As we are a free service to you, the membership, we thank the supporters of VFUG who have placed paid banner ads on our opening page.  They help defray the costs of running the server for this site and give their products and services some well deserved exposure.  Be sure to check out their offerings as you may be surprised how much their latest versions can help you.

Back To Top

All About Servoy

Carla Benassi

"We have been developing FoxPro apps from very early on and when we realized that FoxPro was coming to an end and we were looking to develop an alternative and a web-based, app, we looked at a bunch of tools and we came across Servoy and it has been working very well for us"
"We mainly had one app, wanted to add functionality, enhance it knowing that FoxPro was going to come to an end anyway. Put time and money in a tool that's going to be around for a long time"
"We also looked at the total cost -- Servoy turns out to be lowering our costs (TCO)"
"We didn't look too much around because Servoy was such a good fit" "We found .Net to be too complex for our environment"
"I haven't hit any wall with Servoy"

"We make vertical market products for the fashion industry - started all in FoxPro about 20 years ago. Then we started hosting our own apps over the Internet, now 90% of our customers (over 2000 users) use the app on-line (120 servers to maintain the performance!). Scalability was a problem then - so that's why we started looking for a better platform, and Servoy was the best
kid on the block. We've been redeveloping for about a year now - it's a huge app but the productivity we're seeing with Servoy has amazed us. We'll be saving huge in licensing cost by eliminating the need for Terminal Services". Another important item for us is the increase of popularity of the Apple platform. With Servoy we can seamlessly support Windows and Mac from the same codebase."

"We have been developing in FoxPro for a very long time. Through the years our apps have grown, that's why we're working in an ISV program with Servoy to develop a framework where we can put all of our apps in one coherent data model"
"We started evaluating in 2008; looked at .Net but after some discussion, we ended up with Servoy - mainly for the freedom, independency"
"I was new to JavaScript, but I found it very easy and similar to the FoxPro language programming"

FoxPro ISVs today are facing a dilemma. Microsoft recently announced that it will not release any new versions of its Visual FoxPro development software after Version 9.0. Many FoxPro ISVs, as well as professional software developers, are considering .NET for building business applications. However .NET is a very different beast than FoxPro, very difficult to learn and it takes much more time to build, maintain and deploy applications.

Because of this, more and more FoxPro developers are investigating what their other options are and quite a few of them have put Servoy on their shortlist. In this article you will learn why. First we will discuss the similarities between Servoy and FoxPro, and then we’ll have a look at the differences.

Servoy is a development and deployment environment that enables you to develop applications in a very similar way to FoxPro. Check out our FoxPro landing page: www.servoy.com/foxpro.

2. Faster development: FoxPro developers that have switched to Servoy say that their productivity increases in the Servoy environment.

3. Good Windows citizen: Just like FoxPro, Servoy is a good Windows citizen. It runs on all version of Windows (Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 2000, Windows 2003, Windows 2008) and integrates very well with both the operating system (among others has native look and feel on all versions of Windows), the file system and other Microsoft applications. With easy to use plug-ins, direct connectivity is available to Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, Outlook and Exchange. Additionally, Servoy also integrates well with any other Windows executable, DLL or ActiveX component.

4. Object and data oriented: Similar to FoxPro, Servoy has a very nice mix between pure Object Orientation and relational data orientation. On one hand, you can use inheritance on objects and on the other hand you have direct access to data objects to make viewing, searching and editing of data very easy and transparent.

5. Very fast database: Out of the box, Servoy ships with Sybase’s iAnywhere database. This database is as fast and, in many situations, faster than FoxPro’s data engine. Additionally, Servoy can connect to any SQL database, including MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, IBM DB/2 and PostgreSQL. You can even connect to multiple databases at once and combine data from different databases on the same screen.

Servoy also has a native FoxPro connector that allows developers to connect directly (and with high performance) to existing FoxPro data files (read and write!).

6. Very complete set of UI widgets: Servoy has a very complete set of User Interface components. From text fields to date picker, pull-downs, type-aheads, multi-line fields, grid controls, image support -- it’s all standard and easy to use and adjust.

7. Easy to integrate with hardware and other software: Because Servoy runs as a native application on Windows, it can easily integrate with hardware connected to a PC and also with software already running on the system.

8. Stand alone, networked, over the internet: Applications developed in Servoy can be deployed as a stand alone application, a networked application using an N-tier Client Server model and also over the internet -- all from the same code-base. With Servoy, there is no need to write different types of applications.

9. Small and large apps, as function rich as FoxPro: Servoy can be used both to develop small applications with only a few screens or full-blown ERP applications with thousands of screens and many hundred thousands of lines of code.

1. Windows AND Web Client from same code base: Applications developed in Servoy cannot only be deployed as native applications with a native Windows User Interface, but can also be deployed as browser applications. When deployed to a browser, Servoy uses pure HTML that runs in all popular web browsers including Internet Explorer, FireFox, Safari and Google Chrome. To run an application in the browser, there is no need to write any HTML -- Servoy does this out of the box for you.

2. Cross database (Oracle, MS SQL, MySQL, Sybase): Applications developed in Servoy can be deployed to any modern SQL database and you can even switch between database vendors. For example, you can write your application on MS SQL server and deploy it on Oracle.

3. Cross platform: Servoy applications are cross platform out of the box. You can run applications on Windows, but without any changes, you can run that same application on Linux and Mac as well. Both the server, the smart client and the web client are cross platform. With the increasing popularity of Linux and Mac, this is an important feature.

4. No 2GB limit: Unlike FoxPro, Servoy does not have a 2GB table limit. Your tables can be as large as you want them to be.

5. No limit in scale, 64-bit: Servoy applications can run stand alone with a single user or with hundreds of thousands of users -- all from the same code base. Servoy supports both 32 and 64 bit architectures and can be scaled vertically (using a bigger server) and also horizontally (by clustering multiple servers). Additionally, Servoy has built-in support to run on cloud computing infrastructures like Amazon’s Elastic Cloud.

