STD Integrated Framework (2023 R2) released!

  ** Hot News **

  Integrated Foundation Classes (2023R2) Released!

 "THE" Framework for PowerBuilder & PowerServer 2022 R2!

(Framework version 2023.2.0.355 - September 26, 2023)  

 

New Framework Encryption features!

        Software Tool & Die Inc (STD) are very pleased to announce that they have just released a new version of their Integrated Foundation Class library framework 2023R2 (build 2023.2.0.355) exclusively for PowerBuilder 2022 R2 and PowerServer 2022 R2 (Cloud), and InfoMaker 2022 R2 (build 2819) - with many new features, enhancements and upgrades!

  

     STD are also very excited as this release represents another significant enhancement milestone to the Integrated framework that really further exemplifies the power of the Appeon PowerBuilder 2022  development environment! The updated framework combined with the current PowerBuilder and/or PowerServer products, positions developers to take advantage of today's Agile and DevOps methodologies. Plus it further enhances a newer GUI "punch" in your Native and Cloud based Apps without buying expensive add-on products. Especially, since the framework is free!

     For a summary of the previous framework version's new & revised features for 2021 through 2022, please follow these links - 2021R5, 2022R1  and 2022R2. Note that the Integrated framework had 3 releases in 2022 and 5 releases in 2021 - so that it's always leading edge feature rich! STD also has more features planned for more Integrated framework in 2023 as well!

   

   The following are some of the key highlights of the new 2023R1 Integrated Foundation Class library for Appeon PowerBuilder 2022 R2 build 2819, as follows:

• All obsolete object system classes were removed to align with PB2022 R2
  
• Refactored some external API's to conform to PB 2022 R2's use of the C++ v2022 compiler!
  
• Tested code compliance with W10 / W11 & W2019 / W2022 22H2 builds.
  
• Now encrypts all Transaction object settings for better App security
• Transaction encryption now uses random / unique encryption key per instance.
  
• Now encrypts PowerServer connection & DBParm settings for better N-Tier security
• All DBMS INI connection settings are encrypted better App security
• Created a new ADMIN App to handle INI encryption. 
• Refactored the ns_sqla_master Ancestor object class to handle all DBMS connectivity
• Added new object classes to support the new PDF Builder feature
• Revised the ns_app_controller_master class to handle DPI awareness
• Revised the ns_app_controller_master class to allow each App to have their own encryption key.
  
• Revised the ns_app_controller_master class to fix MS-Word Spell Checking in Office 365
• Revised the OrderEntry Demo App to connect to either SQL Anywhere, SQL Server or PostGres PB2022R2 "Demo DB"!
• Added TabbedView support to the MDI Window ancestor class!
  

INI Encryption Example:

 

 ; SQLAnyWhere (Version 17)
[Database Information SA1]
; The following DB is used for 32bit PB Apps (and PB IDE)!
Database32=£–dŠ×ÎÜ…»±’Á…ƒ……¥…
; The following DB is used for 64 bit PB Apps!
Database64=£–dŠ×ÎÜ…»±’Á…ƒ……¥…
; DB = Dbms version Check ( Y / N )
DB_Check_Version=¬
DB_Expected_Version=„‹rv ’ž“®Ÿ§£
DBMS=¢˜†
UserID=ᦴ
LogId=ᦴ
LogPass=ÆÅ°
Lock=¥¦
ServerName=ŸÃ§§Þ©ÜØë
AutoCommit=Y
DBParm=–ò´×Äá¸ëáÛÙºz—¦¡£•s—¸ÀÂs—•s©…ƒ……¥…
CacheName=¦•£Š×ÎÜ©¹

 

Transaction Object Encryption example:

 

 

MS-Word Spell Checking example:

 

 

New ADMIN App example:

 

 

 

PB 2022R2 Demo Database downloads:

 

 FYI: https://github.com/Appeon/PowerBuilder-Project-Example-Database

Demo App Multiple DB Support example:

 

 

 

 Demo App Tabbed View example:

 

 

     The latest Integrated framework version contains the following updates and has been tested with the latest MS-Windows 10 O/S (22H2 build 19045.3516, MS-Windows 11 O/S (22H2 build 22621.2361), PB 2022 R2 build 2819 and the PowerServer 2022 R2 build 2.1.0. Testing within PB Apps included Win32 (both P-code & M-code) and Win64 (P-code) executable deployments. Testing inside of PowerClient and PowerServer included both 32bit and 64bit Apps & PowerServer App/Server (Web API) deployments.

