Heard it through the Bit-vine - Notes and News about the products you use

by Tom Hebenstreit, Review Editor

Published 1998-06-01    Printer-friendly version

Welcome back to the Bit-vine!

I am indebted this month to Troy Sorzano of Information Packaging Unlimited for some special news and an interesting announcement. Let's get right to it...

Doing the Borg thing

I've been trying to get more information concerning the new 'Borg' technology which everyone is talking about (but very few have seen). Troy was fortunate enough to attend EuroDevCon 98 where TopSpeed unveiled it, and kind enough to furnish me with a quickie early report of what he saw:

"Basically, you have two listboxes; on the left, you see all your templates. On the right, you see all the properties for the template you have highlighted on the left. You can set global properties like button height = 14 and button width = 45. Or you can set them for a specific template - like the global setting will be button height = 25 button width = 40, then override that in the browse template as button height = 10 and width = 50. All the windows will have buttons of 25x40 except the browse with 10x50. There are hundreds and hundreds of properties. You can save your settings and create a custom look and feel for all your apps. The full interface is the property inspector. There is also a wizard interface. It has a slider for how many options you want to play with. From few options to lots of options. On the few options, the wizard will only ask the required information like what it the DCT filename etc. On the lots of options, it will give you the properties that you edit most. It uses AI to learn what properties you are always customizing and it will put them on the top of the wizard list assuming you are going to change those properties again for most apps. So the wizard is dynamic and learns what you want to do. Of course the property inspector will let you make changes to any property, and at what level; i.e., global or an override."

"In addition, the Borg "override" technology works when you first wizard the app but also when you wizard any forms or browses."

"Borgs can be written to support any templates, so third parties will create Borg interfaces to their templates."

Thanks, Troy! Sounds very interesting...

Using CWIC without Java

On another front, Troy announced a new version of his CW Super KnowlegeBase. (Busy guy, this Troy is!) If you haven't checked it out, definitely do so: http://www.cwsuperpage.com. Loads of useful information there. He is using CWIC (the TopSpeed CW Internet Connect product) in a rather different way, which I thought people might be interested in. Here is the original announcement:

"On-line now the Caffeine Free CWIC CWSuperKB. 100% less JAVA than the other leading brands. You don't need to wait for the 340K JAVA classes to download. You don't need to wait for IE or Netscape to load their JAVA modules. You don't need to wait for the list box control to respond. CWIC is creating fast and compatible HTML code. Check it out!"

In response to a question as to what is really gained or lost by using CWIC but avoiding Java, Troy had this to say:

"Caffeine Free CWIC will do several things for you.

1. Will not download 340K of Java classes (much faster the first connect)
2. Will not require IE or Netscape to initialize their JAVA engines (much faster for every connection)
3. Will make your CWIC app display as quickly as possible, depending on the Internet connection you have.
4. Will reduce the communications between the client and server. From many requests like: on a browse where every event (i.e., move up or down) causes the client to send a request to the server and for the server to respond. Only when the user presses a submit button will any communications occur. This is how most Internet applications work.
5. Will break every Java control that is included in CWIC, so you will need to code your app using HTML controls only. The only HTML control that is missing from the CWIC classes is an HTML browse control. They do not have one so you will need to code your browses by hand like I did on the CWSuperKB (both the caffeine free and standard one). Or write your own HTMLBrowse Class like Tony [Note: Tony Goldstein of IPU] did for EuroDevCon. He wrote a replacement class that requires almost zero hand code, and will display as a Windows listbox when run as a Windows exe, but will work like my CWSuperKB on the internet. He has several different listboxes. One uses radio buttons next to each item in the list, so if you had 5 names and wanted to CHANGE or DELETE a name you would select the radio button next to the name you want to modify, then press the Change or Delete button. The event would be sent back to your CWIC applications and the form would open for changes or the record would be deleted. One other method is to have CHANGE and DELETE hypertext links after each line. (Just like MS uses on the Administration form of the Personal Web Server.) You just press the CHANGE or DELETE hyperlink next to the name you want to modify. It also automatically generates the NEXT page and PREVIOUS page. It knows how many items to show based on the size of the listbox.

With the Caffeine Free technology and Tony's list box HTMLClass we can build the high speed, Internet standard applications that people are asking for. And it is all written in CW so the development is fast. We will have an article on how to create Caffeine Free CWIC applications by the end of the week. It will be in the CWSuperKB at http://www.cwsuperpage.com/kb. The only thing we are not giving away is Tony's HTMLListbox class. But you can hand code your own like I did and will have examples of that."

Like Troy said - check it out!

