xCase2VPM News

xCase2VPM for xCase 8.2 Released

Hank Fay — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:47:00 +0000

Version 1.99.237 of xCase2VPM for xCase 8.2 and VPME9 has been released. It is available here. The primary purpose of the release is compatibility with xCase8.2. Note that xCase8.1 reintroduces the multiple attributes browser, so if you are upgrading from earlier than that, see the directions below for making sure you have this valuable feature.

Other than compatibility with xCase8.2, this version introduces two important features:

The Append process at the end of an xCase2VPM run is much quicker, because where possible, the table will be copied back, rather than appended. In a few hundred table application, this can cut 10's of minutes off the processing time.

The ability to work around SQL Server's use of Allow Null is now built into the Create Remote DB process. This is important when you want compatibility with VFP-based applications, because it makes the data work just as it does with VFP. VPM takes care of the actual defaults, and whether the fields can be empty(); this eliminates views not working because of NULL FK's, etc. To make this work, run the Create Remote DB process with the settings shown below:

What about VPME9.1X

Hank Fay — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 16:24:00 +0000

We've gotten a couple of questions about VPME9.1X lately: are we going to produce a version of xCase2VPM to go with this version of VPM? In short, the answer is no. The longer answer follows <s>.

The reasons for our decision are many, some more important than others of course. Here are some, in no particular order of importance.

With VFP now in an end-of-life cycle, we don't foresee a move by developers to VFP; and since developers moving to VFP were a key component of the VPM market (because VPM is such a huge help in getting going with VFP when doing useful work), we don't foresee an increased market for VPM.

Our libraries provide the capabilities we need to produce great business applications in VPME9.

It would be a lot of scut-work changing everything in our libraries to work with VPME9.1x. Nothing has changed in the essence of the processing; but what things are called or where they are located has changed.

We would love to have a reason to change our decision. One thing that would help do that would be if VFP applications could be compiled into .Net. "What," you say? "We've been told VFP can never run within .Net, and the person telling us that was the Product Manager for VFP!" Well, we'll see how it turns out, but you might want to take a look at a Community Support Group for etecnologia.net's VFP.Net compiler. If/when Samuel et al. get this thing working, then VPME9.1X will have another life (well deserved), and it would make sense for us to proceed with a version of xCase2VPM that implements the interface we have already planned for xCase2 V2, while converting our libraries to work with VPME9.1X or beyond.

For the moment, we're producing great business applications in VPME9, using our libraries combined with xCase2VPM, and haven't found any reason to do otherwise. We see reasons to be preparing for the future, of course. Right now, what we have is working great.

xCase2VPM for xCase 8.1, VPME9 Released

Hank Fay — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 01:27:00 +0000

Come and get it: http://www.prosysplus.com/products/xcase2vpm_updates.htm

This takes care of the Browsers issue that resulted from the return of the Multiple Attributes Form. It has a few other little fixes, I think: when Frank gives me the list, I'll note them here, there and everywhere.

Directions for how to get your multiple attributes browser back in xCase 8.1, with the ProSysPlus defaults, are given on the download page, above.

enjoy,

Hank

PS: thanks to Frank for figuring out what needed to be done (which turned out to be a) installing over a 7.5 install directly with 8.1, and b) packaging up those browsers for use by xCase2Vpm).

xCase2VPM V1.99.112

Hank Fay — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 04:00:00 +0000

This version fixes two bugs:

We added a call to the datasession saver class from PSP Libraries, which was a good thing. I forgot to include it in the build, which was a bad thing.
Somehow someone (Frank will analyze source control files to prove it was me, although I completely deny it, and truthfully cannot remember doing it) broke the code in the Process dialog that filled the Model combobox. Anyway, I fixed it.

Time to get back to the next version, don't you think? <s>

xCase2VPM V1.99.74 Released

Hank Fay — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 03:03:00 +0000

This is the last planned release of xCase2VPM for VPME9. It incorporates, but does not mandate, support of xCase 8.

Documentation isn't done yet <gd&r> but will be forthcoming. They will be posted here when available.

The next version of xCase2VPM will be V2, for VPME9.1, which will be under a new name (PSP4VPM, which will include the PSP Data Dictionary and the PSP Libraries). The new product will be sold only through a comprehensive subscription package: for existing xCase2VPM users the annual fee for all updates (including PSP4.Net which will appear within the next year), training videos, and support (all through Groove for now) will be $495, with a $100 Early Bird discount. These subscriptions will be available on the ProSysPlus website when the time comes.

