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Edition: Futurama Website/Futurama Export/Futurama Webservice

Module: Futurama Editor

User: Developer

Prerequisites

Familiarity with the Futurama Editor (e.g. by making the tutorial Creating formulas with Futurama. See below for the link.)

Introduction

Futurama objects are the building blocks with which any application can be modelled. There are several kinds of objects which will be described here briefly. A detailed description of any object and how to use it, can be found on the dedicated webpage of each object.

 

Description

Every application which is made in Futurama, be it a Webservice, a Website or any other, consists of objects. These objects range from objects that are used for making a calculation to objects that represent elements on a website. Below is a list of the several categories of objects that exist within Futurama.

  • Calculation-objects: these are used for calculations and other manipulations of values, most notably the Formula.
  • Output-objects: these represent components in a website such as a TextBox or a WebPage.
  • Document-objects: these are used for storing the Futurama application and referring to other Futurama applications, most notably the Document and the SubDocument.
  • Folder-objects: these are used for organizing other objects, most notably the Node.
  • Data-objects: these are used to retrieve data such as the XMLNode and DatabaseView.
  • Action-objects: these perform a certain action like generating an Email (EmailConverter) or storing a File (FileSaver).

Working with objects

Objects are created in the Futurama Editor. Upon creation every object offers a number of properties which can be set as desired. Furthermore objects can be moved, copied and deleted. The value of most objects can be evaluated and a number of objects can be validated to see whether they are properly defined. The section Futurama Editor - How to contains all information about working with objects.

Object hierarchy

On the dedicated webpage of each object the possible Parent and Child objects of this object are listed. When an object is defined, it is possible to define objects in the tree structure under this object. These objects are the Child objects. The Parent objects are the objects that are defined at a higher level in the tree structure. Creating a hierarchy of objects is either necessary or recommendable. Recommendable in cases to organize your model in the Futurama Editor, for example by using the Node. Necessary for example to build a website application. The way the Output objects are ordened define how your application looks like.  

Formulas

The Calculation-object offers a wide range of formulas to make calculations, to manipulate strings and dates, to read files from disc, to name but a few. Because of the sheer number of Formulas there is a dedicated section Futurama Editor - Formulas which emcompasses them all.

Related Tutorials

- Creating formulas with Futurama: Tutorial that introduces the Editor.

- Tutorials - Overview: Overview of all available Tutorials.

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Updated: 2014-02-25