Understanding front calls

Front calls execute a native function on the front-end platform.

In your Genero program, use the ui.Interface.frontCall() class method to invoke front-end functions. When calling a user function from programs, specify a module name and a function name. Input and output parameters can be passed/returned in order to transmit/receive values to/from the front-end. A typical example is an "open file" dialog window that allows you to select a file from the front-end workstation file system.

Important: Some front calls are specific to the platform or front-end technology and may not by supported. For example, it is not possible to execute a shell command (shellexec) with the Web Browser front-end.

A set of front-end functions is built-in by default in front-ends. However, it is possible to write your own functions in order to extend the front-end possibilities.

Tip: While you can use DDE/OLE APIs to manipulate Microsoft™ Office documents, there are freeware alternatives such as the Apache POI Java™ library which can be used with the Java Interface. For an example, see Java Interface: Example 2 .