6. Zero deployment: Servoy’s Smart Client is zero deployment. This means you don’t have to install anything on the user’s computer. To launch the application for the first time, simply click a link and the application launches, downloads its components (usually 2-4 MB) directly from the Servoy server and saves this in a local cache. This eliminates the deployment problems with classic software where software has to be rolled out to desktops.

7. SaaS enabled: Servoy’s platform is SaaS enabled out of the box and provides built-in functions for multi-tenancy. Both on the application layer, the data layer and the reporting layer making it very easy to start offering your software as a service to your users.

8. Native client with no need for Citrix or MS TS: Servoy's smart client does not need Citrix or Microsoft Terminal Services to be deployed over the internet. Even though it has a native user interface, it is still fast over the internet without the need of additional software, thus saving licensing costs.

9. Standards Based: Unlike FoxPro, Servoy does not have a proprietary language or database. This makes acceptance, in particular with larger organizations, much easier.

10. Servoy is three-tiered: Servoy has a three-tiered architecture, this means that clients do not connect straight to the database but through an application server. This reduces load on the database server, reduces network traffic, increases security and makes applications faster and easier to program and maintain.

11. Smart, Web, runtime, disconnected: From a single code base, Servoy can be deployed in different ways to address different needs.

**Two ways to learn more!**

Servoy to sponsor SouthWest Fox Conference: Oct. 15-18 in Mesa, AZ
For the third year in a row, Servoy will be a Gold Sponsor and Exhibitor at Southwest Fox -- the annual conference hosted for FoxPro users. Developers who have used FoxPro in the past are finding that they love Servoy. Microsoft has announced that they will no longer be revving this popular 4GL tool and will stop support for the product entirely in 2015. As a result, many FoxPro users are looking for the "next step" -- and Servoy is a great alternative. For more information about the SouthWest Fox conference, please visit: www.swfox.net/.

Special Webinar: Servoy for FoxPro ISVs (Post SouthWest Fox Conference) – Thursday, October 22 @ 10am PT/1pm ET

Please join Jan Aleman, Servoy CEO, in this comprehensive one hour webinar, where we’ll talk about the similarities and differences between FoxPro and Servoy and we’ll answer all your questions. To check out the FoxPro landing page on the Servoy website, click here: www.servoy.com/foxpro
The Servoy Special Webinar is FREE, but seating is limited. To pre-register today, click here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/832062225

Windows Explorer Tweaks

Alternate Means of “Data Compression” Part 1 of 6

Part I: Overview

Tom O'Hare

Introduction
“Data Compression” in very general terms means reducing the size of data to a fraction of its original size so it can be handled with more efficiency and is easier to interface with. There are numerous ways to physically “compress” data, but there are also alternate ways to decrease the physical size of data. This paper will deal with alternate means of compression, or the limiting of data to a more manageable size.

In any collection of data there are at least two constants; Time and Change. Time is a quantity that is totally dependent on the type of data being collected; using measurements such as hours, minutes or seconds. Change (which we will call “Delta”) is when data moves beyond its present value to a new or different value.

Both of these constants are fully dependent upon the type of data being collected. As an example, monitoring of jet engines in prototyping requires a constant stream of data for a constant amount of time and every change that occurs no matter how small. This is called critical or “mission critical” data collection as jet engines must be 100% proficient. Any variation of data, even for a millisecond, must be noted and logged. The airframe the jet engine is connected to is not as mission critical as an engine. It is a more “static” environment so data collection can be only “samplings” of data that change over time.

The premise of this paper is not to show mathematical algorithms of creating tokens to represent data in a compressed state, but rather to control or throttle the amount of data being collected and then how to effectively use that data “subset”.

Since this paper is dealing mainly with raw Data, Time and Delta, the data can remain in a more “human readable” form as when it was captured or stored.

Both the math compression scenario and the alternate methods described here require a processing or manipulating of data. No matter what kind of compression schema you eventually decide to use there is always overhead associated with it.

Time
Time as a quantity is dependent upon the object which the data is being collected for. In other words, time segments are set by the environment in which the data collection takes place. Obviously dependent on the type of data being collected, the length or quantity of time slices used will then be chosen.

In this scenario, only changes in a quantity of time produce a capture of data for that particular moment. The use of Time as a data capture method does not require any knowledge of the value or Delta being recorded. Data capture is purely on a preset timed interval.

Delta
Delta in scientific terms means “change”, or when a known quantity changes in value. In this alternate method of data compression the amount of change, or Delta, is also dependent upon the type of object that data is being collected for. In this method, defined limits of known values and changes at or beyond these limits are then recorded. When this change occurs, the apparatus doing the data capture must then adjust to the new value and set or reset new limits dependent on the newest value recorded.

Delta can also be a singular method of data collection. In this pure scenario Time is not a dependent value, only Delta. This means only occurrences of Delta are recorded and these recordings are not influenced in any way by Time.

Time and Delta
The most secure or robust way of capturing data is by combining the Time and Delta methods. In this approach you will always have a second parameter to rely on in the data capture mechanism. You will maintain a better scope of what is going on because you can compare Time and Delta data captures against each other. This combination of Time and Delta always gives you a better point of reference because you can more easily cross reference both Time and Delta values to derive a particular or desired data point.

In effect, by using a Time and Delta approach you can create an “X” and “Y” axis graph point approach. The “X” axis is a time line and the “Y” axis is the plus and minus limits of a current value. By plotting the X and Y values (Time and Delta) you maintain a very reliable method of capturing data for detailed data analysis later on.

The “compression” used in this case is caused by not capturing un-needed data. The point is; “why capture data that remains at the same value during a specified period of time?” We already know what that value is and we already know what the time intervals are. We can verify that value, especially with the X axis (Time), as “insurance” in case for any reason there is a problem with monitoring the actual Deltas.

