Language Guide by Keith Oustalet

Purpose of This Guide

This Language Guide is intended to show you how to use heitml. It will enable you to get your heitml applications up and running in the shortest possible time. Many books have succeeded in teaching the basics of HTML in a week or less, and we think heitml can be learned in a similar time-frame.

Anyone who has never programmed heitml before should read this guide. Whether you are new to HTML Web Authoring or an experienced professional programmer, the topics presented in this Guide are designed to show you how to get the most out of heitml.

This is not an HTML tutorial, however, so if you don't already have a working knowledge of it, you should buy an HTML reference book and keep it handy.

heitml Application Development

There are various styles to actually create a heitml application. Component Combination style means plugging together an application by combination of components. No programming takes place and so the Component Guide contains enough information for this kind of application development.

The Component Combination with Programs style starts the same way as component combination. However after the components are in place little program fragments are added in order to fine tune an application. The contains some information to get started on this. As soon as the program fragments become longer you should however consider reading the Language Guide.

Finally there is Component Style Programming where users create their own components and reuse them many times. This is described in the user components manual.

Background Info

The Introduction, the Component Guide and heitml Features sections have already provided you with a few ideas regarding the possibilities offered by heitml, an integrated software development environment that combines HTML Web Publishing with SQL databases.

But heitml is also a full-featured programming language. It offers structured, modular, and object-oriented programming techniques that enable you to develop Web Pages in a logical and consistent manner.

One of heitml's many strengths is its ability to interact with SQL Databases in an almost invisible manner. Even if you have no previous experience with SQL you'll find it a relatively simple matter to create a wide range of Database Applications with the tools provided in our Application Component Library.

Every computer language has it's own rules and commands to learn, and heitml is no different. But we think you'll find heitml so similar to HTML that it will seem like a natural extension of the working habits you've already developed. SQL poses a few new challenges, but if you don't already know the difference between adding a <TABLE> to your HTML Web Pages and "CREATE"-ing a TABLE in SQL, don't panic, because those differences should become clear in the sections where SQL database operations are explained.

Of course, heitml really shines if you're already familiar with concepts like Object-oriented and Modular Programming, Functions, and Procedures; topics that have become so important to modern programming languages that professionals would feel lost without them. Again, however, you don't need to panic if these areas are new to you. The Language Guide tells you what you need to know when you need to know it, and it provides many easy to understand examples that demonstrate how these techniques are to be employed.

Looking Towards the Future

Now that Microsoft has integrated their Web Browser with the Windows Operating System, it should be clear that "Browser-based" applications are the wave of the future. Programmers will need new tools to help them keep up with this fast changing world. heitml is therefore proud to be among the first of these new-generation tools. Our product has features that will appeal to the most demanding professionals. At the same time, it remains accessible to the many non-professional HTML users who are such a valuable part of the World Wide Web community.