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The VDF Special Interest Group provides a regular forum for Visual DataFlex interest in the UK. It covers Windows and web application development with Visual DataFlex and anything related to it.
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Visual DataFlex
VDF is one of the most effective database application development systems you can find.
Come to our SIG meetings and find out why.
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VDF Seminar - Report of Presentations now available
This seminar was packed with information related to web development and acquiring a presence in "The Cloud", with some very clever technology emerging to allow on demand deployment of web servers, something that could answer the question of "How do I get a Web Application deployed onto a reliable 24*7 server.
The summary is as below, and you can access the whole set of topics here.
We saw an increased interest in the VDF AJAX Library for Web Application development, with nearly the maximum numbers attending an introductory training session. Data Access Europe’s Help Desk Express showed just how far we can now go in building good looking and user friendly Web Applications.
From two comments on this it seems this seminar and initial training has achieved its intent - making some sense of the new opportunities available to us
It was a very good - this is Ajax version 2 and this is all you need to do to start using it. As someone who does not need Ajax / Web at the moment it did exactly what I wanted which was to bring me up to speed with the current changes.
The seminar did not really need any understanding of WebApp. If you want to extend the Ajax framework you will need some JS / DOM training. If you just want to make good use of the framework as supplied then a course that focuses on the VDF Ajax library and Web Business Objects would be good.
Which we will be be doing just in the New Year. See below
Dynamic AI and VDF WebApp Server
From Dave McKane, Datos
I have to say both Colin and I were very impressed with what we learnt last week and have now began to move towards implementation of both Dynamic AI and WebApp into our application.
During the next three months we will be converting the ledgers from our character mode software (COMiT) into our windows package, Season and we will be converting from DataFlex into Microsoft SQL before the end of December..
We will be developing our ledgers and incorporating Dynamic AI into the package at the same time, our logic is to develop the ledgers with a file structure that will allow us to easily use Dynamic AI, that means we have an opportunity to get things right at the beginning.
We plan to launch the ledgers and Dynamic AI at the same time to our customer base etc - this is the final push in an almost 3 year development program..
It was fortuitous that you had your seminar at this time. We also plan to write a Sales Rep CRM module using VDF WebApp in the new year. We already have a solution for this written with Momote (an interface for PDAs), but there is much more opportunity for a package on the Web and again using Dynamic AI and Ajax.
 EDUC 2010
This will be held on 4th & 5th March 2010 in Seefeld, Austria, which is in the heart of the Austrian Tirol, so also to be known as SKIDUC!
Alongside the skiing, Seefeld is at the heart of the active European DataFlex region, so as well as the EDUC program itself, this will be an opportunity to exchange ideas with the most active Visual DataFlex developers in Europe .
Putting Embedded SQL to Work
Since we moved out major Eclipse-fm® application to MS SQL we have been able to really put the power of the SQL Server concept to work, with very good results.
If this is an unfamiliar world to you, EDUC 2010 includes a training session on using embedded SQL (Tuesday March 2nd)
VDF 15.1
Visual DataFlex v15.1 is now available as the release Candidate, with full release very soon now
See details page on our here from where it may be downloaded. Back to the Top
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Held at the Robinson Centre in Wyboston, where EDUC 2004 took place, and supported by Data Access Europe, the audience was treated to an intensive series of presentations with a largely "Web Development" theme.
Back to the Future?
Bernard Hill, Asckey’s Commercial Director, set the scene with a "Back to the Future" observation that we seem to have come full circle from centralised UNIX, DEC, CDOS and Turbodos "servers" through distributed "fat client" networked PCs and now back to a centralised model, but one that is potentially on a much wider, even global, basis than could have been be realised back in the 1980s. If nothing else we now have the bandwidth to support such global ambitions.
Web Application Development - Software as a Service and Cloud Computing
Eddy Kleinjan (Data Access Europe’s technical Director) gave a very informative presentation combining practical tips on Web Application Development/Software as a Service, and how you might go about getting a presence in the world of "Cloud Computing". Later, Eddy presented an update on the VDF AJAX Framework, an impressive and highly competent method for creating interactive web applications such as you will not yet see in any great numbers as yet. We in the VDF community can be ahead of the curve here!
Helpdesk Express
Sandwiched between these presentations, Vincent Oorsprong, who runs Training and the Help Desk at DAE, ran through the features of HelpDesk Express, built with the VDF AJAX Framework. With software support an increasing requirement for serious application development, HelpDesk Express may well be on your shopping list next year
What’s new in the VDF Development Studio?
Martin Pincott (Technical Director, Asckey Data Services) then highlighted some of the newer features that have been built into the Visual DataFlex development studio.
Reporting Dynamic AI, the soon to be released Data Access Visual Report Writer, and the new VPE library for Visual DataFlex showed how much choice we have now in choosing reporting methods for specific needs.
After lunch, presentations on
From completely open end user reporting with Dynamic AI, to "programmer only" pixel perfect reporting, we have a very comprehensive reporting tool set available.
VDF Roadmap
John Tuohey, Data Access Worldwide’s "VDF Architect" rounded off an information packed day with a live webinar covering current and future VDF development.
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AJAX Framework Training
"JavaScript, AJAX... and beyond! (about making things work for you)."