Collecting data using these Time and Delta capture techniques, we have in effect eliminated much of the data “bloat” and reduced the amount of processing needed for later data analyses.

Copyright© 2004, Thomas O’Hare – All Rights Reserved.
Thomas O'Hare

   Back To Top

   Back To Top

Web Tools Useful for Web Development

Farhad Bayanati

Of course the tools which we need to use for doing the job depend on the nature of the project, but some tools work like a jack of all the trades. On the web, we need to deal with colors, pictures, text, and more. These are tools that I use frequently.

Aptana Studio Web development tool

Aptana Studio is an all-in-one application. Aptana has a great IDE, an excellent environment to edit and create HTML, XML, JavaScirpt, CSS, text, or other kind of documents. As a web development tool, absolutely take a chance and try it for free. Aptana is dual-licensed under the GNU Public license and the Aptana Public license, to get more information about it, take a look at http://www.aptana.com/legal page.

Aptana Studio introduction:
"Aptana Studio is the premier IDE for Today's Web offering integrated language support for HTML, DOM, JavaScript and CSS, embedded development platforms and databases for PHP, Jaxer, Ruby on Rails, and Python. Plus support for emerging platforms that use Ajax like Adobe AIR and Apple iPhone. Aptana Studio is free, open source software based on the Eclipse tools platform."

To download, find additional plugins or further information, visit http://www.aptana.com/.

Pixie a fast and tiny color picker utility


Pixie is an easy-to-use color picker. Simply point to a color and it will tell you the hex, RGB, HTML, CMYK and HSV values of that color. Pixie works on Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista, any body who is dealing with web programming or design needs to have such a simple and perfect tool to make it easy on Internet life. Pixie will also show the current x y position of your mouse pointer to find the point accurately. If you need to work with colors, then it's the tool which you need. To download Pixie for free: http://www.nattyware.com/pixie.html .

Cropper - Point and Shoot Screen Captures
Cropper is a great screen capture tool written by Brian Scott in C#.NET


Cropper is like a Swiss Army knife in your pocket. I use Cropper to make the images to feed GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program http://www.gimp.org/), for picture editing and to bring up any snapshot which I want to have.

Point, Crop, and Save any area which you like.
To enjoy this fantastic tool, you can visit http://blogs.geekdojo.net/brian/articles/Cropper.aspx .

JR Screen Ruler - A tool to measure the size of a picture

    
I remember that it was necessary a long time ago to be able to measure the size of an image or part of the area you wanted to crop as a screen shot. In the real world we are familiar with this ruler, in school, at home, in the office, and ... it was our helper. JR Screen Ruler is handy for helping you find out the size of a screen image. Everybody who deaks with web pages knows how much it is worth. Find it at: http://www.spadixbd.com/freetools/index.htm

GenderAnalyzer BETA

If you want to have some fun, this is a good one. Go to http://www.genderanalyzer.com and enter the URL of any web site and it will tell you the gender of its writer! As the site tells you, it's powered by Artificial Intelligence rules to determine if a homepage is written by a man or woman. But don't get surprises if it shows opposite sex for the writer of your web page! it's in Beta version and needs to learn and experience more to be mature enough to determine it accurately. Just imagine how it can be used in real world to find out something from behind the scene! Have fun.

Farhad Bayanati

   Back To Top

MS SQL Server Common Table Expressions & Recursive Queries

Farhad Bayanati

MS SQL Server 2005 introduced Common Table Expression (CTE) which is temporary result set with a name that will be used in SELECT query statement by FROM clause. It makes the queries simpler and better for future maintenance. CTE defines a virtual view that will be used in another data manipulation language (DML) statement, for example in a SELECT.

CTE main elements:

• Name of CTE, It comes after WITH keyword.
• List of columns, it's optional.
• Query that defines the CTE temporary result set.The query sits after the AS keyword and inside open and close parentheses.

It's not possible to use COMPUTE, COMPUTE BY, ORDER BY (unless TOP is used) in a CTE.

For example, in the AdventureWorksLT database sample (this is available in the CodePlex web pages, you can download it from: http://www.codeplex.com/MSFTDBProdSamples/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=4004 ), the Product table keeps information about products and the categories of the products are available in the ProductCategory table. The following example provides a temporary result set in the name of CheapProducts. It is derived from the Product table and those products with prices less than $100 (Ooops, I know, $100 is not really cheap , just take it easy). The query that comes after, is a request for BLACK products with their names and their category.

WITH CheapProducts (ProductName, ProductColor, ProductPrice, ProductCategoryID)
AS
(
SELECT [name], [color], [listprice], [ProductCategoryID]
FROM [AdventureWorksLT].[SalesLT].[Product]
WHERE [listprice] < 100
)
SELECT chpPrd.ProductName, chpPrd.ProductPrice, prdCtg.Name as ProductCategory
FROM CheapProducts as chpPrd
JOIN [AdventureWorksLT].[SalesLT].[ProductCategory] as prdCtg
ON chpPrd.ProductCategoryID = prdCtg.ProductCategoryID
WHERE chpPrd.ProductColor = 'BLACK

This one was a simple sample, but when we have a more complex queries CTE can really help make it simple.