TopSpeed releases C4B patch

In case you didn't see the messages posted to the TopSpeed forum and newsgroups, they have released a new patch for Clarion 4. Here is the announcement from Jeremy Herron:

"We are providing early access to the maintenance patch for Clarion 4b to allow you to take advantage of the fixes and enhancements while we finish the closedown process for the 4b release.  When the closedown is complete we will release updated documentation and Help files. The patch is available in library 17 of the TopSpeed CSi forum or on the Internet.

-Download information to update Clarion4 release A to release B-

ftp://topspeed.com/pub/patches/c4bfixes.zip       - list of all fixes/changes and enhancements

ftp://topspeed.com/pub/patches/c4bpatch32.zip - patch for users running Win95/Nt

ftp://topspeed.com/pub/patches/c4bpatch.zip      - patch for users running Windows 3.x

ftp://topspeed.com/pub/patches/4btplsrc.zip        - Templates and Library source files

                                *** important ****

* Note the patch must locate the "A" release of Clarion 4 Professional Edition, including original Templates and Library Include files.  If you have modified the original Templates or Include files, please reinstall Templates and Library Source files from your CDROM, or you may download the new Clarion 4B versions from www.topspeed.com. or ftp://topspeed.com/pub/patches/4btplsrc.zip"

Just to reiterate, you must be using C4A to use this patch. If you haven't updated to the A version of C4 yet, that patch is also still available at www.topspeed.com. Look in the 'Product Updates' section.

Got a busted TPS file?

TopSpeed is looking for corrupted TPS (TopSpeed database driver) files which their TPSFIX utility -cannot- fix. They are working on an update to TPSFIX, so if you have any unfixable files please help us all out and send them to: nigel@topspeed-dc.demon.co.uk.

Other news

Here are some tidbits and announcements gleaned from the TopSpeed forum and elsewhere over the last couple of weeks. If you see any products here that you would like to see scheduled for a full review in Clarion Online, let us know!

• Carl Barnes has released a new version of CW Assistant (CWA) for C4a with expanded ABC support! He also released an updated version for CW2 (CWA 2.003 release 'C') .For more information or to download, visit http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ctbarnes.
• Toolcraft posted a message stating that an update that implemented CPCS Creative Reporting Tools template compatibility for Query Wizard 4 should have been sent to all QW4 customers. Seems like not everyone got it though, so if you own an early version of QW4 that doesn't work with CPCS, contact Toolcraft@compuserve.com for the update.
• Steve Bywaters, author of the UBeaut thread management templates announced UBeaut4 for C4 (Clarion and ABC). From his announcement: "Totally re-written from scratch, and no longer dependent upon modifying templates, UBeaut4 is now enabled by adding ONE GLOBAL EXTENSION. Thread management follows the 'one instance only' paradigm, like its predecessor for CW2. UBeaut 4 also contains a useful 'Close All Threads' (with optional app. closure too) code template/procedure." Special note: If you are a registered, paid-up user of UBeaut for CW2, you can get the new version FREE *if* you contact Steve before June 15th, so get on it! SteveBywaters@compuserve.com
• Linder Software has released an update patch (PATCH 1) for their LSP SFX-Builder 2.00 product. Registered users of LSP SFX-Builder 2.00 may download and install the patch file SFX20P1.EXE (100 K) to update from v2.00 to v2.01 from their Web site at www.lindersoftware.com.
• Linder also released version 1.61 of their LSPack compression library. New features include multiple volume support (disk spanning), strong encryption, a new visual shell and more sample projects and applications. The upgrade is free to registered users. They also stated that LSPack 1.61 is compatible with Clarion 5 Enterprise Edition (EE) (beta-1). For more info or to download a demo application developed with LSPack 1.61, visit www.lindersoftware.com.
• I'm sure Dan Conklin at Christech Research was one happy camper to be able to post the following announcement: " Christech Research Company, DBA PowerRAD, finally e-mailed the initial beta of PB4.0 to all the people who have subscribed to their PowerBrowse One Year Service and Support Contract. If anyone else would like to receive a copy of this beta, please contact PowerRAD about subscribing to the contract. If you would like to know more about the details of this beta package, it is described in the "What's New" portion of our web site. An example of the referenced contract is there also (http://www.quantumation.com/powerrad).
  The next release from PowerRAD will most likely be a greatly enhanced wizard for use with PB4.0 and then finally, a bug-fix update for PB2.0 (Release D). This update will contain fixes for what PowerRAD deems the most important outstanding known bugs in the Release C version of PB2.0."
• Cliff Court of Stealth Software announced that the beta 2 of Stealth Software's Dev Monitor is available in the CW 3rd Party download area of the TopSpeed CompuServe forum. He described Dev Monitor as follows: "The tool will track your development process allowing you to bill (and estimate future projects) accurately. Now something that has always been guesswork becomes a simple task. Comments welcome." For more info, contact him at 76645.177@compuserve.com.
• Larry Teames of CPCS announced the availability of Creative Reporting Tools v5.00 (Beta) for C5 Enterprise Edition. Registered users of either v2.25 and/or v4.0x can download and install this version using their current authorization codes. It can be obtained at either of these web sites: http://www.members.home.net/lteames or http://www.psn.net/~cpcs.
• Speaking of CPCS, Larry also announced that Creative Reporting Tools v4.06 and a new build of v2.25 are available for download from either of the websites listed in the previous item. He stated that this release is primarily to fix recently reported problems with Fast Dot Matrix Printing.
• Brian Staff of Datamatrix (author of the Xplore Templates) announced a beta of a new tool: a template to create templates. The tool can be used as a UTILITY template or driven by a Win95 applet that communicates with C4 via DDE. Stay tuned for further announcements as the product develops. For more info, contact Brian at BrianStaff@compuserve.com.

