Name: krT82822			Date: 09/29/99


If I show a modal dialog, it blocks until you hide it. 
We need for our applications to unblock the dialog calling,
for example, dialog.setModal(false), but no hiding it.

Thanks.

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9/10/99 more feedback from user:

 Thank you for your answer.
  I'll  try  to  explain you our problem (and sorry for telling you my live
and the large message):

  We  are  migrating  to Java (multi-platform language) a large application
suit (+- 4000 finnancial transactions Host/terminal) that we finnished last
year.  It was developped in CT/2 (an OS2 only IBM tool with support for IBM
Host communications and finnancial devices via Landp, an more).

  We  need  to  do  a  technical  migration to Java. It means that the Java
application  must have the same Look (skywalker :>) and Feel. We are in the
way to do this, and with Java it's possible to do even a better application
than  CT/2  (better  currency field pictures, performace, etc). Our clients
want  to have the SAME application because they are tired learning the 4000
transactions.  In  a  seccond  step (next years) we will develop a non-CT/2
like application

  But  we  have  a  problem:  all  the  CT/2  windows  have  the same modal
behaviour:  (in middle CT2 code)

1.  show the first window
5.  activate the first window
6.  'read' the first window (set to modal state)
  6.1.  (in modal state): while (modal_state_is_on  &&  window_is_opened)
  6.2.  (in modal state):     dispatch messages for dialog (mesagges loop)
  6.3.  at the end of the loop, NOT HIDE the window
...
9.  look for variables and buttons pressed on dialog
10.  If there is a validation error go to point 5
11.  else
    12.  show the first window
    13.  activate the second window
    14.  'read' the second window (set to modal state)
      14.1.     (in    modal    state):    while   (modal_state_is_on    &&
window_is_opened)
      14.2.   (in  modal state):     dispatch messages for dialog (mesagges
loop)
      14.3.  at the end of the loop, NOT HIDE the window
    ...
    16.  look for variables in second window
    17.  If there is a validation error go to point 12
    18.  If you pressed PREVIOUS_PAGE, go back to point 5

(the  points:  6.1,  6.2,  6.3  and  14.1, 14.2, 14.3  are CT/2 Native code
that we don't programm)

  It  means  that  while a dialog is in 'modal state' the other application
windows  are disabled, and the user can't navigate between windows. This is
very important because the complexity of many transactions with more than 7
input  windows  and  douzens  of  possible  output  windows  for  the  Host
responses, and validations, special behaviours and links, etc.

  We  can  use a non-modal window but we won't have the same behaviour: the
windows  are  independent between them (the user can click on other windows
and activate them).

  We  tried to do our own modal windows taking a non-modal window and doing
the   message   loop   that   native   window   managers  do,  after  doing
setVisible(true).    But   there   are   many   problems   on   using   the
SystemEventQueue,  because not all events arrive at our EventQueue, we must
disable  EventQueueDispatcher  thread  to  controll  all the events and not
compete       with       him,      but      when      we      do      that,
SwingUtilities$IDontRememberWhatComponent   has   problems  and  aplication
hangs.

  We  have  searched  in jdk .java sources but in the Dialog's show method,
the  method only do peer.show() to do the message loop, and the peer is the
native  IBM  JDK for OS/2 Dialog window and I don't have the sources, but I
think this peer class only do a native call to an javaw.dll entry point.

  Another  important  problem  originated  from  this  is that an non-modal
window  make  the  executing  flow  to continue after a setVisible(true). A
modal  window  blocks  until  the user press a button, for example. This is
very important too for this reason:

  We  have  started with this project this year 1999, and at the end of the
year  we  MUST  FINNISH the applications!!!. Four thousand transactions (in
CT2  it  took  several  years  with  a  tool  ready  to  show windows, host
communications, etc) an a big arquitecture in ten months: IMPOSSIBLE to do.

   Then  we  thought  in  a  parallel project at aside to this application:
simulating  an CT/2 interpreter from Java (100MB of CT2 programs + 6000 CT2
windows + 7000 CT2 record formats will run in Java in ten months!). This is
a way to end before year finalization. The interpreter is a bypass solution
for one or two years until the real and truly Java application ends.
  We  are  at the final state of this little project but we have a problem:
the  CT/2  modal  dialogs.  The  CT2  windows blocks in the program flow at
points  6  and 14.  I'm  using non-modal windows to show the components and
to  block  the  CT2  simulated  program  flow until I peek a message in the
queue,  but  I  still  can't  click on other window and my code don't works
fine.

  If  the  Java  Modal  Dialogs  would  work as we request the work will be
different.   You  don't  think so?. We have lost weeks trying this feature.
You  can  see  it's  very important for us. In the future, possibly all the
components  that  we have distributed in four windows we'll put then in the
same window (like a HTML window) and we don't have problems like that  :)

  I  know is not a normal request. Possibly none of the One Million of Java
Developers in the world have ask you for this problem (I have searched with
your database find engine and I didnt saw anything like this).

  Thanks and congratulations if you have reached this point of the message.
You seem to have good nervs.

  Sorry for my english.
  Have a good day.

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9/29/99 eval1127@eng -- user would like RFE noted.
(Review ID: 95071) 
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