Note: All the STD framework versions are free and can be downloaded from its STD Foundation Classes project hosted on the SourceForge website. The frameworks, Demo Apps, etc  are licensed under Apache 2.0 open source model.

Release 2023.2.0.3255 - Major Release (2023R2) - change highlights ...   

 

• Migrated the framework from version 2023.1.0.325 to 2023.2.0.355 under PB 2022 R2
• Continued to refactor API's to conform to the new C++ v2022 compiler used in PB 2022 R2 (IDE & Runtime)
• Modified ns_sqlca_master to add "CacheName" to the of_encrypt & of_decrypt methods.
• Modified ns_sqlca_master to add the of_load_connection_info method.
• Modified ns_sqlca_master the of_postconstuctor to decrypt the User_ID value
• Modified ns_app_controller_master to Moved PS Server check to Transaction Object on "of_connect" (ns_sqlca_master).
• Modified ns_sqlca_master to perform a PS Check on a valid OS connection
• Modified ns_sqlca_master to of_check_ps_version method to be public so that other objects can call it
• Modified fn_spell_check method to handle MS-Office 365 speller
• Modified ns_app_controller_master to add of_get_speller() and of_set_speller() methods
• Modified ns_app_controller_master Destructor event to clean-up MS-Word OLE spell checker
• Modified ns_app_controller_master Constructor event to handle setting DPI Awareness
• Modified ns_sqlca_master to grab the PowerServer URL from the App's INI
• Modified vs_dc_master to add of_set_save_required method
• Modified the fn_web_browser_control_settings class to support the new WebView2 web browser engine
• Modified the fn_web_browser_control_settings class to move the is_db_expected_version variable to ns_SQLCA_master
• Modified ns_app_controller_master to add of_get_crypto_key method
• Modified ns_sqlca_master to add is_dbms_expected_version variable now SQLCA's of_connect method
• Modified ns_sqlca_master's of_check_version method to find the DBMS version within the Server's signature
• Modified ns_sqlca_master class to add better PowerServer property settings
• Modified ns_sqlca_master's of_load_connection_info method to use encrypted data from the INI file
• Created a new PB App (STD_FC_Admin) that manages (Encrypt or Decrypt) database connection values in an INI file.

      The OrderEntry example application and the Integrated Framework's Documentation has also been updated to the new Integrated Foundation class 2023R2 framework version. You can download the example application from here. Also, check out the online "getting started" video series to accelerate your assimilation of the best & free framework for PowerBuilder, PowerClient & PowerServer (Cloud) based applications!

 

Visual Expert's STD Framework Summary Analysis

   STD would also like to thank Novalys Corporation for their support of the Foundation Classes by supplying the VisualExpert product for the framework's analysis & documentation!

 

 

 Enjoy!

PowerBuilder/PowerServer 2022 R2 Build 2819 - Released!

 

    Appeon are excited to announce that the PowerBuilder / PowerServer 2022 R2 version and the InfoMaker 2022 R2 version, build 2819, have been officially released and are available for downloading!