Thursday & Friday February 18/19
The AJAX Visual DataFlex Library and how to use it to enhance Web Applications with advanced client side scripting.
While the VDF Studio wizards can do a lot for us, there is no doubt that in order to get the best out of the AJAX concept, and to really get into Web Application development you need an introduction to this new development environment.
We are offering a 2 day course on the VDF AJAX Library which will get you started on serious web application development. Given by a combination of Mike Peat (Unicorn Interglobal) and Harm Wibier (Data Access Europe), this will provide an introduction to Javascript and the Document Object Model - DOM and then show you how the VDF AJAX library puts these to work for you.
What you will learn
Basics of JavaScript and the DOM
- Structure and syntax, data types, operators, expressions, variables, objects, arrays and functions, conditional execution, loops and exception handling
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More advanced aspects such as anonymous functions (lambdas), namespaces, modules and closures.
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JavaScript in the Web Browser
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The DOM (Document Object Model) for both HTML and XML and how to work with it in JavaScript,
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CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) API, browser incompatibilities and what to do about them,
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the browser event model and event listeners,
the XMLHttpRequest object which forms the basis for Ajax-style web applications.
The Visual DataFlex AJAX Library
- How Ajax works. How it uses the HTTPRequest interface to make soap style calls to the web server.
- How it works asynchronously and the benefits that provides.
- How to enhance web applications with scripting and calling web services to provide interactive web applications based on the functionality demonstrated in the VDF AJAX Examples.
- Creating a new workspace, adding the Ajax library and create a simple page using the wizards.
With the AJAX Framework version 2 this is all you need to do to start using it.
However, you will want to go further, and for this you need to know about
- CSS and how it is used to control the look of the web pages.
- The Java Script classes that make up the Ajax framework.
Thursday & Friday February 18/19 9:30 am Thursday to 4:00 pm Friday
Limited to 8 trainees maximum
You will need to bring
VDF and the current version of the VDF AJAX library loaded onto your own laptop, plus if possible Firefox and the Firebug debugger. Mike Peat will be giving you examples relevant to his training material to install which you can use to follow along with the course and/or for later study.
Prior skills
Familiarity with VDF Development and a basic understanding of the Visual DataFlex WebApp Server - installation, workspaces and the Web Business Object concept
Cost
£350 for the two days to include lunch. (NB:- we are subsidising the cost from the usual commercial rates of £3-500 per day for such a course.)
 LocationAsckey Data Services Ltd
Church End farm, Warboys Road, Pidley, Cambs, PE28 3DA
Good value overnight accommodation if required available at www.lakeside-lodge.co.uk
Please contact us on 0845 2707747 to book a place on this course.
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| New V5.1 Release of SQL Connectivity Kits
Just in case you missed (or don’t get) the Data Access VDF Newsletter
The latest version of the Connectivity Kits for Microsoft SQL Server, IBM DB2 and ODBC Connectivity Kits is build 5.1.0.66. Developers are encouraged to update to the latest release and benefit from its enhancements.
The Connectivity Kits 5.1 introduces support to SQL Server 2008, removes the need for creating uppercase columns on the back-end database and delivers important bug fixes.
The DB2 Connectivity Kit also implements a change on how Binary Columns are created.
Download the Connectivity Kit 5.1 and related documentation for your preferred DBMS from the FTP site at: ftp://ftp.dataaccess.com/pub/products/connectivity
Be sure to read the CK 5.1 Recent Changes and Fixes document (PDF) for specific detail about what’s included in this latest release and how the change to the Ignore_Ucase_Support setting will affect your existing databases and applications.
Developers upgrading from a CK version prior to 5.0 should also read the What’s New in Version 5 document (PDF) that includes important information that may have consequences for existing applications and databases.
Note that the family of SQL Connectivity Kits (including Microsoft SQL Server, IBM DB2 and ODBC) are published as a set. The changes and fixes listed comprise all changes made to that set. Some changes are specific to particular CKs and others are generic to the set.
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VDF Graphics Library
 Visual DataFlex has had a relatively limited capability to handle graphics within applications unless augmented with third party packages.
Did you know that The Visual DataFlex Graphics Library 2.0 has been released by Data Access Europe and is available for download?
When attached to your application workspace, the Graphics Library enables the display of pictures and images in most of today’s popular graphic formats. Supported formats are Bitmaps (BMP), Icons (ICO), Graphic Interchange Format (GIF), Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPG), Exchangeable Image File Format (EXF), Portable Network Graphics (PNG), Tagged Image File Format (TIFF), Windows Metafile (WMF) and Windows Enhanced Metafile (EMF).
The Graphics Library uses Microsoft Windows GDI+ functions and the classes therefore do not rely on an installed ActiveX.
The Graphics Library was first introduced as a Beta release at the Synergy 2009 Developer Conference in March, 2009. The official release of version 1.0 adds several new features and bug fixes. More details, and a download link here.
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 Asckey Data Services Ltd is a UK Channel partner for Data Access Worldwide, authors of Visual DataFlex. We provide Visual DataFlex,
Electos and Dynamic AI sales and support in the UK Church End Farm
Warboys Road, Pidley,
Cambs PE28 3DA
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