The next example lists the QUANTITY of PRODUCTS (and each product's CATEGORY) which are RED and with price less than $100, ordered by companies:

WITH PrdAndCat (PrdID, PrdName, PrdColor, PrdPrice, PrdCategory)
AS
(
SELECT prd.[ProductID], prd.[name], prd.[color], prd.[listprice], prdCtg.[Name]
FROM [AdventureWorksLT].[SalesLT].[Product] as prd
JOIN [AdventureWorksLT].[SalesLT].[ProductCategory] as prdCtg
ON prd.ProductCategoryID = prdCtg.ProductCategoryID
)
SELECT cstmr.CompanyName, ordrHdr.OrderDate, ordrDtl.OrderQty,
pNc.PrdName, pNc.PrdCategory
FROM [AdventureWorksLT].[SalesLT].[SalesOrderHeader] as ordrHdr
JOIN [AdventureWorksLT].[SalesLT].[SalesOrderDetail] as ordrDtl
ON ordrHdr.SalesOrderID = ordrDtl.SalesOrderID
JOIN [AdventureWorksLT].[SalesLT].[Customer] as cstmr
ON ordrHdr.CustomerID = cstmr.CustomerID
JOIN PrdAndCat as pNc
ON pNc.[PrdID] = ordrDtl.[ProductID]
WHERE pNc.PrdColor = 'RED' AND pNc.PrdPrice < 100

In the above example, SalesOrderHeader is the order header table, it is connected to the CUSTOMER table by the CustomerID column (Column in SQL and ADO.NET and field in VFP world! not in C# classes!!) and it connects to the SalesOrderDetail table by the SalesOrderID key. Our PrdAndCat CTE makes a connection to the SalesOrderDetail table through the ProductID column, here's the result set which we were looking for by utilizing a CTE which made our query somehow simpler.

Output:

Bulk Discount Store	2004-06-01	3	Sport-100 Helmet	Red Helmets
Metropolitan Bicycle Supply	2004-06-01	1	Sport-100 Helmet	Red Helmets
Many Bikes Store	2004-06-01	2	Sport-100 Helmet	Red Helmets
Riding Cycles	2004-06-01	6	Sport-100 Helmet	Red Helmets
Action Bicycle Specialists	2004-06-01	10	Sport-100 Helmet	Red Helmets
Eastside Department Store	2004-06-01	10	Sport-100 Helmet	Red Helmets
Professional Sales and Service	2004-06-01	3	Sport-100 Helmet	Red Helmets

Recursive Queries by CTE

CTE is very useful when we want to perform recursion by defining a self referencing query. In the Northwind Database sample (downloadable from CodePlex web pages) the Employees table has a column with the title ReportsTo which refers to the EmployeeID of another Employee. record. This is the ID of the manager of the employee in the current record. The exception is for managers. Their ReportsTo column is NULL (They are lucky people who don't need to report to anybody, watch out, it shows you are responsible not them!). The managers are sitting in Level 1 and employees are in the next levels. Employees report to their manager who are in a level above. The table has a reference to itself, it's a join back that is possible to implement by utilizing the power of recursive connection.

To cover all the sub levels and show Employees and their managers, we need to UNION result sets of multi levels all together and go deep inside till find all requested info. Each time that the query needs to go one level deeper, the Level column adds by 1 to show the correct level of employee in organization diagram.

WITH Emp (EmpID, EmpName, ManagerID, ManagerName, [EmployeeLevel] )
AS
(
SELECT EmpTbl.EmployeeID, EmpTbl.LastName, EmpTbl.ReportsTo,
EmpTbl.FirstName+SPACE(1)+EmpTbl.LastName, 1
FROM [Northwind].[dbo].[Employees] as EmpTbl
WHERE ReportsTo IS NULL
UNION ALL
SELECT EmpTbl.EmployeeID, EmpTbl.LastName, EmpTbl.ReportsTo,
Mgr.FirstName+SPACE(1)+Mgr.LastName, [EmployeeLevel] + 1
FROM [Northwind].[dbo].[Employees] as EmpTbl
JOIN Emp
ON Emp.EmpID = EmpTbl.ReportsTO
JOIN [Northwind].[dbo].[Employees] as Mgr
ON EmpTbl.ReportsTO = Mgr.EmployeeID
)
SELECT EmpID, EmpName, ManagerID, ManagerName, [EmployeeLevel]
FROM Emp

Output:

2	Fuller	NULL	Andrew Fuller	1
1	Davolio	2	Andrew Fuller	2
3	Leverling	2	Andrew Fuller	2
4	Peacock	2	Andrew Fuller	2
5	Buchanan	2	Andrew Fuller	2
8	Callahan	2	Andrew Fuller	2
6	Suyama	5	Steven Buchanan	3
7	King	5	Steven Buchanan	3
9	Dodsworth	5	Steven Buchanan	3

Thanks to all the people who contributed to such beautiful and powerful features for developers.

Farhad Bayanati

   Back To Top

AdventureWorks sample database for SQL server 2005 Express

Farhad Bayanati

When I tried to install the AdventureWorks sample database in SQL Server 2005 Express on Windows Vista home premium machine, I encountered an error about lack of permission. I could install it after configuring permissions.

First download the AdventureWorks:
- Use the following URL to download AdventureWorksLT.msi file:
http://www.codeplex.com/MSFTDBProdSamples/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=4004
- Click on AdventureWorksLT.msi to save the file in your favorite location in your machine.
- Click on Run, once the download is complete.

Permission configuration:
- Run Windows Explorer (Windows Key + E)
- Use "C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Data" as path (My "Program Files" folder is usually in your C: Drive).
- Right click on AdventureWorksLT_Data.mdf and select Properties
- Then Security->Edit->Add
- In the "Enter the object names ... " textbox enter your login name
- Click on Check Names, the entered name changes to <MACHINENAME>/Login then click OK.
- Select your login name from Groups or username list and choose Full control then click OK and OK
- Repeat the same sequence for AdventureWorksLT_Log.ldf

Sql Server Management Studio:
- If you don't have Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express,
download it from (Microsoft Download Center) at URL:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=C243A5AE-4BD1-4E3D-94B8-5A0F62BF7796&displaylang=en
- Launch Sql Server Management Studio Express and connect to your local server.
- Right click on Databases in Object Explorer and click on Attach
- click on Add and select AdventureWorksLT_Data.mdf and again click on OK
- finally click on OK and now you can find it in Object Explorer
Databases > AdventureWorksLT

That's all, Hope it helps if you encountered the same problem.

