Browsing the class hierarchy

PowerBuilder provides a Browser that can show the hierarchy of the built-in PowerBuilder system objects and the hierarchy of ancestor and descendent windows, menus, and user objects you create. In object-oriented terms, these are called class hierarchies: each PowerBuilder object defines a class.

NoteRegenerating objects The Browser also provides a convenient way to regenerate objects and their descendants. For more information, see “Regenerating library entries”.

StepsTo browse the class hierarchy of PowerBuilder system objects:

  1. Click the Browser button in the PowerBar.

  2. Choose the System tab to show the built-in PowerBuilder objects.

  3. In the left pane, scroll down the object list and select the powerobject.

  4. Display the pop-up menu for the powerobject and choose Show Hierarchy.

  5. Select Expand All from the pop-up menu and scroll to the top.

    The hierarchy for the built-in PowerBuilder objects displays.

    The sample shows the System tab of the Browser window. The left pane has an expanded Tree View of the power object. Indented beneath it are application, function _ object, and graphic object. Graphic object is expanded to show menu, window, and window object. Window object is expanded in turn. The right pane lists text and icons for Properties, Events, and Functions.

    NoteGetting context-sensitive Help in the Browser To get context-sensitive Help for an object, control, or function, select Help from its pop-up menu.

StepsTo display the class hierarchy for other object types:

  1. Choose the Menu, Window, or User Object tab.

    If you choose any other object type, there is no inheritance for the object type, so you cannot display a class hierarchy.

  2. In the left pane, select an object and choose Show Hierarchy from its pop-up menu.

  3. Select an object and choose Expand All from its pop-up menu.

    PowerBuilder shows the selected object in the current application. Descendent objects are shown indented under their ancestors.

For example, if your application uses the PBDOM PowerBuilder extension object, the pbdom_object displays on the User Object page. You can select Show Hierarchy and Expand All from its pop-up menu to display its descendent objects.

The sample shows the User Object tab page of the Browser. At top, a drop down labeled Target partially displays the selected target as gen app 3 ( D : backslash  Program Files backslash Sybase backslash PowerBuilder. The left pane displays an expanded Tree View of user objects with the object p b dom _ object expanded and its descendant p b dom _ c data selected. The right pane displays the functions of p b dom _ c data.