Summaries of the most interesting presentations
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Lots of activity so far this year in the Visual DataFlex world with Visual Report Writer nearing full release and EDUC now done with all the news that this conference always generates.
VDF SIG June 17
Something of a change in in format for this meeting. The new grid class in VDF 2010/v16 is a significant new feature and this meeting will be a free full day hands on training course on what it can do, how to use it, and the Codejock classes on which it is built. See more on VDF16 below, and on the day itself.
For now, mark these two days off in your diary, and if you are intending to come, let us know now - call 0845 270 7747 or email sales@asckey.com
EDUC 2010
EDUC 2010 was well attended with around 90 attendees from around the works (you can’t get much further "around" than Australia!), and the training courses were particularly well subscribed. The top two training topics were Web Application development with AJAX course with 17 attendees, which is a good indication of how web application development is moving up in priority and, particularly gratifying to us, as we thought it had been fairly well covered in recent times, the VDF SIG Codejock library training day attracted 15 attendees.
The most significant item was John Tuohy’s presentation on the new data aware Grid Class which is going to be a major new opportunity for improving both the appearance and performance of our VDF applications. More on this in particular below, plus a general round up of other items that caught the attention of our delegate, Martin Pincott.
VDF 2009/15.1 now supported on Windows 7
As planned, Data Access have run thorough tests of Visual DataFlex 2009/15.1 on Windows 7. The results are positive and Data Access have now announced that version 2009/15.1 is supported by Data Access Worldwide on Windows 7 just as it is on Windows Vista, XP and 2000. Windows 7 support includes both 32 bit and 64 bit versions of the operating system
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EDUC 2010
Highlights from the presentations
Several of the topics were familiar ground to those who came to our Autumn Seminar, with a review of the current VDF 2009 studio, the AJAX Library for web development, and a bunch of reporting options (VRW, VPE, Crystal Reports Dynamic AI and List & Label) all subject to presentation sessions. With the exception of List & label these were covered last Autumn in the UK. You can find List and Label here http://www.combit.net/, and it has good integration options with Visual DataFlex
Visual DataFlex
By John Tuohy, CTO, Data Access Corporation, USA
John gave an overview of the current product, particularly showing how to get the most out of it. This is always an entertaining and informative session, guaranteed to show you things you didn’t know you could do!
Martin Pincott comments
"Although we all use the VDF studio, it is always the case that when presented by someone who really knows it inside out, just about everyone ends up saying ’I didn’t know you could do that...!’ "
So - stop and think, are you really using what the VDF Studio gives you to the full?
Search Engine Optimization
Chip Casenave (Data Access Corporation) CEO/President
Chip covered the work that has been done in respect of Search Engine Optimization in Electos.
His main points
- You need to customise the search engine friendly material to match each web page
- You need to think like your audience, what will they be looking for?
Electos 4.1 has a lot of SEO Specifics to make this all possible. The recent Electos releases have provided specific support for searchability, or rather the "findability" of your website. This has given you the ability to closely match the SEO material to page content right down to page level, with provisions for entering the meta data that search engines look for - particularly keywords and description. The very latest version also gives the option to make the presented URLs currently looking like
into something a lot more friendly such as
Details of how to update to user friendly URLs (only relevant if you are running an Electos system yourself).
Chip’s presentation material is here
Does this work? - we think so. Since implementing the meta data on our own web sites, we have consistently been on the first Google page for any VDF, DF or Dynamic AI searches, though it is a lot harder to get up there with more general/competitive topics, such as facilities management where we are on the second page!
Codejock for Visual DataFlex
Martin Pincott, Asckey Data Services Ltd
The VDF SIG Codejock Library 2010, developed and maintained by Martin, Peter Bragg and Ian Smith has become an important contribution to the community. With the Codejock Extreme report control forming the basis of the new VDF Grid class, the non data aware implementation of this in the VDF SIG Codejock Library previews the kind of effects that will be possible with the data aware version in VDF 2010/v16 (see below). After a run through of the origins of the project in relation to the whole Codejock Extreme Suite Pro (PPT available here) Martin showed what the library has to offer, how to use it and the benefits to your VDF applications. As above, a day training course on this was well supported with 15 attendees (and we will be repeating this training day, including the new Grid class as the next VDF SIG day in June).
Using AJAX in Electos
David Martinko, Tracker Systems Inc. USA
David showed how someone could easily take the AJAX Order Entry Sample and the Electos CMS system and make the AJAX webapp run inside the Electos sample website.
The integration allows an AJAX webapp to reside on either the same server or another PC (which can be on a local network or anywhere on the web). This means that a client can have all their data and webapp running in-house and the website be out there on the web somewhere.
David says
"Using a CMS system allows me to leverage the User login for securing my webapp, allows me to use the CMS system templates for look/feel, and it builds menus for me. So I can concentrate more on the building of the app and less on design. Crucially, I don’t have to re-invent security".
All I do is copy the HTML code into the content of a page in the Electos studio... and my new page is published!
