Documentation for Developers

Projects

Please read about what needs to be done, and how to take charge of a project here:
Summary of Projects

Development

Development Environment

• Quick Setup of Development environment
• Setup of Development environment
• OpenPetra Developer's Assistant

Programming

General

• Coding Standard and Guidelines
• Error and Exception Handling Policy
• Explanation of Directory Structure and Rules

Development

• Useful hints regarding coding in CSharp/.net
• Development with Code Generation
• Build system with our own NAnt tools and tasks
• Preventing/getting around circular dependency problems

Database-related

• Architecture Information
  • Database System / Database access architecture
  • Two diagrams at the right ------------------------------>

openPETRA Database Abstraction Layer Diagram

Data Access Layer

• Using OpenPetra's DataAccess Objects
• DB Access Exception Handling
• Automatic DB Transaction Handling
• Co-ordinated DB Access (Thread-safe DB Access)
• Working with multiple DB Connections
• Stopping of Running DB Queries
• 'Preparing' SQL Statements And Specifying SQL Statement Time-outs
• Specifying 'standard' / 'default' / 'base' data for DB Tables
• DataSets: Ensuring you deliver 'unchanged' data to the Client
• PostgreSQL-specifics
  • PostgreSQL: Sequences Not Tied to DB Transactions

Other Topics

• User Defaults
• System Settings (Maintain Table Screen)
• Working with OpenPetra Security
• Forms Messaging

Development Cycle

• Build System for OpenPetra
• Releases and Patching
• Building and maintaining customized versions of OpenPetra
• Migrating data from legacy systems
• Working with NUnit tests

Getting Started

• HowTo develop a new screen
• HowTo port a screen from Old Petra
• HowTo develop a new report
• Report Designer

Tools Used

This is a list of software that we use; some of it you will already have installed when you did your Setup of Development environment.

• Software tools for Developers
• Memory profiling

Tips and Tricks

• Quicker development/debugging/testing turnaround with customised PetraClient startup
• Specifying custom settings in Config Files for Development
• Literature
• Programming hints
• Retrieving the 'SiteKey' of an OpenPetra installation
• Homepage

OpenPetra Software Architecture

• Overview openPETRA architecture
  • Taken from the old Petra wiki. Should be merged with the other articles!
• n-tier architecture
• Database access architecture
• openPETRA Architecture Team

Client Side

• GUI development
• Printing
• Main Menu
• Singleton (single-instance) Screens
• Specific Screens
  • Exchange Rates (Design and Test)
  • System Settings (Maintain Table Screen)

Bug Tracking

See Tracking of Bugs

Database Structure Documentation

We have DB model documentation online available in two formats, both of which are auto-generated with each release:

• Our own format (see also SQL Diagram creation)
  • There is a diagram for the Accounts Payable sub system
    • We need volunteers do design more diagrams! Please also have a look at the old 2.1 diagrams (download 9 png files in a zip file).
• SchemaSpy format
  • features quite nice automatically drawn relationship diagrams once you select a certain DB table. That can also be shown for the whole DB if you simply go to the ‘Relationships’ Tab on the index page (though that diagram is HUGE as the OpenPetra DB currently holds >300 DB Tables!).

• Base and Demo databases
• Specifying 'standard' / 'default' / 'base' data for DB Tables

OpenPetra Specifications & Requirements

Please have a look at the specifications and add your own requirements in the appropriate sections (eg. Wishlist):
Specifications and Requirements

Project Infrastructure

• Have a look at wordpress. The OpenPetra Website is running on Wordpress.
• Continuous integration with Jenkins CI Server