Understanding host components and widgets

In host applications, data can be presented in many different ways, such as menus, tables, and command prompts. These are known as host components. Your ZIETrans application converts them into graphical elements, or widgets, for displaying data on a GUI.

ZIETrans comes with a default set of host components, representing the most frequently used methods of presenting data, as well as a set of widgets associated with each one. These host components and widgets are listed in ZIETrans host components and their corresponding widgets. As you develop your ZIETrans application, you select a region on the host screen, select a host component (which is responsible for finding specific contents in that region, and select a widget (which is responsible for rendering the output of the host component.

For example, if a host application has a menu in which the user is required to select one of the several choices, you can design your ZIETrans application to display the menu on a GUI as a drop-down list. Alternatively, you can have the menu appear as a list of radio buttons, from which the user makes a choice, or as a list of links or buttons. You can even develop a custom component or widget.

Table 1. ZIETrans host components and their corresponding widgets
Host component Widget

Command line

List
Popup
Radio button (data entry)
Text input
Combo box (Dojo) (Web-only)
Filtering select (Dojo) (Web-only)
Text box (Dojo) (Web-only)

Field

Field

Function key

Button
Button table
Drop-down (selection)
Link
Radio button (selection)

HTML DDS keyword

Label

Input field

Calendar (Web-only)
Check box
List
Popup
Radio button (data entry)
Text input
Combo box (Dojo) (Web-only)
Date text box (Dojo) (Web-only)
Filtering select (Dojo) (Web-only)
Text box (Dojo) (Web-only)
Validation text box (Dojo) (Web-only)

Input field with hints

List
Popup
Radio button (data entry)
Combo box (Dojo) (Web-only)
Filtering select (Dojo) (Web-only)

Item selection

Check box
Drop-down (data entry)
Link (item selection)
List
Popup
Radio button (item selection)
Text input
Combo box (Dojo) (Web-only)
Filtering select (Dojo) (Web-only)

Light pen (attention)

Button
Link
Radio button (selection)

Light pen (selection)

Check box

Scrollbar field (ENPTUI)

Scrollbar (ENPTUI)

Selection field (ENPTUI)

Button
Check box
Link
Radio button (selection)

Selection list

Button
Button table
Drop-down (selection)
Link
Radio button (selection)
Combo box (Dojo) (Web-only)
Filtering select (Dojo) (Web-only)

Subfile

Subfile (check box)
Subfile (drop-down)
Subfile (popup)

Table

Graph (horizontal bar)
Graph (line)
Graph (vertical bar)
Table
Enhanced grid (Dojo) (Web-only)

Table (field)

Graph (horizontal bar)
Graph (line)
Graph (vertical bar)
Table
Enhanced grid (Dojo) (Web-only)

Table (visual)

Graph (horizontal bar)
Graph (line)
Graph (vertical bar)
Table
Enhanced grid (Dojo) (Web-only)

Text

Label

URL

Link