Farhad Bayanati

   Back To Top

FTP Protocol Reference

By Thomas O'Hare

Overview
This document will supply advanced user level information about the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) required to make it operate and operate efficiently. FTP is a widely used protocol and a basic understanding of it must be achieved.
The Protocol

The FTP protocol is an Internet (network) based protocol. It is used mainly in the transfer of files from one location to another in either direction. There are many interfaces that support FTP operations that are free and easy to use. It has been in existence since the early days of the Internet and is still one of the most common protocols used.

Ports Used
FTP uses 2 connection ports, ports 20 & 21. Both of these ports must be open at any firewall level for FTP to operate. Many people know of the FTP Connection Port, port 21, but fewer know that the Data Port, port 20, is also required to transfer data.

In simple terms, a client connects to an FTP server on port 21. After the initialization and a file transfer is about to occur, a data port is opened on the server, port 20. When the actual data is exchanged the data travels on port 20 and possibly communication on port 21 is dropped. Only port 20 may remain open until the end of the transfer.

If a firewall is used by either end of a connection then both port 21 and port 20 must be open on the server for inbound data and port 20 & 21 on the client for outbound traffic.

The "gotcha" is that some firewalls have "outbound rules". If outbound rules do not allow both port 20 & 21 on a client side, then the FTP connection will fail. This is particularly true if Microsoft Firewall (comes with XP, Vista, 2003 server & 2008 server) is enabled.

There are many different types of FTP such as FTPS, SFTP, FTPES and even FTP active & passive mode. Many of the characteristics of FTP can change if one of the other flavors of FTP is used, but two ports are used for every flavor of FTP protocol.

Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_Transfer_Protocol

Thomas O’Hare
   Back To Top

What's New for Spanish VFUG Members

Isaac Venegas

VFP 9 Spanish IDE and other VFP Information in Spanish

The VFP9 IDE in Spanish has been released.

For information in Spanish, go to http://www.portalfox.com

Isaac Venegas

PortalFox

   Back To Top

Resources for German VFUG Members

Rainer Becker

Details regarding the German DevCon (including German, French and Czech IDE for VFP9 and VFP9 SP1) can be found in the portal of the German usergroup. In addition, localized report writer applications have been made available. Files can be downloaded for a free trial at dfpug portal and/or with a low donation request at http://shop.visualextend.com.

German FoxPro User Group	The dFPUG supports 800+ companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland with a quarterly magazine, regional meetings in a dozen cities, a wellknown yearly conference and a lot of online material.
dFPUG Wiki	Interactive Wiki
dFPUG Interactive Forum	Interactive Forum
dFPUG Portal	German SharePoint Portal for Visual FoxPro (http://portal.dfpug.de/dfpug) with the conference binders of the yearly German VFP Developer conference (800 pages 1994-2002) and the quarterly loose-leaf-magazine FoxX Professional (200 pages per issue). Use category "English" as starting point for english material related to Visual FoxPro.
dFPUG Newsletter	The newest offer is an electronic newsletter, which is published every 4-6 weeks with actual information e.g. about the next German VFP DevCon (http://devcon.dfpug.de), changes in the VFX-framework (http://www.visualextend.com) or regarding localization for VFP 9.0 done by dFPUG.

   Back To Top

Conferences

Barbara Paltiel

I strongly urge you to go to at least one conference each year. Pick the one closest to your home to reduce travel time. Pick the one where you can understand the speakers' language. But argue your boss into letting you have the time off to attend one at least every 2 years. You'll be glad you did.

Southwest Fox, Phoenix, AZ, October 15 - 18, 2009. The best Visual FoxPro conference in North America is back! Phoenix, Arizona is the place to be in October 2009 as the top VFP gurus on the planet show you how to make the most of VFP.

Silicon Valley CodeCamp, Los Altos Hills, CA, October 3 - 4, 2009. Code Camp is a new type of community event where developers learn from fellow developers. All are welcome to attend and speak. Code Camps have been wildly successful, and we’re going to bring that success to Northern California.

The Code Camp Manifesto consists of six points: (1) by and for the developer community; (2) always free; (3) community developed material; (4) no fluff – only code; (5) community ownership; and (6) never occur during working hours.

German DevCon 2009, Frankfurt, Germany, November 12- 14, 2009

VFP's 25th Anniversary Convention, Portland, ME, August 18- 22, 2010

Send me an email to add yours to the list. Please include a URL and contact name/email if possible.

Tell me what others to list!

   Back To Top

Resources

By the Editor

Visual FoxPro

   Back To Top

FoxCentral	Microsoft
Microsoft's Visual Foxpro Page	Microsoft
Related Communities for Visual FoxPro	MSDN
A Message to the Community	Microsoft
Visual FoxPro - SEDNA Community	DBITech
VFP Road Map Discussion	Fox Wiki
VFP 9 SP 2 Bug List	Fox Wiki
PEM Editor Version 4.10 Released on VFPX	VFPX
VFP Task Pane Tip	Rick Borup's Blog
Visual FoxPro help implies NOPAGEEJECT clause can be used to print multiple report forms on the same page	Microsoft
VFP 9 SP2 Hotfix Minor Glitch	Rick Schummer's Blog
Microsoft fixes Data Group Bug in Reports!	Cathy Pountney's Blog
10 skills developers will need in the next five years	TechRepublic
Access vfp stored procedure in .Net	Foxite (Surinder Singh)
Visual FoxPro crashes after installing hot fix or service pack 2	Foxpert
Using the VFP 9.0 Class Browser for PRG Files	West-Wind
More on TreeViews and GDIPlusX	Doug Hennig's Blog
VFP to .NET Developer Survival Guide	GonzoMaximus' Blog
So, what's so bad about Public Variables?	Andy Kramek's Blog
VFP 9 Rushmore And Codepage	FoxWiki
VFP2IIS - Move your code to the web	VFP2IIS
Fixing broken backlinks in DBC and DBF files	Mike Lewis' Blog
Employ SQL-SELECTs "TO SCREEN" clause to determine if a record exists:	VisionPace

 