You can access the downloads here.

Enjoy!!!

European Summer DevCon 2006

Hank Fay — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 14:08:00 +0000

Wondering what's up with xCase2VPM? Read about it here: http://www.prosysplus.com/blog/2006/06/european-summer-devcon-2006.html !

xCase2VPM V2 Live Training in Tampa

Hank Fay — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 04:38:00 +0000

Frank and I have committed to delivering some version of xCase2VPM V2, aka xCase2PSP for VPM, for a demo at the ProMatrix Solutions workshop in Tampa on October 21, and then we’ll do a workshop of our own, actually working with xCase2VPM V2, the next day. Workshop attendees will receive the beta version of xCase2VPM V2. This will be the first release of xCase2VPM V2, and Workshop attendees will be the first to receive it, along with access to the portal site devoted to the beta.

The Saturday workshop will be the Full Monte of the xCase2VPM Jumpstart: shake it Frank!

Installation of xCase2PSP and PSP4VPM (you can’t use xCase2VPM V2 without both components)

Setting up xCase (not too much to do: we no longer add attributes to xCase)

Quick Demo to prove it works! (Developed directly in SQL Server)

Setting up xCase2PSP Advanced: your own attributes and code generation

Working with Entities: all the features you liked in V1

Generated vs. xCase Views: why you will rarely need xCase views

Working with Fields: all the features you liked in V1

Working with Validation Rules

Working with Business Rules

Bonus Session: Moving your model to MM.Net using PSP4MM.Net

When I went back to the xCase model for V2, I was interested to see that it had been started in 2003: and that I still like the ideas in it. <g>  Ideas like the ability for users to add their own MetaData attributes to any object, and direct how those new attributes are used.

The interface will be in .Net, which was not in the original plan.  In that time, .Net has gotten better, MM.Net has matured, and Infragistics controls have progressed.  So, Frank and I decided to bite the bullet and develop the interface using MM.Net and Infragistics.  On the backend will be a COM object written in VPME9 using the PSP Libraries.  Which we will rewrite in VPME91 once we get V2 working.  Why a VPM COM object?  Because nothing does data like Fox.  And if Anders Hejlsberg (creator of the CLR and C#, and currently adding data access improvements to C#) doesn’t have a VFP guru looking over his shoulder and shaking his/her head in dismay at his lack of data experience, well, it’s all our loss.

This is the only live training Frank and I have scheduled at this point, since we find the Online Videos and Support format to be so effective.  But live training for something like this is exciting for everyone.  And this stuff will blow people away.   I’m excited, and I’ve been thinking/working on this over a period of 2 years.

You can sign up for the course on the ProMatrix training site.

xCase2VPM 1.99 for xCase 7.5 and VPME9

Hank Fay — Thu, 12 May 2005 05:50:00 +0000

As the title says... get it at the update site.

This will be the last version for VPME9 (there might be builds to correct bugs, but there will be no enhancements leading to major or minor version changes). The reason for this is VPME91, which will be released in a few days. Here are our (Frank and Hank) plans for VPME91 and xCase2VPM, and the reasons why:

First, VPME91 changes the way a lot of things work: we need to take advantage of these changes. This includes how business rules are implemented, and the ability to develop directly into client-server databases.

Second, we need to make xCase2VPM easier to use in two areas: User Interface (UI) and speed (of generation after model changes). This means a) we build our own interface, using xCase for the things it does best (design entities, fields, relations, indexes, views), while using our interface for everything else. It also means incremental generation (and avoiding generation in many cases, through the uses of dynamic cursoradaptors) of xCase model into VPM and into the actual data.

Third, as a result of First and Second, above, Frank and I confirmed over the past two days our earlier notions that we would put our information that was additional to VPM into separate data tables that would be distributed with the application. This was an early thought we had, and became even clearer when we realized that to take advantage of some of the new power in VPME91, we would have to extend the VPM metadata through additional child tables.

So, that all said, we are looking at 1) an entirely new xCase2VPM: it will be a VPM application; and 2) a refactoring of the PSP Libraries into the VPME91 context.

The new xCase2VPM will be twice as efficient as the old one if you are working on small to medium models; it will be even more efficient if you are working on large models.

The new PSP Libraries will give you unbelievable power and control over what happens in your VPM programs. ProMatrix has gotten even more stuff right, and we're in a position to use what they have delivered to give you even more. Well, to be honest, it's really for us (as I told Frank and breakfast today, "we've never done anything just for the xCase2VPM users that we didn't want anyway, so why start now?" <g> ), but everyone gets to benefit.

