You can use standard HTML components in your Web pages. The standard
HTML components are listed under Form Tags in the Palette
view.
In
addition to these components, the Table component is also available for your
use. This Table component appears as Simple Table under i Web Components in
the Palette view to distinguish it from the IBM® i Table Web component.
All
of these components need to be included within a FORM on
your JSP page so that they appear as input and output fields in the Web Interaction
wizard. The Simple Table can be included in the FORM, in
contrast to the IBM i Table
Web component, which must be outside of the FORM on the page.
The
following table shows the IBM i Web
components and the equivalent HTML components that are supported for Web interactions
in IBM i Web
applications. It also indicates the location of the HTML components in the
Palette.
| i Web
component |
HTML component supported for Web interactions |
Location of the HTML component in the
Palette |
| Button |
Submit Button |
Form Tags |
| Check Box |
Check Box |
Form Tags |
| Combo Box |
Drop-Down Box |
Form Tags |
| Hyperlink |
- |
- |
| Image |
- |
- |
| Image Button |
- |
- |
| Label |
- |
- |
| Radio Button Group |
Radio Button |
Form Tags |
| Selection Box |
List Box |
Form Tags |
| Table (also used for subfiles) |
- |
- |
| - |
Simple Table |
IBM i Web
Components |
| Text Area |
Text Area |
Form Tags |
| Text Entry |
Text Field |
Form Tags |
Additional considerations
You need to take the following
into consideration when you use standard HTML components in Web interactions:
- Standard HTML components do not contain i-specific attributes. For example, the i Text Entry Web component includes i-specific data formatting options. In addition, runtime validation is performed
on certain attribute values defined for the Text Entry Web component. The i Table
Web component can handle database data from a database that resides on an i host. i-specific
features like this are not available for standard HTML components.
- The Drop-Down Box, List Box, Text Area, and Text Field standard HTML components
can be linked to parameters in both the "Map and Link the Input Parameters
to the Input Fields" page, and the "Map and Link the Output Parameters
to the Output Fields" page in the Web Interaction wizard.
However, the
Check Box, Radio Button, and Submit Button standard HTML components can only
be linked to parameters in the "Map and Link the Input Parameters to the
Input Fields" page in the Web Interaction wizard.
- For standard HTML components that are used for output page fields, when
the HTML components are linked to parameters in the Web Interaction wizard,
and the wizard is run to create the Web interaction, then the data that you
defined for the HTML components is replaced with JavaScript.
To restore the data,
invoke the Web Interaction wizard to edit the Web interaction (you can double-click
the interaction_name.wit file in your
Web project to open the wizard), unlink the HTML components from the parameters
in the wizard, and click Finish to run the wizard and
to update the Web interaction. The original data that you defined for the
HTML components is now available in the Attributes view.
- After the data has been replaced by JavaScript for the List Box or Drop-Down
Box HTML components, you can add data by selecting the Options tab
in the Attributes view for the respective HTML component and entering the
additional data in the Name and Value fields.
The next time you run the Web Interaction wizard for Web interactions that
use these HTML components, the new data is replaced by JavaScript.
To
remove or change the data for these HTML components:
- Invoke the Web Interaction wizard to edit the Web interaction.
- Unlink the fields from the parameters in the wizard.
- Click Finish to run the wizard and to update the
Web interaction.
- Select the Options tab in the Attributes view for
the respective List Box or Drop-Down Box HTML component.
- Change or remove the data that appears on the Options tab.
- Invoke the Web Interaction wizard to edit the Web interaction.
- Link the fields to the parameters in the wizard.
- Click Finish to run the wizard to update the Web
interaction, which replaces the data with JavaScript.
- You cannot add data to the Initial value field
for Text Area or Text Field HTML components after the HTML components have
been linked to parameters and the Web Interaction wizard has been run.
However
you can change or remove the data in the
Initial value field.
- Invoke the Web Interaction wizard to edit the Web interaction.
- Unlink the HTML components from the parameters in the wizard.
- Click Finish to run the wizard to update the Web
interaction.
- Change or remove the data that appears in the Initial value field
in the Attributes view for the respective Text Area or Text Field HTML component.
- Invoke the Web Interaction wizard to edit the Web interaction.
- Link the HTML components to the parameters in the wizard.
- Click Finish to run the wizard and to update the
Web interaction. The data is replaced with JavaScript.
- Define the delimiter in the value returned from the host program, and
in the IBM i Web
components as a semicolon (;). This ensures that the data
returned from the host program is handled the same way for both the Drop-Down
Box and List Box standard HTML components, and for the Combo Box and Selection
Box i Web
components. See the description of the Data tab in Combo Box Web component,
and in Selection Box Web component for further information about the
format of the data returned from a host program.
- The same naming limitations for i Web components apply to standard HTML components. However, validation at
design time of the attribute values for standard HTML components is limited.
The names of standard HTML components are validated when you invoke the Web
Interaction wizard. A dialog indicates which of the standard HTML component
names require changes and valid names are recommended. This is also done for i Web
component names.