Non-VFP Software and Programming

Study: 68 percent of IT projects fail	TechRepublic
Enhance ASP.NET site security with the NoBot control	TechRepublic
Using Hash Fields in SQL Server	TechRepublic
Visualize data with new Microsoft controls	TechRepublic
What is the first rule of software development?	CodingSlave
SqlMetal	Code.Google.com
Use PowerPoint’s advanced animation to imply growth or movement	TechRepublic
Using Object Dependencies in SQL Server 2008	TechRepublic
OutSystems’ novel approach to Agile development	TechRepublic
A Microsoft Silverlight 3 Primer	DevSource
Climbing the corporate lattice	TechRepublic
How to get rid of a sticky border in Word	TechRepublic
Besides exploring space, NASA knows how to move data	TechRepublic
How do I . . . get a complete list of loaded drivers with DriverView?	TechRepublic
Getting Started with PHP Programming	DevSource
Beginning PHP Programming, Part II	DevSource
10+ keyboard shortcuts for speeding your work with Excel data	TechRepublic
Use Word's Spike to move content	TechRepublic
Create a custom number format in Word	TechRepublic
A pragmatic approach to training programmers, part one (with links to parts two and three)	TechRepublic
ODF, PDF become part of Microsoft Office	BetaNews
The Best Free Software of 2009	PCMag
What's Happening with Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0?	WindowsDevPro
Perils of adding fields to database tables	BuilderAU
Anatomy of a small business break-in	TechRepublic
Create blank lines in a printed Word form the easy way	TechRepublic
Bobby Tables guide to SQL injection (Trouble-proofing data)	Bobby-Tables
VARBINARY(MAX) Tames the BLOB	SQLMag
Date and Time Support in SQL Server 2008	SQLMag
10 commands you may want to add to the Office 2007 Quick Access Toolbar	TechRepublic
Customize Office to save time entering symbols	TechRepublic
How do I run code automatically when SQL Server starts?	TechRepublic
Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS (Download the Microsoft Office 2007 add-in)	BuilderAU
Agile: Anatomy of a failed project	ZDNet
Using Grouping Sets in SQL Server 2008	TechRepublic

   Back To Top

 

Hardware and Operating Systems

Use free sandboxing software to isolate risky behavior	TechRepublic
Transform Windows Vista into Windows VXP — the hybrid	TechRepublic
10 things you should know about moving from Windows XP to Windows 7	TechRepublic
10 things to look for in an e-reader	TechRepublic
How to troubleshoot sound problems that you experience after you install a Windows Vista Service Pack	Microsoft
Reduce System Restore’s Disk Usage in Vista	HowToGeek
10 cool things you can do with a USB flash drive	TechRepublic
Save time and keystrokes with the Windows Vista IP Configuration Tool	TechRepublic
14 Reasons Why Enterprise 2.0 Projects Fail	ZDNet
Rejected by Apple, iPhone developers go underground	CNN.Com
Video: Turn a 9-volt battery into six AAA replacement cells	TechRepublic
Kon-Boot Lets You Bypass Logon for Windows and Linux (Editor's Note: I have not tried this, and do not know if it works or is legal under Windows EULA)	WindowsITPro
The bell tolls for your magnetic media	ZDNet
Cannot create toolbar in Windows XP	Microsoft
Make Vista keyboard-friendly	EarthTimes
Windows Vista may stop responding when you install software that adds legacy network drivers	Microsoft
Understanding layered security and defense in depth	TechRepublic
How do I archive desktop virtual machines?	TechRepublic
Backing Up and Restoring the Windows XP Registry	ElderGeek
Secure your computer after a Windows install or reinstall	TechRepublic
Take back control of Vista's default programs and the Open With list	TechRepublic
Delete A File That Is Seemingly "Undeletable"	ElderGeek
Download the IPConfig Gadget to simplify troubleshooting in Vista	TechRepublic
10+ things to check when your presentation runs into technical problems	TechRepublic
Anatomy of a VMware Workstation virtual machine (VM)	TechRepublic
How to build lethal weapons from office supplies (Editor's note: This one should probably be in the Just for Fun group)	TechRepublic
BIOS settings demystified	ZDNet

   Back To Top

 

Web Services, XML, HTML and Other Internet Items

Practical paranoia: trust, but verify	TechRepublic
What Danger Lay Waiting In Shortened URLs?	NetworkWorld
Clever PHP performance tip	TechRepublic
Google's Top 17 Easter Eggs, Gags, and Hoaxes	PCWorld
Translate Documents: Sharing across languages and generations	GoogleBlogs
Taking Full Screenshots of Web Pages Was Never This Easy!	Digital Inspiration
Why the ocean matters...to Google	Cnet
Avoid problems by regularly checking site links	TechRepublic
Protect your JavaScript with obfuscation	BuilderAU
Silverlight 3	Microsoft
Five HTML oddities that you may not know	TechRepublic
Who Really Owns Digital Music?	PCMag
Two approaches to redirection in ASP.NET	BuilderAU
Search interfaces of tomorrow you can try today	CNet

   Back To Top

 

Just for Fun

A telescope in a cubic kilometer of ice	ZDNet
Money Origami	Clay Randall
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor Bach's composition visually as well as aurally	Flixxy
7 Random Animals That Decided The Course of History	Cracked.com
German boffins invent steel Velcro	TheRegister
200 Years that Changed the World	Flixxy
Paper Clip Art	PaperClipArt
Rare photos of S.F.'s 1906 Earthquake	SFGate
The next frontier: 'Seasteading' the oceans'	CNet
A Solar Deal to Put Mirrors in the Mojave	NYTimes
Stanford Writes In World's Smallest Letters	ScienceDaily
80 Million Tiny Images	MIT
Tailpipe Harvest: Putting All That Hot Air to Good Use	NYTimes
A Tiny Tyrannosaur	EurekaAlert
An Easy Ride Around the Crowd of Old Polluters	NYTimes
Inside an active volcano on Montserrat	ZDNet
Sticky Savior: U.S. Army Readies a New Blast-Protection Adhesive for Deployment	Scientific American
Real-time Beethoven	NTNU (in English or Norwegian)
Germans find Stone Age family	MSNBC
Space Station Astrophotography	NASA
How manuka honey helps fight infection	EurekaAlert
My New Sense Organ	H+
Time travel and English don't mix	TechRepublic
A skull that rewrites the history of man	The Independent
Computers unlock 4,000 year old language	TGDaily
New Inductee at Toy Hall of Fame: The Stick	Syracuse
Microscopic ramen served	JapanTimes
Mini nuclear plants to power 20,000 homes	Guardian

   Back To Top

Tips and Tricks

By the Membership

Load the Default Browser

Q: How do you load a user's default browser instead of IE?