New Features and Bug Fixes

• Newly supported databases
• SQL Server 2022 (supports MSOLEDBSQL 19.3 using TLS 1.3)
• PostgreSQL 15.x
• Oracle 23c (supports TLS 1.3)

• PowerBuilder
• Supports TabbedView for MDI window.
• Supports Autocomplete for DDDW & DDLB.
• Provides SMTPClient and MimeMessage for native email support.
• New PDF Builder offers a full-set of objects and functions for generating and manipulating PDF documents with text, graphics, images, and interactive elements such as watermarks.
• Enhanced RichTextEdit control to support form fields, tables, and text frames, for which a list of new functions are added.
• Changed the WebBrowser engine from Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) to Microsoft Edge WebView2.
• Upgraded the ADO.NET database drivers to .NET 6 for more secure database connection.

For more new features and detailed information, please see here.

For bug fixes & known issues, please see here.

• PowerServer
• The PowerServer project deployment has been further simplified. Eliminates the need to deploy client apps and Web APIs separately. With just one click, you can deploy your app to an IIS server, saving time and hassle.
• Supports IBM DB2 UDB 11.x.
• Adds Cursory (ultra-fast) to allow developers to quickly validate fixes without waiting for a full build.
• Adds a new encryption type "Strict” to support TDS 8.0 in SQL Server 2022.
• Adds the UserExtensions object and the MaxSPCache setting to the PowerServer C# solution.

For more new features and detailed information, please see here. All the new features listed in PowerBuilder are also applicable to PowerServer.

For bug fixes & known issues, please see here.

• InfoMaker
• Adds the AutoCompleteMode property to the DataWindow object properties dddw.property and ddlb.property to support the following features:
• Supports automatic completion of data input in DropDownDataWindow & DropDownListBox.
• Supports filtering data according to the data input in DropDownDataWindow & DropDownListBox.
• Supports identity column for Oracle.
• Adds a new encryption type "Strict" to the Encrypt Data option in the DB profile. The "Strict" encryption type enables SQL Server 2022 to leverage TDS 8.0.
• It is now possible to enable NativePDF option for the entire application.
• Upgraded the ADO.NET database drivers to .NET 6 for more secure database connection.

For more new features and detailed information, please see here.

For bug fixes & known issues, please see here.

Upgrade Notes

For how to upgrade PowerBuilder applications, please see here. If your application uses WebBrowser, please read carefully the WebBrowser engine changes and evaluate the impact of the changes to your application before the upgrade.

For how to upgrade the PowerServer projects, please see here.

Downloads

To obtain either the new PB 2022 R2 or IM 2022 R2, please download either the PowerBuilder Installer or InfoMaker Installer from our Downloads portal.

 Regards .. Chris

PowerBuilder 2022 - TCP/IP Socket Example

 ** Hot News **

TCP/IP Programming

Updated Socket Application Example for PowerBuilder 2022!

        Software Tool & Die Inc. today are very pleased to announce a brand new MS-Windows Socket (2022) example application built with the latest STD Integrated Framework (2023R1). This latest release of the Socket application is also built using the latest Appeon PowerBuilder 2022 IDE and should also work with the upcoming PowerBuilder 2022 R2 Beta test version as well.

Client Application - Ready to send DW object & buffers

 

         The STD Socket example application demonstrates a significant enhancement to the the PB developer's toolbox! The Socket example showcases the TCP/IP features in the STD Integrated Framework and more importantly returns the power of Distributed PowerBuilder back to the application developer. The TCP/IP socket support in the STD Frameworks is based on the work by Tom Cervenka's Sockets objects (written in pure PB, dating back to the PowerSoft days) that utilizes MS-Windows socket API's for FTP'ing files between servers and/or peer-to-peer communications.

Server Application - Receiving DWO and buffers from sender

    In addition, the updated STD Socket example will also now work with PowerServer 2019 as well when deployed as a Web Application! 

Actual Web deployed Socket App talking to its Native PB counter-part!

Watch the video!

    You can download the updated STD Socket example application from the STD Framework's website by clicking here to get more productive in peer-to-peer communications with PowerBuilder! Note that an"Archive" sub-folder has also been added to this location as well. This folder contains previous versions of the socket example application for older PB releases!

 
Enjoy!


Regards ... Chris

PowerBuilder 2022 - DDE Example Updated!

