Designing Your Own Framework

by Jim Booth

Overview.. .What we will see

Designing a framework is not a small undertaking. There are

many considerations to be addressed by the design. Using an

effective design can mean the difference between success or

failure on a development project.

In this paper we wilt discuss the major points and issues related

to the design of an application framework. The high points are

listed below.

* Establishing Requirements

* Determining the Scope of the framework

* Abstract Design

* Designing Class Hierarchy

* Making a Framework Flexible

What we will NOT see

One of the major problems encountered in object oriented

design is being so caught up in the detail of implementation that

the whole picture cannot be seen. This paper will circumvent

this problem by NOT discussing the details of implementation,

but will instead focus on the abstract design and the issues

involved with that design.

Issues and items which will not be discussed are:

* Specific Code

* Specific Class Definitions

* Specific Third Party Frameworks

What is a framework?

It is the underlying skeleton upon which an application is built.

A framework has certain responsibilities in the functioning of an

application. These responsibilities are:

* Menu Management

* Form Management

* Security Management

* Communication Management

* Data Access Management

Establishing Requirements

Probably the one most influential factor governing the success

(Con’t, page 3)

In this issue

Keep Track of .EXE’s

Dates and Times

Job Opportunities

At LA Fox

Out and About

by Barry R. Lee

Auqust 16, 1999,7:30 PM, Mike Feltman. F1 Technologies

recently released Visual FoxExpress 6.0. Visual FoxExpress

6.0 includes a major rewrite of the Visual FoxExpress frame-

work as well as many improvements to the Visual FoxExpress

interlace. Mike Feltman will discuss the architechture of the

new Visual FoxExpress 6.0 Framework and demonstrate

creating an application using Visual FoxExpress. He’ll also

stick around tn answer general questions about Visual FoxPrn

and Object Oriented Programming.

September 20, 1999, 7:30 PM, Mike Cummings. Mike will

doing a “how-to” session with Rick Strahl’s WebConnect.

October 18, 1999, 7:30 PM, Mike Vincent. Since presenting

his introductory session on DBI Tech’s ActiveX Controls, Mike

has discovered several cool things about this tool. Don’t miss

this one...

November 15, 1999, 7:30 PM, Twila Miller. Twila always

provides us with outstanding presentations. This one promises

to be no different.. .“OLE Automation with MS Word and Excel”.

If she has time, she’ll also be covering some MAPI issues as

well.

December 20, 1999, 7:30 PM, The Annual LA Fox Christ-

mas Party. It’s that time of the year again. Come join us for

merriment, good times, LA Fox fellowship, and tasty treats.

And what would the Christmas party be without The White

Elephant Gift Exchange? So come prepared for a good time.

(Con’t, page 2)

Page 6

Page 7

Page7

and much more!

The LA Fox Developer

A Newsletter for FoxPro Application Developers in Southern California

Visit our WebSite at: http://www.mesllc.com/lafox.html August 1999

The August meeting of LA Fox will be held

on Aug. 16, 1999, at 7:30 PM at our new

meeting place (NCR, 100 N. Sepulveda Blvd.,

El Segundo, CA). For details on how to get

there, see the map on the back page.