Each object must be defined in an object definition. (Note that when you use the visual programming tools to create objects, they generate the object definition to describe the objects for you.)

 

Each object definition consists of two parts:

 

•An object statement, which specifies the object's type, name (identifier), attributes, and position.

•A set of drawing statements, which describe the  object's initial contents or appearance.

 

For example:

 

 

The object definition can contain initial attribute settings for the object. Attributes are the characteristics of the object - for example, selectability, visibility, and color.

 

The type of object is specified as a keyword (key, graphical region, textual region, and so on).

 

The object name is a unique identifier you give the object, for referencing in the program.

 

The position is the object's location within its parent on the screen. All applications must specify a primary region. If an object does not have a parent, as with a primary region, the position is the location is within the Windows desktop.

 

Drawing statements describe the appearance of the object. You can specify as many drawing statements as you need to generate the desired object. Drawing statements indicate that ESL should perform such operations as drawing a line or a circle, or displaying text. (Note that you cannot specify all drawing statements for all object types; for example, you cannot specify box for a textual region.)

 

You must specify the object type, name, and position. For regions, dialog boxes and controls, you must also define the size. You can leave all other attributes and contents initially unspecified, which causes them to be their default values.

 

The attributes and contents that you provide when you define an object represent the initial attributes and appearance of the object. Both attributes and contents can be changed during runtime, using action statements that are part of a response definition.