Countdown To CLARION 6 Early Access Release

Posted December 9 2002

Printer-friendly version

Welcome to the Clarion 6.0 Beta Watch. No, it's not something you wear on your wrist, but you might want to check it just about as often. On this page Clarion Magazine will track all the latest news on the upcoming Clarion 6.0 beta. Information is in date order, so the most recent information is at the end of this document.

December 6, 2002: From a newsgroup posting by Bob Zaunere

Initial shipments of an Early Access (EA) release of Clarion 6 are expected to begin during the week of December 16th. And yes, it will be Clarion 6 not 5.6, as this release was deemed to have too many features for a dot release. All documentation of the new features is being finalized and assembled into PDFs and Help files, and when completed will be available on the SoftVelocity web site. The EA program is not a mass beta - participation is limited, and the program is targeted at third party developers and advanced developers who can provide detailed bug reports.

The focus for the EA release is for compatibility testing, and as such we want developers to focus on using and learning the new thread model, and testing of existing applications.

To get an EA copy of Clarion 6, developers must purchase either an upgrade or new license of Clarion 6. Pricing for Clarion 6 will remain the same as for Clarion 5.5 for both upgrades and new licenses.

Clarion 6 is substantially complete; however the initial release will not include all of the new technology and components.

The initial release will include:

• Runtime libraries implementing the new thread model
• IDE with many productivity enhancements
• Updated ABC, Clarion and ADO Templates
• Other new templates
• Updated ABC libraries
• XML class and parser support
• Updated drivers implementing the new thread model, and many enhancements
• New ADO support
• Support for XP manifests
• Completely rewritten 32bit Help file
• Documentation of new features in PDF format.

Evidently there are some other goodies to follow. EA participants will have access to a private forum. There will also be live chat sessions with SV developers and product managers, and online training material covering aspects of the new thread model, and other topics made available at no additional cost. Contact SoftVelocity if you wish to participate in the EA program.

SoftVelocity, Inc.
2769 East Atlantic Boulevard
Pompano Beach, FL 33062
Phone: 954-785-4555
Sales : 877-733-4555
Fax : 954-946-1650

Sales: sales@softvelocity.com
General Information : info@softvelocity.com

 

December 7, 2002: From a newsgroup posting by Bob Zaunere

Overseas customers can contact their local distributor. All distributors can deliver for the EA program.

 

December 7, 2002: From a newsgroup posting by Bob Zaunere

Mouse wheel support is in the RTL, so the mouse wheel works for either template chain, or without any template.

General release is expected in Q1 2003.

Support for XP Manifests is provided in the project system to link in a manifest resource. Bob says he hasn't seen any shading issues with Message() dialogs.

December 8, 2002: From a newsgroup posting by Bob Zaunere

The documentation is being completed, and will be posted before the EA release ships. The documentation is a work in progress, so as time progresses there will be additional materials, and updates to initial documentation.

December 9, 2002: From a newsgroup posting by Bob Zaunere

The EA release for C6 is targeted at compatibility testing of the platform, and to identify and resolve any migration issues. As such it won't include all new features, and you should not request access for the purpose of looking at new features.

December 9, 2002: From a newsgroup posting by Bob Brooker

SoftVelocity is monitoring the EA participation requests and will close entrance into the program when (or presumably before - ed.) the number becomes unmanageable.

December 9, 2002: Upgrade Price

Upgrading Clarion 5.5 Enterprise Edition to Clarion 6 Enterprise Edition: US$799

Upgrading Clarion 5.5 Enterprise or Professional Edition to Clarion 6 Professional Edition: US$350

December 9, 2002: From a newsgroup posting by Scott Ferrett

In the 16bit C6 IDE you can press Alt-F2 on any entry control and get an entry dialog.

 

December 10, 2002: From a newsgroup posting by Bob Brooker

"The final feature set of Clarion 6 has not been established yet... not all subsystems are scheduled to be included in the EA, it is primarily for platform, migration and compatibility testing. It is not [SoftVelocity's] intent to provide the EA program as a mechanism to get a "sneak peak" at new features. Specific features intended for Clarion 6 when it ships will be discussed in [SoftVelocity's] newsletters, website and product specification sheets."

December 10, 2002: From a newsgroup posting by Bob Brooker

"[SoftVelocity has] not stated that Clarion 6 user interface controls are fully XP "themeable"... Clarion 6 has XP manifest support and works within the parameters of that support."

 

December 10, 2002: From a newsgroup posting by Bob Brooker

"There are some minor template changes required [to make Clarion/ASP compatible with Clarion 6] and there will be an update
for the Clarion/ASP template set prior/concurrent to Clarion 6 being released. The templates work with Clarion 6 as they do in Clarion 5.5."

NOTE: Clarion 6 EA 1 shipped in January 2003. There is now a public newsgroup for C6 on the news.softvelocity.com server, and there are private newsgroups for the EA participants. Documentation and further information are now available on the SoftVelocity web site.