Janus SOAP User Language Interface: Difference between revisions

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The Janus SOAP User Language Interface (aka Janus SOAP ULI) was a collection of extensions to <var class="product">User Language</var> originally intended to simplify the coding of
The ''Janus SOAP User Language Interface'', also referred to as the ''Janus SOAP ULI'', is a collection of extensions to <var class="product">User Language</var> originally intended to simplify the coding of
applications that used the <var class="product">Janus SOAP</var> product. In version 7.5 of Model 204, the <var class="product">Janus SOAP ULI</var> features were incorporated into Model 204. <var class="product">Janus SOAP</var> continues as a separate product providing support for [[Janus SOAP|XML processing]], but no separate <var class="product">Janus SOAP ULI</var> product is available.  
applications that use the <var class="product">[[Janus SOAP]]</var> product. Although some facilities of the <var class="product">Janus SOAP ULI</var> are now available for
applications that don't actually use <var class="product">Janus SOAP</var>, most <var class="product">Janus SOAP ULI</var> facilities are restricted to <var class="product">Janus SOAP</var>,
hence the name.


As indicated, the <var class="product">Janus SOAP ULI</var> is a collection of extensions to <var class="product">User Language</var> so
The <var class="product">Janus SOAP ULI</var> extensions included these areas:
does not alter the behavior of <var class="product">User Language</var>. This is important on two counts.
#<var class="product">User Language</var> applications will continue to work as they always have even after <var class="product">Janus SOAP</var> is installed (and thus the <var class="product">Janus SOAP ULI</var> enabled).
#All manuals related to <var class="product">Model 204 User Language</var> are still valid, and information about <var class="product">User Language</var> programming can be found in many places outside of this one. Primary sources for information about <var class="product">User Language</var> include:
#*[http://www.cca-int.com/custsupp/zips/userlang.zip ''The Model 204 User Language Manual''] (from Rocket M204)
#*[http://sirius-software.com/maint/download/funcr.pdf ''The Sirius Functions Reference Manual'']
#*[http://sirius-software.com/maint/download/factr.pdf ''The SirFact Reference Manual'']
#*The assorted Sirius product-specific API references, such as the ''Janus Web Server Reference Manual'', the ''Janus Sockets Reference Manual'', the ''Janus Open Server Reference Manual'', the ''Janus Open Client Reference Manual'', and the ''Fast/Unload Reference Manual''. All [http://sirius-software.com/maint/manlist Sirius Software Documentation] is a available for download in PDF format.
Many of the extensions in the Janus SOAP ULI come from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object-oriented_programming Object-Oriented Programming] (sometimes abbreviated O-O) concepts that are implemented in many
languages. These languages include [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_Basic Visual Basic .Net] (often called VB.Net), [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Java_%28programming_language%29 Java], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eiffel_%28programming_language%29 Eiffel], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perl Perl], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%2B%2B C++], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C_Sharp_%28programming_language%29 C#], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smalltalk Smalltalk], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_%28programming_language%29 Python], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_%28programming_language%29 Ruby]. While most languages
differ in the implementation details of O-O concepts, especially in syntax, the basic
concepts are incorporated in all these languages, and once a programmer understands
these concepts, it is usually relatively easy to move between the languages.


The <var class="product">Janus SOAP ULI</var>, first available in <var class="product">[[Sirius Mods]]</var> version 6.5,
<ul>
has support for many but not all the concepts
<li>[[Object oriented programming in SOUL|Object oriented programming (OOP)]] </li>
discussed in books about object-oriented programming.
Specifically there is no explicit support for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interface_(8object-oriented_programming) interfaces], though multiple inheritance
provides all the functionality provided by interfaces with more flexibility.
Overloading is also not supported but optional parameters provide most of what overloading is used for, and provides it much more easily.
 
<var class="product">User Language</var> without the <var class="product">Janus SOAP ULI</var> generally corresponds to a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procedural_programming procedural programming language].
 
If you are an experienced <var class="product">User Language</var> programmer, you might find [[Getting_started_with_object-oriented_programming_for_User_Language_programmers|"Getting started with object-oriented programming for User Language programmers"]] to be useful.
==Object-oriented terminology==
One of the difficulties of learning new programming concepts is that if they
are sufficiently complex, like those of object orientation,
their explication can seem circular:
the explanation of concept A refers to concept B, which refers to
concept C, which refers back to concept A.
In the introductory stages, you may may have little choice but to
understand that this problem exists,
use this understanding to avoid getting &ldquo;stuck&rdquo; on a concept
that is not fully understood, and move on until the complex web of
concepts become clear.
                                                                                   
To facilitate the initial learning process and to provide a quick reference for when the
concepts become clearer, brief definitions of key object-oriented terms are descibed here:


; [[Classes and Objects|Class]] : A description of the information held in a particular type of object and the methods (actions) that can be performed on the object. There may be many instances of objects for any given class.
<li>[[Release notes for Model 204 version 7.5#New SOUL statements|New User Language statements]] </li>


; [[Collections|Collection]] : A special class that, as the name suggests, is used to manage collections or groups of variables. A collection provides the same functionality as an array, though with much more flexibility. The term ''collection'' is not standard object-oriented programming terminology but it is used in Visual Basic in almost exactly the same way, and it is a concept present in most object-oriented programming languages.
<li>[[Release notes for Model 204 version 7.5#Non-OO enhancements in SOUL|Additional non-OO enhancements to User Language]] </li>
 
<div id="constructor"></div>
; [[Classes and Objects#Method declarations and method types|Constructor]] : A method that processes an object immediately after the object is instantiated (created). The term ''constructor'' is standard object-oriented programming terminology, but it does not appear as an actual keyword in most object-oriented programming languages.
 
