HOWTO: A Brief Exploration of the Project Object Model

MORE INFORMATION

The Online documentation describes in detail the Project Object and its components. This document explores the components of the Project Object and describes how you can access the object model. The attached sample file shows some of the more simple operations that you can perform with the Project Object. Hopefully, the example will spur more creative use of this new functionality.

Here are some brief examples of using the Project Object:

• When a project is created, as in CREATE PROJECT Test1, the project object, as well as, the ProjectHooks object, is instantiated. The NOSHOW and NOPROJECTHOOK clauses can be specified. If the NOSHOW clause is specified, the Project Manager can be made visible as follows:

        CREATE PROJECT Test1 NOSHOW && Project is not visible.
        _VFP.ACTIVEPROJECT.VISIBLE = .T.
  							

A project called "Test1" is created but is not shown. The second line in the preceding example makes the Project Manager visible.

You can use the following line to determine how many project objects currently exist:

   _VFP.PROJECTS.COUNT
					

The various other Project Object properties are listed in the Online documentation and are not fully demonstrated in this article.

Files can be programmatically added to the Project as follows:

   STRTOFILE("* Main Test File", "MAIN.PRG") && Creates a program file.
   _VFP.ACTIVEPROJECT.FILES.ADD("main.prg") && Adds file to the project.

   ?_VFP.ACTIVEPROJECT.MAINFILE     && Displays the name of the main file.
   ?_VFP.ACTIVEPROJECT.FILES.COUNT && Displays the number of project files.
   ?_VFP.ACTIVEPROJECT.FILES(1).TYPE  && Displays the file type.
					

A description for the file can be programmatically added as follows:

   _VFP.ACTIVEPROJECT.FILES(1).DESCRIPTION = "Added Programmatically."
   ?_VFP.ACTIVEPROJECT.FILES(1).DESCRIPTION && Displays description.
   ?_VFP.ACTIVEPROJECT.FILES(1).LASTMODIFIED && Displays file date.
   ?_VFP.ACTIVEPROJECT.FILES(1).SCCSTATUS
      && Identifies the file's source code control status.
   ?_VFP.ACTIVEPROJECT.FILES(1).EXCLUDE
					

Other components of the Project Object are described in the Programmer's Guide, Chapter 32, titled "Application Development and Developer Productivity".