 Hot News!

PowerBuilder DDE Example Application

Built using the STD Framework!

        Software Tool & Die Inc. are very pleased today to announce an updated example application that demonstrate a fully working Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) Client and Server application! This latest release of the DDE Client/Server applications are are all written in the latest PowerBuilder 2022 version and are also using the latest STD Integrated Framework (2023R1)  ...

    In the updated release, the DDE Demo Applications include the following changes:

• Built using PB2022 build 1892
• Using STD Integrated Framework  v2023.2.0.326
• Updated to support the PB2022 Theme feature
  
• Now includes  Client & Server App logging auto delete at EOJ
  
• Incorporates MS-Windows notification utility built from PB 2022
  
• Deployment examples in 32 & 64bit and M-Code / P-Code
  
• Tested the DDE code on W10 version 22H2 build 19045.2788
• Tested the DDEcode on W11 version 22H2 build 22621.1413
• PowerClient or PowerServer 2022 deployment ready as well!
  

Actual DDE Client and DDE Server in action exchanging various messages & data!

 

    The deployed EXE's for the DDE Client and DDE Server are also included in the DDE Example Applications download. You can run either the Client or Server in mixed modes. For example a 32 bit client and a 64 bit server (or vise versa), a P-Code client and an M-Code server (or vise versa), or any combination of the various DDE EXE's built from the STD Framework. The DDE features will work with any combination of the above EXE's. So this feature is just another tool in the PBToolBox that PB Developers can use to accomplish inter-application communication!

  You can download the new STD Framework DDE Demo App for PB2022 build 1892, as follows:

DDE Demo App:  Download 

STD Framework:  Download  (latest OrderEntry Demo App that uses the framework!)

Note: Older DDE examples and STD Frameworks are available in their respective "Archive" sub-folders found in the above links.

   Enjoy ... please let me know what you think & if you have any feature suggestions that you might like me to add for future releases! 

Alert:  Ticket # 10034 has been opened for the 64 bit execution mode. It does not work in PB 2022 whereas it does work OK in PB 2021. I suspect that the problem lies in PB 2022's use of the  VC++ 2019 compiler whereas PB 2021 uses VC++ 2010 compiler to build the PB runtime.

Regards ... Chris

PowerBuilder 2022 - CD Player Updated!

** Hot News **

New version of the PowerBuilder CD player released!

Built from the STD Integrated framework!  

    Software Tool & Die Inc.are please to announce the release of an updated Compact Disc Player (version 2023.1.55) application all written in PowerBuilder 2022 - build 1892! This application demonstrates the power of using the STD Integrated Framework plus the all the Unicode based MCI (Multimedia Command Interface) API's now residing in the base classes. The updated application can be deployed as either a Win32 / Win64  native application or a PowerClient application and allows the user to control music from any CD/DVD player attached to their PC.

    The amazing changes to this release were the refactoring of the previous code to dovetail into the latest STD Integrated Framework for PB release 2022! New features include: a) can now reside in the O/S's System Tray; b) can be compiled for the first time into a 64 bit EXE; c) can be compiled into either a 32 or 64 bit PowerClient application; W11 ready and; d) Theme ready!

     Not only is this a "kool" application to run - it demonstrates important low-level control of the O/S that you can easily achieve using the framework's extensive external API's and support for PB 2022's latest features. When you add the STD framework to the PB development mix - a whole new horizon of application possibilities emerges! 

    If you would like to enjoy the Native or PowerClient version of the above CD Player application, please visit the SourceForge website download the CD Player from this link. Note that all the applications and the framework itself  in the SourceForge project are free & open source!

  To commemorate the release of the various Star Wars movies, the CD Player has been enhanced with various sound effects that salute this great story-line & movie franchise. I hope that you enjoy the updated Star-wars CD Player edition!

You seek a PowerBuilder Master.
Know him I do,
Find him I will!
Hmmm .. you seek Chris Pollach