACUCOBOL-GT's traditional text-oriented mechanisms for creating your user interface, such as the textual forms of the ACCEPT and DISPLAY verbs, and Format 1 of the Screen Section. In addition, you can use the Screen Section extensions to define and process both character-based and graphical user interface screens.

Unless otherwise indicated, the references to Windows in this manual denote the following 32-bit versions of the Windows operating systems: Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows NT 4.0 or later, Windows 2000, Windows 2003; and the following 64-bit versions of the Windows operating system: Windows Server 2003 x64, Vista x64. In those instances where it is necessary to make a distinction among the individual versions of those operating systems, we refer to them by their specific version numbers (such as Windows 2000 or Windows NT 4.0).

Generally, ACUCOBOL-GT GUI supports include:

• syntax extensions for creating native floating windows, toolbars, and controls (such as buttons, entry fields, and labels)
• the ability to create and manage menu bars with pull-down submenus
• configuration variables for customizing windows, importing icons, and mapping colors
• many host specific features such as message boxes and context-sensitive help

Specifically, ACUCOBOL-GT's GUI programming supports include:

• native floating (moveable) windows, including:
  • "modal" and "modeless" window types
  • default and custom window size and position
  • dynamically resizeable windows
  • configurable borders
  • programmable title bar
  • optional system menu
• GUI controls, including:
  • labels
  • entry fields
  • standard and infinite capacity list boxes
  • combo boxes
  • push buttons
  • radio buttons
  • check boxes
  • frames
  • bars*
  • scroll bars*
  • tabs*
  • tree views
  • bitmaps*
  • grids*
  • status bars
  • Web browsers*
  • .NET, ActiveX, and COM elements*
• menu bars and submenus
• display of bitmaps and bitmap buttons*
• toolbars*
• access to the native message box facility
• access to the native file open and file save-as dialog boxes*
• access to the native help facility and support for context sensitive help
• specialized mouse handling
• font selection and handling
• custom colors
• the ability to play ".WAV" audio files on Microsoft Windows systems with sound capabilities

ACUCOBOL-GT run-time supports include:

• full object code compatibility
• the creation and run-time management of native floating windows and graphical controls on Microsoft Windows and Windows NT
• automatic text-mode emulation of floating windows and most graphical controls, except bars, scroll bars, tabs, animated bitmaps, bitmap buttons, and toolbars
• automatic mouse support
• automatic menu bar handling
• extensive color mapping facilities
• access to the Windows print spooler
• automatic multi-tasking support
• network compatibility
• access to all memory available under Windows