Can't beat that price...

One of the really nice things about using Clarion is the overall generosity of the user community. (Go ahead, all of you give yourselves a pat on the back!) Often, this manifests itself in truly useful templates or tools that the authors have made available to the rest of us for that most favorite of prices: FREE! Each month, this column features a handy free template or tool that you might want to add to your bag of Clarion tricks.

Note: If you decide to download and try out any free items mentioned here, please remember that you get what you pay for - don't expect support from the author like you would from a commercial product. While most of them are generous to a fault (as witnessed by their giving away the template or tool), they are NOT obligated in any way, shape or form to you because you want to use the item. Be nice to them!

This month we have a pair of cool tools from Gordon Smith of the TopSpeed Development Center in the UK. There are too many features to list here, but here are Gordon's own blurbs from his web site:

Compile Manager 4

"CM2 is the ideal tool for all programmers with more than one Application (.APP) or Project (.PRJ) file. Simply create a Clarion Compile List file (.CM2) consisting of all your clarion files and press the "Compile All" button, 1 cup of coffee later and your entire list will have been compiled." (File size: 585KB)

Class Browser 5

"The First Generation Clarion Class Browser enables the user to view the content of ANY Clarion class library. It displays ALL valid information (including inherited and referenced classes) in a simple and intuitive way. It has been designed for C4 however, this excellent tool, works with any Clarion Class Library." (File size: 484KB)

Complete feature lists are posted on the web site. Both utilities are provided as self-contained EXE files, which make them a snap to install. Download the files at http://ireland.iol.ie/~schmoo/

Special Bonus

While you are at the http://ireland.iol.ie/~schmoo/ site, I highly recommend that you download Gordon's EuroDevCon 98 presentation on " Add a Little OOP To Your Life". It is provided in a self-contained installation file, and contains sample code and a 22-page Word 97 document that details his presentation. Thank you, Gordon -- Good stuff!!

Next month: Who knows? You'll just have to come back and find out!

About the Bit-vine

Each month, this column will provide you with the latest in Clarion news, tips, rumors, freebies, and basically anything else that seems interesting about the goings on in the Clarion world.

So, who determines what's most interesting? YOU DO!!

Are you a vendor? Let me know about new releases, updates, betas, product plans or anything else you think Clarion Online readers might want to know about.

Are you a user (and who isn't)? Drop me a line about any cool nuggets of information you come across, free templates or examples worth sharing, or anything else that other readers might find useful.

What do you get for contributing? Well, you'll see your name up in lights (phosphor, to be accurate) here in the Bit-vine credits. For especially useful bits, you may even win an autographed GIF of an official Clarion Online shirt or other similarly valuable prize. Come on, how can you resist?

Let me hear from you! The magic address isTomH@ClarionOnline.com

The disclaimer

Everything in this column is the sole opinion of me, the author, and does not necessarily reflect the views of this magazine, its publisher, or even of myself (hey, I can change my mind, too!). Don't bet the farm on anything you read here: consider it a starting point for your own inquiries and research. The point here is that this column is intended to both enlighten and entertain, and that in the fast-moving world of software development this month's truth (or product release date) is often next month's "oops, did I say that...?".

'Nuff said!

Printer-friendly version

Copyright © 1999-2008 by CoveComm Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in any form without the express written consent of CoveComm Inc., except as described in the subscription agreement, is prohibited.

Clarion Magazine ISSN 1718-9942