Leveraging IDOC Resources

Summary

IDOC files are extremely useful when creating Dynamic Server Pages. They give an ordinary contributor the power to create IdocScript resources and include them on other pages.

IDOC files are especially useful when creating HCSPs and HCSFs. It is a standard best-practice to define all the display logic with resource includes in IDOC files, instead of on the HCSP itself. You then call the docLoadResourceIncludes function on the HCSP to load those resources and display the form data. This procedure enables you to completely separate the data in the form from the logic that displays it. It also enables you to change the look and feel of the HCSP by simply checking in a new revision of the IDOC file.

You can also override standard resources with IDOC files. In doing so, you can completely override common resources (such as std_page_begin and std_page_end), but your modifications show only on the pages in which you explicitly load the IDOC resource. All other pages remain unaffected.