So, there will be an upgrade price for xCase2VPM, which in the tradition of such things will be 60% of the current price, which we expect to stay the same ($699). We have, however, added two ways to get free xCase2VPM upgrades: the two video+online Training Subscriptions which we have created from the 4 courses (xCase2VPM Jumpstart; ActiveX/COM/.Net; VPM2Web; PSP Libraries) currently described on our website and offered for purchase on the ProMatrix website.

The two courses will be xCase2VPM Jumpstart, which will be exactly what it is now. The other will be a combination of all 4 courses into a reconfigured PSP Libraries. The current courses are online videos, support through Groove (you buy the Groove from Groove.net, Professional version), and occasional online sessions to make new videos. There will be two Groove spaces: the xCase2VPM Jumpstart space, and the PSP Libraries space. The latter will handle all non-xCase2VPM matters. Frankly, it was too tough to separate out the PSP Libraries issues from COM/.Net and from VPM2Web. Those who sign up for the PSP Libraries support, will get both Groove spaces.

Pricing for the training has decreased (that is not a typo -- we want people to use this stuff, because the more people that use it, the better it becomes as a result of feedback):

xCase2VPM Jumpstart: $499 ($299 within 30 days of purchasing xCase2VPM); $199 annual renewal.

PSP Libraries: $1099 ($899 within 30 days of purchasing xCase2VPM); $499 annual renewal.

The xCase2VPM Jumpstart course gets a Library refresh once per year.

The PSP Libraries course gets Library refreshes as needed (we intend to tie in the Change Log with incremental refreshing).

So that's the news from Southwest Florida, where I put down the convertible top in the hope that Frank will get something of a tan before he returns to Weert, NL.

Version 1.90.176 Released

Hank Fay — Sun, 17 Oct 2004 03:22:00 +0000

The newest version of xCase2VPM is available on the update site.

This version is consistent with the recently released version of the ProSysPlus Libraries (made available as an update for those enrolled in the PSP Libraries subscription).

The xCase Search and Replace functionality has been honed in this release. It is also able to be used with VFP9 data types (although it has not yet been modified to run with xCase 7.5, which was just released).

xCase2VPM 1.90.141 Major New Features

Hank Fay — Sun, 18 Jul 2004 05:37:00 +0000

I probably should have bumped up the secondary version number, with the new features introduced into this build:

Compatibility with VFP9's new data types (xCase is modified by xCase2VPM, automatically, to make this work). Frank had to have this to play with VFP9, so he just went ahead and did it. (Yes, we know, VPM doesn't run with VFP9; but of course Frank got that working too, with a workaround available to those who are in the PSP Libraries video course support Groove space.)
Search and Replace: a utility written by David LeMesurier which allows you to Search and Replace within your xCase model.
Team Data Structure Updates: two processes that allow Team members to update their data structure without running xCase2VPM, but while still retaining their personal test data.

As always, there are a number of bug fixes: I make them, Frank fixes them, if I'm lucky. <s>

Enjoy,

Hank

VFP9 Compatible Version Coming

Hank Fay — Thu, 01 Jul 2004 03:37:00 +0000

For those playing with the VFP9 Public
Beta, it sure would be nice to have a copy of xCase and xCase2VPM that were compatible with the new features, wouldn't it? Well, Frank Camp has been hard at work (well, play, but serious play <s>) making this possible. All I have to do it put the pieces together now. It'll be a few days.

Version 1.90.118

Hank Fay — Thu, 01 Jul 2004 03:32:00 +0000

Fixes:

Quick RI had an obscure bug, which those who reported it to me over the last year, but which I couldn't replicate here, will be overjoyed to learn has been squashed.
Field-based Upper Candidate indexes were not being created as Upper. This is the nth time this has been fixed: may it be the last.
AcolScan() has been replaced through xCase2VPM, in line with it being deprecated in the PSP Libraries.
Custom Compound Fields were not always enrolled correctly.

Enhancements:

ParentPKValue Views with multiple parent relations are now easier to find: the FK index expression is now specified in the Comments field of the Entity, on the Properties page of the Entity in the Data Manager.

Replacing the xCase2VPM Announcements Maillist

Hank Fay — Mon, 24 May 2004 04:33:00 +0000

In the past, I've hesitated to besiege people with announcements about each and every build posted on the updates site. Because this is a less intrusive medium, the new policy will be that each build placed on the updates site will be noted here.