Application files on your development machine

As you are developing an application, all of the source files for it are saved in a Working Folder, which is usually on your local hard disk. In the context of Eclipse IDE, this Working Folder corresponds to a project. Each new application must have its own Working Folder, so it follows that each application has its own project.

If you have an existing application, you need to import this in Eclipse as an existing project. You may choose to save the files in the Eclipse workspace.

This section describes all of the various files and sub-folders found in this folder.

Working folder contents

The following items can be found in the Working Folder for each application:

  • One or more presentation files – For each presentation belonging to an application, there is one presentation file, which holds settings related to that presentation. Presentation files are named with a *.prs extension.

  • One application file – Each application has one application file, which hold settings related to the application, such as those made on the Application Properties page of Infor e-Commerce Development Studio. Application files are named with a *.app extension.

  • One businessobjects folder – This folder contains a file for each business object defined for your application. Each business object file is named after the business object it describes and with a *.bo extension (for example, Address.bo).

  • One datasources folder – This folder contains a description file and a model file for each data source defined for your application. The description file contains connection information and other details used by Infor e-Commerce Development Studio to communicate with a data source; it is named after the data source it describes and with a *.dsc extension (for example, appdata.dsc). The model file contains a description of the data source, including all fields, tables and stored procedures; it too is named after the data source it describes but with a *.mod extension (for example, appdata.mod). Below this folder is another sub-folder named objects. The objects folder contains a mapping file for each business object, named after the business object it maps and with a *.map extension (for example, Address.map).

Working with the Application and Presentation Files

When you open a project, all files with that project is shown in the Navigator. While you can have multiple projects, only one active project is allowed. That means if you need to make changes in another project, you need to set that project as the active project.

You can edit the content of any project files. The contents of the file are shown in the editor. While you can edit the contents of files as shown in the Navigator, it is recommended that you change the contents of application properties, business objects, and data sources in their respective tabs.

Putting the Application under Source Control

If you choose to put the application under source code control, do not store files contained in the deploy folder . If you do this, it can create problems later during deployment, when Infor e-Commerce Development Studio examines file updates, as these files are read-only, status files.

The same applies when backing up your application.