Whenever you save an object, such as a window or menu, in a painter, PowerBuilder stores the object in a library file (for the workspace) or under a library folder (for the solution). Similarly, whenever you open an object in a painter, PowerBuilder retrieves the object from the library file or folder.
Assigning libraries
Application targets/projects can use as many libraries as you want. Libraries can be on your own computer or on a server. When you create a target/project, you specify which libraries it uses. You can also change the library search path for a target/project at any time during development.
For information about specifying the library search path, see Specifying the target/project's library search path.
How the information is saved
The object is saved in two forms:
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Source form
This is a syntactic representation of the object, including the script code. You can Edit or Edit Source of an object in the PowerBuilder code editor.
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Object form
PowerBuilder compiles an object automatically every time you save it.
In a workspace, the object is saved in the binary format and more than one object is saved in one consolidated library file, similar to the object file in the C and C++ languages. Supports machine code or Pcode.
In a solution, the object is saved in the plain text format and every object is saved in a singular file. Supports Pcode only.
The library is saved in different forms in the workspace and solution:
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In a workspace, the library is saved as a file with file extension .pbl.
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In a solution, the library is saved as a folder (the folder name is appended with .pbl at the end).
