Running applications from LyciaStudio

Usually, 4gl applications are run by their end-users (as any other software).

However, when developing these applications, 4gl programmers need to run them many times for different testing purposes.

From LyciaStudio, you can run your applications via both available graphical clients, LyciaDesktop and LyciaWeb, as well as specify launching arguments and manage run configurations:

You can learn more about what happens when you run applications here:

There are certain differences between running applications from LyciaStudio and running them from the connection dialog of a graphical client.

1. When you run an application from LyciaStudio, debug cache is always used. When you run applications via LyciaDesktop or LyciaWeb, release cache is used.
2. When you run applications from LyciaStudio, they are deployed automatically. To run an application directly via LyciaWeb, you must build and then deploy it.

3. When you run applications from LyciaStudio, additional parameters are added to the execution command:

   console=page - switches on the display console for the application,

   unl=1 - switches on the debug cache (see #1 in this list),

   cache=check - switches on the revalidation of browser cache,

   timeout - sets the startup timeout (timeout=0 tells the client to wait until the first server response forever), and

   param - adds extra arguments for this application (e.g., database driver, params=-d%20informix).

   Besides these parameters, the execution command also gets the arguments you have set for this application in its run configuration.

Build, deploy, run

Program is a collection of instructions, files, and libraries what is created to perform certain tasks.

Application is a built, compiled, deployed program which is run using thin clients (for Lycia, they are LyciaDesktop or LyciaWeb).

This means that to run an application via LyciaDesktop from LyciaStudio, you must first build it (the same goes for running applications directly via LyciaDesktop).

If you try to run a not-built program, you will get this message:

If necessary, you can configure LyciaStudio to always build the program when you try to run it:

<menu bar> → Window → Preferences → Run/Debug → Launching

Other preferences for run/debug can be found and changed here:

<menu bar> → Window → Preferences → 4GL → Run/Debug

 

Possible ways to run applications from LyciaStudio

There are many ways to run applications from LyciaStudio:

• from the menu bar,
• from the main toolbar,
• from the context menu of the program in the 4GL project view,
• from the context menu of the project in the project explorer, and
• using hot keys.

Running applications from LyciaStudio menu bar

LyciaStudio menu bar has a menu group, Run, that allows running applications:

Chiefly, it incorporates debugging options like Resume, Step Into, or Debug As.

Running options are these:

Run Last Launched runs the most recently run application with its last used run configuration (client, arguments, etc.). You can also press Ctrl + F11 to run the most recently run application.

Run History shows and allows running several most recently run applications (is empty if you have run no applications yet):

By default, Run History show 10 most recently run applications. You can change this number in Launching preferences:

<menu bar> → Window → Preferences → Run/Debug → Launching

Run As allows choosing the graphical client - LyciaDesktop or LyciaWeb - to run the application with:

Run Configurations... opens the window for managing run configurations:

Running applications from the LyciaStudio toolbar

LyciaStudio toolbar includes two buttons and two toolbar groups that can be used to run applications:

Run with LyciaWeb and Run with LyciaDesktop run the application via one of these two graphical clients.

These buttons are enabled only when you select a program. Otherwise, they are disabled.

Run toolbar group allows

• running most recently run applications,
• choosing the graphical client to run the application,
• opening the window for managing run configurations, and
• organizing run favorites.

External Tools toolbar group allows using different external tools for running your applications:

Running applications from the context menu

Both context menus of the 4GL Project and Project Explorer views have options for running applications:

• 4GL Program with LyciaDesktop to run the application via LyciaDesktop;
• 4GL Program with LyciaWeb to run the application via LyciaWeb, and
• Run Configurations... to open the window for managing run configurations.

In the project explorer, Run As group includes these 3 options for the context menu of the project and only one option - Run Configurations... - for the context menus of files and folders:

If you run an application from the context menu of the program in the 4GL project view, the executing process will start immediately.

To run an application from the context menu of the project in the project explorer, you must first choose this application in the opened dialog:

Running applications by different clients

By default, you cannot run the same application simultaneously on different Lycia clients.

If the application is run by LyciaDesktop and you run it by LyciaWeb, LyciaDesktop will close.

To switch off this default behavior, you must uncheck this box – Terminate and Relaunch while launching – in the Run/Debug preferences:

Window → Preferences → Run/Debug → Launching