About App Builder and the App Hub

App Builder

App Builder is a set of online application design tools that are incorporated in and can be run from within Infor Mongoose. As part of the Infor Technology Suite, it can also run within Infor Ming.le™ and in the cloud as part of a multi-tenant offering.

App Builder allows you to reuse existing business logic across Infor products and to build composite applications that use that business logic. This alows you to create custom-built and highly specialized apps to boost your productivity.

App Builder is designed to build basic apps using an intuitive WYSIWYG user interface. App Builder offers drag-and-drop of UI components, a data service layer to connect with APIs, and an interaction wizard to set up how the components of your app interact with each other.

App Builder also includes a responsive-design mechanism that enables you to easily design apps for optimal operation and display, regardless of what device the end user is using.

Apps can be built, exported, and published from and into different environments. This means you can develop and test in your test environment, and then later deploy in your production environment. You can begin the creation of an app with App Builder and then open it in Mongoose for further development. It also means that you can receive and incorporate apps from other Infor or third-party sources.

Apps built in App Builder are client-side applications that use ION API backend services. Because many Infor products are already ION API-certified, you can use them when building apps with App Builder. It is also possible to manually attach your own APIs behind the ION API gateway, and that way, you can use any REST-based API as part of your apps. In addition, you can use Mongoose IDOs (Intelligent Data Objects) in your App Builder apps.

App Hub

The App Hub is a repository where all published and activated App Builder apps are stored. This is the main user interface for the end user of your apps. The App Hub offers a list of all apps the user has access to.

Authorized administrators can administer their companys' apps within the App Hub. This includes control over which apps are available in what versions and who can access them.

Mongoose as host for App Builder and App Hub

When used within Infor Mongoose, App Builder and App Hub are both hosted within Mongoose forms that have the same names. In fact, with the incorporation of App Builder and App Hub into Mongoose, these apps now operate as FormOnly-mode Mongoose forms. This means that, if you are using Ming.le to access App Builder and App Hub, you must be a licensed Mongoose user operating in Ming.le. And if, for some reason, you are attempting to access App Builder or the App Hub from a URL, you are prompted to sign in to Mongoose before the form opens.

Bi-directional design and storage of App Builder apps

App Builder and Mongoose can be considered bi-directional design tools. By this, we mean that what you do in one is automatically synchronized with the other.

For example, suppose you create an app in App Builder. When you do, Mongoose automatically creates and stores the app as a Mongoose form with a special prefix (AB_). This means that you can open the App Builder app as a form in Mongoose. What's more, you can further develop the app/form in Mongoose and it automatically becomes part of the original App Builder project.

Note: This does not necessarily imply that all content in one can transfer to the other. There are limitations, in that the metadata from an App Builder project must have an analogous concept or component in Mongoose, or Mongoose does not recognize and use it. Similarly, changes made in Mongoose must align with runtime functionality in App Builder, or they are not recognized or used in App Builder.

The same generally holds true for App Builder projects that are published in the App Hub. When a project is published in the App Hub, it is saved and stored as yet another Mongoose form with a different prefix (AB_Runtime_). This form is separate from the form representing the original App Builder project, so that development can continue on the original App Builder project without disrupting runtime usage in the App Hub.

App Builder interactions and Mongoose form event handlers

Interactions created in App Builder projects are created and stored in their corresponding Mongoose forms as form event handlers. However, this aspect of app development is not bi-directional at present. If event handlers are added to the Mongoose form, they are not created in App Builder as interactions.

App Builder data services and Mongoose IDOs/form collections

Data services used in App Builder projects are created in Mongoose as IDOs (Intelligent Data Objects). Collections created with/for those IDOs are then added to the Mongoose form, and Mongoose components are bound to those collections.