That’s a neat trick, and doesn’t even need access to Electos Web App source. David has been using techniques developed by RedeemedHosting in the USA. If this is of interest to you, keep an eye on their web site - "In the next few weeks, please expect to see a demo site and more information provided on www.RedeemedHosting.com". They we are willing to sell their technology to other developers for their own use. You would be provided with instructions, code modifications, recommended usage, and a tutorial step-by-step on how to get started.
AJAX - for real
Mike Peat, Managing Director, Unicorn InterGlobal Limited
Mike proposed that there is more to building Web 2.0 applications than just adding the spice of AJAX to the pot of old-style Web Apps. Mike went through some of the architectural and design aspects you need to consider if you are to build applications that will meet users’ expectations in a rapidly evolving marketplace.
In doing so, Mike presented a major new design consideration:-
"A set of linked Ajax pages is not a Web 2.0 application. We need to build entire applications on a single page; give up on ASP, Cookies and all that sellotape and string technology and just have HTML and JavaScript on the client and a web service on the server. We need to build "applications on a page" - instead of a collection of pages, we have a full (seamless) client-side application"
The VDF AJAX framework has already taken us well beyond the "Submit - pause - get a new page loaded" approach of traditional HTML web pages, but we still tend to see single purpose pages linked by some form of menu. This is a little reminiscent of character mode days. Mike’s approach has the potential to take our web applications another step towards the rich, functionally and visually integrated applications that Windows desktop applications have made us used to.
Mike has a very nice PPT on this which is well worth a read - see here.
Managing software projects with Visual Dataflex and Dynamic AI
Christian Hartlieb, CEO Somentec Software AG, Germany
Somentec, an Oracle partner, provides a specialized billing tool developed to meet the challenging tasks set by the utilities markets in Germany. It is a powerful and flexible standard software program for the management and billing needs of this most varied of power supply sectors. Their XAP system accounts for electricity, gas, water, waste, heating and coling, as well as distribution of cost and consumption, and network access. Somentec offers its customers a turn-key solution based on a customized package consisting of XAP, consultancy, project execution, integration with current or new data processing systems, data migration, and training. There are nearly 40 utility companies currently using Somentec’s billing solutions
This, XAP, is developed in Visual DataFlex and Dynamic AI and the interesting aspect of this presentation was as much in the size of the business as the details of the application.
The XAP Product and associated Services have now been in use for more than 10 years by power suppliers, public utilities, heating & water suppliers, sewage disposal companies, contractors and businesses with facility management interests. Somentec is an Oracle partner, and are software manufacture and consulting company for the utility industry in Germany.
XAP was, in 1994, the first and only German billing system for community suppliers and energy companies, and was developed as a completely object-oriented DataFlex application that was autonomous from operating systems as well as databases.
Since then, and something very nice to see, Somentec Software’s Visual DataFlex powered application has been able to successfully stand its ground in the highly competitive energy market, despite still being a relatively small enterprise.
A little more on this here
The Next EDUC
After mild diversions through Iceland and Australia (!) this will be in Spain (Barcelona), 2012.
Summary
A good feeling conference with a good turnout. Lots of interest, and lots to be interested in. VDF 16 will raise the performance and visual stakes for VDF applications again, and will give you real opportunities to show these as "state of the art" end user applications.
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Visual DataFlex - What’s next
John Tuohy, CTO of Data Access Worldwide
Always last, and always the highlight of the conference, John Tuohy outlined where VDF is going next.
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The main answer is the new Codejock based data aware grid class. From what was shown at EDUC, you really will want to use this, and it will make a big difference to your applications.
The new grid is perhaps more significant than it may appear, not only for what it will do for us, but because recent VDF releases since the initial Codejock integration have concentrated more on the Studio itself and on Web Application Development facilities (the AJAX framework). The new Grid class will be something that returns the focus to Windows applications and end user benefits, providing a distinct visual and functional improvement that you can apply to your applications. Put it to use and you should be able to justify application upgrading, or clinch that new client with a better functioning and more attractive application.
Background
The current data entry grid class is very "old", and by modern standards relatively lacking in functionality. Any VDF developer will be aware of the less than complete reflection of reality displayed by the scroll bar behaviour, and colour control could be a lot better, as could the provision of user control such as customizing which columns to show.
Based on the Codejock Xtreme ReportControl™ 2009 the new grid class will solve all those problems, and provide a whole lot of new features besides.
"Xtreme ReportControl™ 2009 provides Windows developers with a sophisticated Outlook 2003 style Report. Windows developers can easily create group and sort data in a flat or hierarchical format. All colours in the reports can be customized to match any existing application".
For "Report" read "Grid"
Compared with the current grid, the new Visual DataFlex 2010 grid will provide developers with better looking Windows applications, many new grid features such as strong in-cell text editing capability and improved performance especially with large data sets.
Far too many features to list here in entirety, but one or two eye catchers
And one not listed - as in Excel, lock a column so that other columns can be scrolled leaving the locked one in place and always visible.
For the full list, check out Codejock’s description for what you can look forward to!
