![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Gravitybox Schedule Primer
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1998-2004 Gravitybox Software LLC
The need for GbSchedule
In todays world, there is a need for a general-purpose scheduling utility. More
applications are requiring at least some scheduling as part of their functionality. Many
developers dreading this task save it for last only to realize that it is a much larger task
than at first they thought. A high-quality schedule inside of your application is an
application in and of itself. You could spend your entire allotted time developing just this
part of your application.
This is where the Gravitybox Schedule component comes in. All of the complicated
scheduling routines have been incorporated into it, including conflict resolution and
warning. Also added is the ScheduleProperties control that allows you to create in
minutes a customized property sheet for appointments. Almost all default behaviors
may be overridden with customizations. And most importantly, very little code is needed
to perform even complex tasks. The schedule may be dropped on a form, be fully drag-
drop enabled, moving appointments across windows or even different programs with file
loading and saving functionality in 30 lines of code or less!
All of this creates a component that has a small learning curve. Most of the properties
are self-explanatory. An intermediate developer can read though the properties and look
at examples and almost be an expert in less than an hour. This allows you to add first-
rate scheduling to your application with ease.
Goals of GbSchedule
The goals of GbSchedule are several. These are the guidelines on which the software
was developed.
To create a high-quality component
To have a small learning curve
To have the maximum functionality with a minimal of code
To add user requests in a timely fashion
The software has been translated into many languages. The actual language text is
small when compared to a commercial application. The only places in the component
that are language specific are prompts. There are default dialogs, which may be
overridden by the developer if need be.
Real-World Uses
When evaluating a software product, its usefulness is its most important attribute. No
matter the time and care expended to create a software program, if it does not solve
any real-world problem, it is useless. GbSchedule has been designed to resolve many
scheduling situations. The original goal of the component was to produce a module that
could be dropped into an application to create a scheduling application for a doctors
office. This did prove an ambitious goal in and of itself. The necessary functionality has
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