Functions
Overview
In simple terms, a function is a set of statements grouped together under a
name and can be invoked from anywhere within a program. Deluge Scripting
supports Functions, using which we can structure the deluge script, in
a more modular way, accessing all the potential that structured programming
can offer. Related functions can also be grouped under a common category
based on their purpose, called namespace, which helps in easy maintenance.
Functions can be invoked from form/field action scripts or on selected
records in a view.
Advantages of using Deluge Functions
1. Write once and reuse utilities
‘Functions’ promote code re-usability of deluge script within an
application and even across applications (same user’s applications).
It makes the code modular and easy to understand. When you feel like
repeating certain scripting functionality across different parts of
an application, you can define them as a function and reuse it. With
the help of built-in functions provided in deluge, you can create
numerous util functions on your own, using the ‘Functions’
support.
2. Serves as bridge between applications (created by the same user)
Not only can you define generic utilities as functions, you can even
manipulate the application data from within the functions. Till now,
it was not possible to manipulate the data in one application from the
script in another application. This is now made possible with the help
of functions. In this respect, we can consider application as an object
with its data and we can define functions to operate on this data which
compares to member functions in an ‘object oriented’ world.
The applications can communicate with each other using functions.
3. Custom action integration in views
‘Functions’ has the potential to be integrated into various
GUI actions, taking the scripting integration in Zoho Creator to next
level. It makes the applications created, much more powerful and alive.
As a first step, it is integrated into views under the terminology ‘Custom
Actions’. It enables the user to invoke a specific function on
selected records in a view.
Refer the following links to learn how to define and invoke functions, configure
functions as custom actions and sample functions.
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