A: ITo open a web page with the default browser, I use shellexecute:

declare integer ShellExecute in shell32.dll ;
integer nWinHandle, ;
string cOperation, ;
string cFileName, ;
string cParameters, ;
string cDirectory, ;
integer nShowWindow

lcUrl = "www.vfug.org"
ShellExecute (0, "Open", lcUrl, null, null, 1)

Ricardo Molina (from the VFUG ListServer)

   Back To Top

Get File Version #

Q: How can I get the version # of my EXE easily w/o using the GetFileVersion()? If someone renames my EXE it will not work.

A1: Use SYS(16,0). From the Help file: "SYS(16) returns the name of the executable file if called from an executable (.exe) file; whereas PROGRAM( ) returns just the program name."

A2: A more elaborate version of the answer above: In the form's INIT() method I add

LOCAL ARRAY aFile[1] as String

AGETFILEVERSION( aFile, Sys( 16,0))

TRY
   this.txtVersion.Value = [Version: ] + aFile[ 4]
   this.txtVersion.ToolTipText = aFile[ 4]
CATCH
   this.txtVersion.Value = [Version: Unknown]
   this.txtVersion.ToolTipText = [Unknown]
ENDTRY

Steve Wiley and Gary Bettle (from the VFUG ListServer)

   Back To Top

How do I determine if I'm in Development Mode or EXE?

Q: Is there a function that tells you if you are running in dev mode or runtime mode (EXE)?

A1: Version(2) # 0 - NOT and executable

A2:_vfp.StartMode property is what you are looking for.

Possible values are:
0 - A development version of Visual FoxPro was started in an interactive session.
1 - Visual FoxPro was started as an application object.
2 - Visual FoxPro was started as an out-of-process .exe automation server.
3 - Visual FoxPro was started as an in-process .dll automation server.
4 - Visual FoxPro was started as a distributable .app or .exe file.
5 - Visual FoxPro was started as an in-process .dll automation server for multithreaded use.

Ed Hardin, RObert McNeal and others (from the VFUG ListServer)

   Back To Top

How to start System Restore when you can't boot into XP

If you're having problems that prevent you from booting into the GUI, you may still be able to use the System Restore tool to roll back to a previous operating system state, and thereby fix the problem. Here's how:

1. Restart the computer and press and hold F8 during startup to bring up the options menu
2. Select "Safe mode with a command prompt"
3. If you have multiple operating systems installed, select the correct instance of XP
4. Log on with an administrative account
5. At the command prompt, type
/ %systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe/
and press ENTER
6. Follow the on-screen instructions

From the WXPNews

   Back To Top

Office Automation - Prevent Track Changes

Q: Is there a command for turing off traffic in Office Automation? It bogs down doc generation and makes the doc unreadable until it's turned off.

A:

With ActiveDocument
.TrackRevisions = True
.ShowRevisions = True
End With

O.ActiveDocument.ShowRevisions = .F.

Andrew Maki and Tom O'Hare(from the VFUG ListServer)

   Back To Top

Reverse the RGB() Function

Q: Is there a way to reverse the RGB() function.

LnColor = RGB(100,112,200)

LnRed = ???(lnColor)
LnGreen = ???(lnColor)

Etc..

A1: * This method extracts the blue portion from a combined colour value, in
* other words it reverses the B part of the RGB() function, which occupies
* the left-hand 8 bits (yes it really is the left, not the right).
LPARAMETERS lcColourValue
LOCAL lnColour
lnColour = EVALUATE(lcColourValue)
IF VARTYPE(lnColour) = "N"
   RETURN BITAND(255,BITRSHIFT(lnColour,16))
ELSE
   RETURN 0
ENDIF

* This method extracts the green portion from a combined colour value, in
* other words it reverses the G part of the RGB() function, which occupies
* the middle 8 bits.
LPARAMETERS lcColourValue
LOCAL lnColour
lnColour = EVALUATE(lcColourValue)
IF VARTYPE(lnColour) = "N"
   RETURN BITAND(255,BITRSHIFT(lnColour,8))
ELSE
   RETURN 0
ENDIF

* This method extracts the red portion from a combined colour value, in
* other words it reverses the R part of the RGB() function, which occupies
* the right-hand 8 bits (yes it really is the right, not the left).
LPARAMETERS lcColourValue
LOCAL lnColour
lnColour = EVALUATE(lcColourValue)
IF VARTYPE(lnColour) = "N"
    RETURN BITAND(255,lnColour)
ELSE
   RETURN 0
ENDIF

A2:
Set Library To foxtools
Store 0 TO lnR, lnG, lnB
RGBComp(Rgb(1,2,3),@lnR,@lnG,@lnB)
? lnR, lnG, lnB

-- Phil Hawkins and Christof Wollenhaupt (from the VFUG ListServer)

   Back To Top

Intellisense With Custom Classes

Q: I am looking for a way to have Intellisense read and display information from my custom classes. here is my latest attempt

SET PROCEDURE TO PremierClasses additive
configuration = CREATEOBJECT('TConfiguration')
MESSAGEBOX( configuration.tostring() )
configuration.select

when I type the dot after configuration no intellisense comes up ...

