Components🔗

Fomin Report Builder is structured around a flexible, modular architecture that blends Clarion templates, object-oriented class libraries, and external DLLs. This lets developers easily integrate powerful reporting capabilities into their applications while giving users full control at runtime.

🧱 Core Components Overview🔗

Component	Purpose
RBC-library	Object-oriented core in a DLL (Report Builder Classes)
FRB/FRBC Template Sets	Template sets for Legacy (FRB) and ABC (FRBC) chains
ReportManager	Tree-style report organizer interface
RunTimeReport	Main runtime procedure for building/editing reports
Dictionary Interface	Field and formula expression helper
Code & Extension Templates	Templates for buttons, previewers, and code hooks

🔧 RBC-library🔗

The RBC (Report Builder Classes) library is the compiled core of FRB.

Delivered as a DLL or LIB (e.g. standalone ClaFRB.DLL or local ClaFRBL.LIB)
Contains report formatter, processor, and runtime engine
Uses object-oriented Clarion to manage .rpt files
Works in MDI/SDI applications

Every FRB-enabled application loads this DLL at runtime, enabling report layout, data binding, filtering, evaluation, and printing.

📁 Distribute the DLL(s) with your .EXE without any runtime royalties.

🧩 Template Sets: FRB & FRBC🔗

✅ `FRB.TPL`🔗

For Legacy template chain
Works in Clarion for Windows 2.0, Clarion 4, Clarion 5

✅ `FRBC.TPL`🔗

For ABC template chain
Also works with Clarion 4 and Clarion 5
Supports the FRBClass object model

🎯 Both sets include identical functional components via Clarion templates and control templates.

🗂️ Procedures🔗

`RunTimeReport`🔗

The main runtime report editor
One procedure = one report type (VIEW structure)
Let users create, edit, filter, sort, and print .rpt reports
Exposes settings like preview mode, print dialog, field binding, other data, and user functions

`ReportManager`🔗

Tree-style report file browser
Displays .rpt files grouped by type and directory
Lets users Insert, Change, Delete, and Print
Customizable root-level titles and search paths
Built using the ReportManagerTree control template

🔄 Multiple RunTimeReport procedures can be registered with a single ReportManager.

🧰 Control Templates🔗

These extend your Clarion UI with buttons and LIST controls that wire into FRB's runtime:

Template Name	Function
`ReportManagerTree`	Tree-like view of `.rpt` files
`ReportManagerUpdateButtons`	Insert, Change, Delete buttons
`ReportManagerSelectButton`	Print selected report
`ReportManagerExpandContractButtons`	Expand/Collapse tree branches
`InvokeDictionary`	Lookup for runtime formula variables

Use these templates to enrich the ReportManager and enable deep runtime interaction.

🧠 Extension & Code Templates🔗

Template Name	Use Case
`CorrectReportClosing`	Ensures proper MDI shutdown of formatter windows
`IdentifyFields`	Exposes calculated fields to other app procedures
`PreviewCPCS`	Enables CPCS-style preview integration
`PreviewRPM`	Enables Report & Presentation Manager (RPM) preview
`LaunchRunTimeReport`	Embeds FRB report launching logic in any procedure via code injection

🧑‍🔧 Application Dictionary Integration🔗

When building RunTimeReport, you configure:

Table Fields: Available for use in filters and frames
Other Data: Module/global/local variables exposed to users
User Functions: Custom procedures users can reference in formulas (e.g. SQL queries)

You also define: - Field name bindings - Dictionary help through the [Dictionary] interface - Optional variable prefixes by table

🧩 The more you expose cleanly, the more your users can leverage FRB’s flexibility.

🧮 Expression & Formula Engine🔗

FRB uses Clarion’s EVALUATE() function to process:

Arithmetic and string logic
Date/time operations
Trigonometric functions
User-defined procedures
Frame contents, section conditions, filters

Expressions are stored directly inside .rpt files and evaluated dynamically—no compilation needed.

📦 File Format🔗

Each report is saved as a .RPT file:

Self-contained: includes layout, data bindings, filters, and expressions
Stored in a TopSpeed database container
Portable, editable, and easy to distribute

Reports can be previewed, duplicated, and sent via email—no app update required.

📎 Resource Files Summary🔗

You’ll use or deploy:

File	Purpose
`C5FRB.DLL`, `C4FRB.DLL`	Runtime engines
`frb.tpl`, `frbc.tpl`	Template sets for Clarion
`frbclass.clw`, `frbclass.inc`	RBC class source (for reference)
`frb_nls.ini`	National Language Support file
`.rpt` files	User-created report definitions