Introduction

SAS/AF software provides many new features that improve your ability to rapidly develop portable client/server applications. These changes and enhancements include

complete backward compatibility with applications and classes that were developed using Versions 6 and 7 of SAS/AF software.
a new component model to facilitate development of plug-and-play components. This model supports the following methodologies for communication between components:
- attribute linking
- model/view communication through interface support
- events and event handlers
- drag and drop functionality.
new visual components (or controls) that provide true native appearance on the development platform, including a combo box, check box, push button, radio box, and others.
new non-visual components (or models) that can be dropped onto a frame from the new Components window. These components are designed to work automatically with many of the new controls in model/view relationships.
a new build-time environment that incorporates improved user interface features such as
- a common Properties window that is shared by all components in a frame
- a new Components window for creating both visual and non-visual objects on a frame
- a redesigned Class Editor and Resource Editor
- a new Interface Editor.
improved object-oriented development capabilities in the SAS Component Language (formerly called Screen Control Language), such as dot notation and improved compile-time error checking.

Note: Many of the build-time enhancements for SAS/AF software require the graphical capabilities of desktop environments and therefore do not work in mainframe environments. However, applications that are developed with SAS/AF software in other operating environments can be executed on mainframe platforms. [cautionend]

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