Design ideas for data entry app

  • Thread starter Thread starter Chris
  • Start date Start date
C

Chris

Alright,

I am fairly new to the .net cf. I am trying to write a data entry
application which will contain about 20ish fields of varying types of
information, this needs to be customisable so that it is possible to
add/remove fields etc..My first thought was to create an xml schema
and have the form built up on the fly although im not sure if this is
the best method? does anyone have any other ideas?

Thanks

Chris
 
Thats the approach I've taken. We have a Palm app that I am currently
porting to .NetCF.

There is a server module that they can build an entire interview with -
customize pages (categories), controls (questions), and the navigational
hierarchy. This generates a custom XML document with versioning that is
transferred to the handheld. This XML doc has the complete definition of
the interview - buttons, dropdowns, labels, layout info etc.

The handheld dynamically creates each form as the user navigates. Its as
fast as loading a standard form since the Designer generated code is really
just dynamically adding controls in the form startup. The user completes
the interview on the handheld and an XML document is created and saved that
contains all of the question ids and answers - this is then transferred back
to the server. This combined with the interview definition, allows the
server to display the complete interview with answers.

The tricky parts in .NetCF are with using generic event handlers and then
figuring out which dynamic control generated the event. Also, saving out
the data to the XML doc has a few challenges. Start with a sample form that
is built in the Designer, then look at the Designer generated code - this
will give you an idea of what you will need to generate dynamically.

-Dave
 
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