A1: If I compile as a dll and then reference the dll intellisense does work.

A2: Try adding a line at the top of your code file such as:

Local configuration AS TConfiguration of PremierClasses.prg

Then when you call CreateObject() and type configuration you'll get Intellisense. Ensure that the program is in the current directory, or you can just put the path in e.g. local configuration as TConfiguration of c:\dev\premierclasses.prg

-- Ricardo Molina, Robert McNeal and Matt Slay (from the VFUG ListServer)

   Back To Top

Multiple DVD or CD Drives Stop Working?

Q: My two DVD drives suddenly stopped working. Now in the control panel I get a yellow circle with an exclamation point in it on both. I tried all the normal stuff like uninstall, check cables, etc, and same old stuff. The only drivers I have is what comes with Win XP. I looked everywhere for new drives and nada.

I could see 1 drive with a problem but 2? I have no idea exactly when this started -- just finally noticed it recently when I tried to use the drives.

A: It turns out to be a registry issue. You need to delete 2 entries: http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/35761/

Tom O'Hare

   Back To Top

PEM Editor version 4.1 released on VFPx

PEM Editor version 3.0 released on VFPx. (Formerly named Edit Property/Method Dialog Replacement)

http://www.codeplex.com/VFPX/Wiki/View.aspx?title=PEM%20Editor

Many new features added:

• It provides numerous filters, column sorting, and different view states for adding and editing properties and methods.
• "New" button added to allow creating new properties and methods right in the PEM Editor window.
• It's non-modal, dockable, resizable and persistent.
• View entire Parentage and Parent Code hierarchy in one window. (Read only)
• Preferences enhanced to allow more customization and formatting of display grid and other features.
• Checkbox added to set scope to Current Object or main form/class.

Much more...

Matt Slay

   Back To Top

Find the Default .DOC File (Word or Open Office)

Q: I need to work in a MS Word/Open Office environment. I need to find out the default DOC (rich text) editor on a system. I then need to use that program to open a DOC (Word) file for viewing/editing. Anyone have an API (or whatever) call to first find the default program used to open *.DOC files?

A1: Try the following.
I've got it saved as shellit.prg

** WinApi :: ShellExecute
** Function: Opens a file in the application
** that it's associated with.
** Pass: lcFileName,working directory,operation,parameters,0 or 1 to hide/show - Name of the file to open
** sample call:
** shellit('filenamewithpath','','open','',1) && typical call to open the document
** Return: 2 - Bad Association (ie, invalid URL)
** 31 - No application association
** 29 - Failure to load application
** 30 - Application is busy
**
** Values over 32 indicate success
** and return an instance handle for
** the application started (the browser)

LPARAMETERS tcFileName, tcWorkDir, tcOperation, tcParam, tiShow

LOCAL lcFileName, ;
lcWorkDir, ;
lcOperation, ;
lcParam, ;
liShow

IF EMPTY(tcFileName)
RETURN -1
ENDIF

lcFileName = ALLTRIM(tcFileName)
lcWorkDir = IIF(TYPE("tcWorkDir") = "C",ALLTRIM(tcWorkDir),"")
lcOperation = IIF(TYPE("tcOperation")="C" AND NOT EMPTY(tcOperation),ALLTRIM(tcOperation),"Open")
lcParam = IIF(TYPE("tcParam")="C" AND NOT EMPTY(tcParam),ALLTRIM(tcParam),"")
liShow = IIF(TYPE("tiShow")="N",tiShow,1)

** ShellExecute(hwnd, lpszOp, lpszFile, lpszParams,;
** lpszDir, wShowCmd)
**
** HWND hwnd - handle of parent window
** LPCTSTR lpszOp - address of string for
** operation to perform
** LPCTSTR lpszFile - address of string for filename
** LPTSTR lpszParams - address of string for
** executable-file parameters
** LPCTSTR lpszDir - address of string for default
** directory
** INT wShowCmd - whether file is shown when
** opened
DECLARE INTEGER ShellExecute ;
IN SHELL32.DLL ;
INTEGER nWinHandle,;
STRING cOperation,;
STRING cFileName,;
STRING cParameters,;
STRING cDirectory,;
INTEGER nShowWindow

RETURN ShellExecute(0,lcOperation,lcFilename, lcParam,lcWorkDir,liShow)

Andrew Maki (from the VFUG ListServer)

   Back To Top

ODBC in Windows 7

Q: I am testing windows 7 beta on visual foxpro 9 sp2

The core vfp works fine, but my sql views and sqlexe commands seem to fail at every turn.

Odbc connections to the SQL server where my database points to connect work fine when I fill in all the info. But when I open projects, and look at connections and views, they are messed up. If I fix them in the win64, they begin to work there (though it appears I have to touch every view and connection)

I also discovered that data sources were not available to views, and could only be created if I ran vfp as administrator.

A1: The issue was that in this legacy systems approach to data, the connection to the SQL database was defined in connection designer, the data source (defined in odbc) was there, the user id (fixed) and password were there but not the database name (which was named in the client odbc setup)

Once I added the database name, the compiled version worked fine on both win7 beta 64 bit and xp 32 bit.

Bob Morrell (from the VFUG Forum)

   Back To Top

On Shutdown...

Some final comments....

Coming Soon: More articles by Nancy Folsom, Farhad Bayanati and the final 3 articles in Tom O'Hare's series. Plus the usual eclectic assortment of Tips, Tricks, Links etc.

Want to be (in)famous? All you have to do is send VFUG an article, tip or otherwise useful item. We are happy to publish most Fox related tidbits, and you can help your fellow developers worldwide!

VFUG is also always looking for additions to our Vendor program. Would your company be interested? Contact Tom O'Hare to get with it.  Also, if you are interested in your company placing a banner advertisement on our home page, please contact Carl.

   Back To Top

Virtual FoxPro User Group Copyright © 2009, Virtual FoxPro User Group, Orlando (Florida), All Rights Reserved