Re: report IDL

[Rodrigo Moya <rodrigo linuxave net>]

> I have some questions....
> 
> [...]
> >       interface ReportElement {
> >               attribute string name;
> >               attribute AttributeList attr_list;
> >               attribute VE contents;
> >               
> >               void      addAttribute (in string name, in string value);
> >               void      removeAttribute (in string name);
> >               Attribute getAttribute (in string name);
> >               void      setAttribute (in string name, in string value);
> >               
> >               ReportElement addChild (in string name);
> >               void          removeChild (in string name);
> >       };
> >       typedef sequence<ReportElement> ElementList;
> >    
> 
> This interface is only to modify some attributes for an element defined
> previously?
> 
yes

> [...]
> >       
> >       /*
> >        * Report output format
> >        */
> >       enum Converter {
> >               TO_PDF,
> >               TO_PS,
> >               TO_HTML,
> >               TO_LATEX
> >       };
> 
> Why don't add the TO_XML option as someone suggest before?, this option
> gaves us the report with all the data filled and if someone wants to
> play with it directly it could :-)
> 
Well TO_XML is the same as ReportOutput interface, which will contain
the XML output.

> [...]
> >       
> >       interface Report {
> >               attribute string       name;
> >               attribute string       description;
> >               attribute ReportFormat format;
> >               attribute boolean      is_locked;
> >               
> >               void         fromStream (in ReportStream stream);
> >               void         fromXML (in string xml);
> >               ReportOutput run (in ParamList params, in long flags);
> >               
> >               /* for shared I/O access */
> >               void lock   ();
> >               void unlock ();
> >       };
> 
> I don't understand the need of the format attribute, if it must be
> shared none must change the format!!! it must be readonly at least.
> 
well, the idea is to be able to access the report format through CORBA.
But, yes, it should be readonly. Changed also.


> One thing i don't understand very well about the direction we go is:
> What about the possibility of define the report's objects at the IDL
> file? (something like i send to the list a weeks ago). It will be useful
> to have all the objects implemented only one time, if we use the method
> that Rodrigo has write, we have only one interface, a "ReportElement"
> that has all its attributes in a list, but this way you must implement
> all the report's objects at the report server and other time those
> objects at the client side but wrapping the ReportElement. I think that
> this method is more complicate to update because you must update
> completely two times the same thing. But if we export all the objects as
> CORBA Objects we only need to update a set of objects (the only bad
> thing is that this way all the clients will need the bonobo package, but
> i think that this thing isn't so bad).
> 
> 
> What do you thing?
> 
As I told you in private mail, this will be added in a second stage,
that's the reason of the ReportElement interface.

cheers