Most of the features listed provide links to example screen shots (as above, but full size)
Development
John provided insight into the development process which by all accounts has been hard. In order to achieve what VDF needs in a data aware grid control, Data Access has worked with Codejock Software Solutions themselves, resulting in enhancements to the control in general as well as the VDF specific work with a new version of the control due for a release as a result. As a result, it has taken longer to get to VDF 16 that originally intended, but the end result is going to be worthwhile. Encouragingly, all John’s demonstrations at EDUC worked flawlessly!
Of particular interest, John has been well aware of the UK VDF SIG work on this same control in a non data aware context, and is taking steps to ensure that the VDF SIG work and the Data Access implementation are as close to each other as possible - e.g. naming conventions. Martin Pincott as VDF SIG project leader will be getting pre-alpha releases to follow through on this in the final stages of development.
Implementation - Not a replacement
The new control will not be a replacement for the existing grid which will remain in place without any functional changes. It is different, and with such different foundations and potential that it needs to be implemented afresh. So no "update in situ", you will need to remove the old grid and instantiate the new one. The old grid will remain supported, but will not be developed further, and you will be able to use both in the same application.
Cleaner and more understandable
Technically, the new grid is much cleaner. The existing one has grown over many years from the original base classes of VDF and descends from a mish mash of parent classes. The new one is based on three components only
- Grid
- Grid Column
- Grid Data source
- The new Grid is capable of being modelled in the Studio
- Use for data entry and lists
Data Aware
Of course, and with data dictionary support for standard data entry object methods, but also with provisions for data caching (performance), and with the scroll bar sorted out.
The performance improvements are achieved without the need for an SQL database, though of course like anything else in VDF, the nature of the database will be immaterial!
Martin Pincott is most impressed with this, and with his experience of working with that same Codejock control he should know. Martin says
"This will define a new look and feel to Visual DataFlex applications. What Data Access is doing for us with this is just fantastic".
For more information on the new Visual DataFlex 2010 grid, see John Tuohy’s slides presented at EDUC 2010 on March 4th.
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With VDF2010/v16 presenting a major new feature, the new Codejock based grid class, but likely to be released very close to our originally intended mid May date, we are moving this back to mid June - Thursday June 17.
We are also going to change the format a little. The new VDF Grid class is going to change the functionality and look and feel of your applications. As above, it is based on the Codejock Extreme report control, already part of the VDF SIG Codejock Framework.
VDF v16 hands on Training
So, this next VDF SIG will be dedicated to VDF 2010/v16 and specifically the new Grid class in some practical depth. What it can do, how it fits into the Codejock Framework, and how to use it.
As Data Access are making this available to the us early as and on behalf of the key VDF SIG Codejock Framework developers, we should be up to speed on using it, and this will definitely be a practical, workshop style day. Bring your own PCs with VDF 2010/v16 on them!
Look for more details towards the end of April, but in the meantime, mark June 17 in your diary. If you are actively developing with VDF we can promise you that you will want to use this new feature, and you will not want to miss this introduction to it.
Outline
Minimal cost - the usual £10 or so for lunch.
Thursday June 17th at Asckey Data Services Ltd.
9:30 - 16:30
Hands on Training - the Codejock Classes and the new VDF grid class based on the Codejock Extreme report component.
As this is a hands-on course, we may be limited as to numbers. To ensure your place, book early. If you now now that you will be coming, contact us on 0845 2707747 or email sales@asckey.com and we will put you on the attendee list.
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Visual Dataflex Vs Visual basic
From time to time we get asked why we use Visual DataFlex, and sometimes even more pointedly, "and not Visual Basic".
Peter Donovan, of Applause Software has written a very comprehensive answer to this question, which you can find here. Peter is an independant software developer, with no commercial links to Data Access Worldwide, so this is a very unbiased article, albeit a very enthusiastic one!
Peter highlights
- Speed of Application Development
- Data Awareness
- Multiple data base support - no code changes
- Long term reliability and compatibility
- Designed for data entry
as major Visual Dataflex benefits.
Particularly if you are new to Visual Dataflex, or perhaps if you are facing that very same question - "why Visual Dataflex?" - it is worth having a look at this article. |
Visual Report Writer
If you have missed all the VRW information, catch up here. Briefly, if you are developing applications with Visual DataFlex, then you need an easy to use report writing tool that you can easily integrate into your applications and distribute at no further cost. VRW has been developed by Data Access Worldwide exactly for this purpose!
How to Buy
Download a copy of this summary and fax back order form
If you haven’t already bought your copy of VRW there is still time to buy into the early bird discount, as any purchase in March is at £336 (April £392) rather than the full £560 (Plus the usual £15 order charge).
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 With Visual DataFlex continuing to grow in scope and features, we hope to see you at the VDF sig or other events through 2010.
If you need any advice on what VDF can do, just call us, that’s what we are there for.
If you would like to suggest training subjects for us to provide as we go into the Autumn, please let us know - 0845 2707747, or email enquiries@asckey.com
e-News from Visual DataFlex in the UK is provided by Asckey Data Services Ltd.
Your individuality drives our excellence.
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