; [[Object variables#Discarding objects|Discard]] : A method that removes an existing object explicitly. Object discarding may also be implicit, and a <var>DeepDiscard</var> method is available to discard an object and the objects it references.
 
; [[Enumerations|Enumeration]] : A special class that is used to denote a group of names with a limited set of values like, for example, True and False. The term &ldquo;enumeration&rdquo; is not standard object-oriented programming terminology and, in fact, appears in many object-oriented languages as a procedural language leftover often called &ldquo;Enum.&rdquo;
 
; [[Methods|Function]] : A method that returns a value and cannot be set, that is, appear on the left side of an assignment. The term ''function'' is not standard object-oriented programming terminology, but it is used in Visual Basic in almost exactly the same way.
 
; [[Intrinsic classes|Intrinsic]] method : A method which is applied not to an object, but rather to a string or number, providing the benefits of object-oriented syntax when operating on strings and numbers.
 
; [[Object variables#Creating object instances|Instantiation]] : The process of the creation of an object, that is, an instance of a class.
 
; Member : A method or variable in a class. A class is completely defined by its members, that is, its variables and methods.
 
; [[Methods|Method]] : A block of code that performs a particular operation in a particular class. In the <var class="product">Janus SOAP ULI</var> there are four kinds of methods: subroutines, functions, properties, and constructors. Methods can be ''shared'' that is, perform work independent of any instance of a class; or they can be ''non-shared'', that is, perform work on an object, a specific instance of a class.
 
; [[Classes and Objects|Object]] : A collection of information that describes some entity, often some &ldquo;real world&rdquo; entity such as a customer or an order or a part. Objects have state, that is, information contained in the object can change over time, usually as a result of methods (actions) performed against the object. Objects are never accessed directly but are accessed via ''references''. Most important among these references are [[Object variables|object variables]] that, in User Language, look very much like regular %variables. The specific information held in an object and the methods (actions) available on an object are described by the object's class.
 
<div id="methobj"></div>
; Method object : In a User Language statement that invokes a method into operation, the object variable that references the object on which the method operates.
 
; [[Methods|Property]] : A method that reflects the state of an object (class instance) or, in the case of a shared property, the state of the class as a whole. Properties can be ''read-only'' or ''settable'', that is, valid on the left side of an assignment statement. Properties appear to users of a class to be almost identical to class variables, but they actually have code behind them that is run when the property value is set or retrieved. The term ''property'' is not standard object-oriented programming terminology, but it is used in Visual Basic in almost exactly the same way.
 
; [[Structures|Structure]] : A standard layout of variables. A structure is similar to an image, except a structure can have many instances while an image can only have one. Structure variables have the layout indicated by the structure definition, and they can be assigned to each other. Structures are different from objects in that structures are passed by value rather than by reference. Structures can be thought of as composite datatypes.
 
; [[Methods|Subroutine]] : A method that does not return a value and cannot be set, that is, appear on the left side of an assignment. The term ''subroutine'' is not standard object-oriented programming terminology, but it is used in Visual Basic in almost exactly the same way, though in VB subroutines are denoted by the word Sub.
 
; Variable : A container for a value. In addition to the standard <var class="product">User Language</var> variables, the <var class="product">Janus SOAP ULI</var> provides [[Classes and Objects|class variables]]. A class variable can either be shared (accessed via a class reference and not associated with a specific object) or non-shared (accessed via an object reference and associated with that object).
 
==Other User Language enhancements==
Sirius Software enhances <var class="product">User Language</var> in ways that really have nothing to do with object-oriented programming, per se. Also, some of these enhancements are available to Sirius customers that don't have a <var class="product">Janus SOAP</var> license, though all these enhancements are available to customers that do have a <var class="product">Janus SOAP</var> license.
As such, all these enhancements are listed here, whether or not they are, strictly speaking, part of the <var class="product">Janus SOAP ULI</var>:
===User Language statements===
<ul>
<li>[[Assert statement]]
<li>[[Loop Next statement]]
<li>[[Text and Html statements]]
<ul>
<li>[[Targeted Text statements|AuditText, PrintText, TraceText, SetText, and ReturnText statements]]
</ul>
<li>[[Trace statement]]
</ul>
===Additional enhancements to User Language===
{{Template:User Language syntax enhancements}}
 
==See also==
<ul>
<li>[[Janus SOAP essentials]]
<li>[[Collections]]
<li>[[Enumerations]]
<li>[[Intrinsic classes]]
<li>[[Methods]]
<li>[[Object variables]]
<li>[[Global and session objects]]
<li>[[Inheritance and polymorphism]]
<li>[[Dynamic dispatch]]
<li>[[Narrowing assignments and class tests]]
<li>[[Enhancement methods]]
<li>[[Structures]]
<li>[[Lists of classes and methods]]
<li>[[#Other User Language enhancements|Other User Language enhancements]] (above)
</ul>
</ul>
[[Category:Janus SOAP ULI topics]]

Latest revision as of 16:37, 18 September 2015

The Janus SOAP User Language Interface (aka Janus SOAP ULI) was a collection of extensions to User Language originally intended to simplify the coding of applications that used the Janus SOAP product. In version 7.5 of Model 204, the Janus SOAP ULI features were incorporated into Model 204. Janus SOAP continues as a separate product providing support for XML processing, but no separate Janus SOAP ULI product is available.

The Janus SOAP ULI extensions included these areas:

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