Because BBj® runs on different platforms, our documentation is developed so that it can be accessed quickly and easily, while at the same time provide simple and logical navigation in a multi-platform environment. Our documentation enables developers to rapidly create, maintain, upgrade and troubleshoot their applications. Presenting and organizing multitudes of concise technical information in a straightforward fashion, our browser-based WebHelp enables developers and users to quickly find specific information about all of BASIS's products.

BBj Documentation Enhancements

Along with the release of BBj 2.0 came the availability of improved, expanded, and updated online product documentation. Some of the many impressive enhancements to the BBj 2.0 documentation include:

• Auto Synchronized Table of Contents (TOC): This enhancement keeps the right and left panes of the documentation synchronized with one another - even as the user navigates through the topics or content. The selected book or page from the left pane's TOC will now change automatically to match the current topic displayed on the right.
• Object-Oriented Code Samples: Provided with each new BBj object and method is a self-contained program/code sample that can be copied and pasted into the BBj IDE to illustrate the functionality of that object or method.
• Scope of documentation: Detailed explanations are now included along with interactive documentation for the BBj IDE, Debugger, and Source Editor, as well as the BBj WinConsole. Additionally, JavaDocs (the tool from Sun Microsystems for generating API documentation in HTML format from documentation comments in source code) are now available for the BBj API and the BBjBridge. Finally, all BBj objects and their respective methods are completely documented.

Auto Synchronized Table Of Contents

The functionality and navigation of the documentation has been significantly improved by adding auto synch functionality to the contents, index, and search tabs. Auto synching is really a hyperlinked cross-reference, which drastically reduces the time required to find the specific information you need to get your job done. By auto synching the table of contents, we have allowed for much faster code development time because a developer can query specific information with just a click of the mouse.

Using The Auto Sync Function

To use the new auto sync function, follow the instructions listed below:

1. Click on either the Index tab or the Search tab in the left-hand pane of the online documentation.

Click on either the Index tab or the Search tab in the left-hand pane of the online documentation.

2. Type in the topic or the text you are searching for. Select that topic in the index or double click on it in the search. This will bring up the topic that you are looking for.
3. Click on the Contents tab, which will sync to the book and page where the selected topic is located.

Click on the Contents tab, which will sync to the book and page where the selected topic is located.

Object-Oriented Code Samples

In addition to adding this auto synching feature to the online documentation, we have also added hundreds of object-oriented examples. These examples are actually self-contained live code samples that can be copied from the online documentation and pasted into the BBj IDE to test the functionality of a BBj object or method. After the code sample is pasted into the IDE, the object or method can then be executed. You can now easily see exactly how the object or method works. For example, if you want to create a data aware grid, just go to the topic BBjDataAwareGrid in the online documentation. See the screenshot provided below:

To create a data aware grid, just go to the topic BBjDataAwareGrid in the online documentation.

In order to illustrate how to create a BBjDataAwareGrid using this sample, simply copy it from the documentation and paste it into the BBj IDE. The screenshot provided below shows the BBj IDE with the example from the documentation pasted into the source editor:

BBj IDE with the example from the documentation pasted into the source editor:

Running this sample will create a window like the one shown below:

Running this sample will create a window like this.

New Interactive Documentation

The BBj documentation now includes thorough descriptions for the BBj Object Syntax and interactive documentation for the following BBj Components:

• BBj IDE
• Debugger
• Source Editor
• BBj WinConsole

Additionally, as shown in the screenshot below, JavaDocs are now available for the BBj API and the BBjBridge.

JavaDocs are now available for the BBj API and the BBjBridge.

You can view the latest BBj online documentation on our home page. It is also included with our product CDs.