Dev Dawn

Okay.

It’s the UK Clarion UG (User Group) Meeting.

Bob Z is there.

Capesoft is there.

More Clarion Guru’s are there.

And here is the news:

Unorganised List

• No GPF’s in IDE. It will give you exceptions, but you can continue
• Clarion 7 doesn’t need a bin directory in path
• Option to copy redirection to solution directory
• IDE creates bin directory for solution then debug/release directories for the exe/dlls including copying of the needed dll’s from the c6/7 bin directory
• Command line option to make solution
• Win32 compiler is a .Net compiler that compiles win32 programs. It does that by falling back in Win32
• IDE can be setup for multiple users and different logins into windows can customise how they like it
• Clarion 7 redirection files have a new command (include %REDIR%\%REDNAME%), this command will include other redirection files
• Addins (mods) are easy to develop in for the IDE so new opportunities for 3rd Party Developers
• Source control is more difficult for APP files compared to code files, no real solution for the problem, only bridge building
• Inplace activation at design time for ActiveX controls
• PRJ files are now CWPRJ files and are XML
• Multiple versions of Clarion selectable, ie, if you have 9049 and 9053 installed, you can choose which one you want to use going right back to 1.5
• Clarion .NET will support compact framework 2.0 (Not sure what this is, will have to look it up) - The Compact Framework is the .NET version for PocketPCs and the like, thanks Ubaidullah!
• Clarion 7, New toolbox template for xp/office style
• New algorithm for disabled icons
• Powerful grouping features to allow subset views of the tables in the dictionary
• Column view that displays every field from all tables and allows edits
• Cascade any file change throughout the entire dictionary
• Open multiple tables
• Generate reports on history of changes in PDF/XML/HTML
• Opening multiple apps will be in separate IDE’s, unlike the coding solution project which can be all in one
• Code folding
• Built-in class browser c7 and .NET
• Procedure class method navigator
• Search/Replace across projects and solutions
• Access dictionary from within hand coded projects
• Clarion .NET, Winforms will not use a window structure like c7/6, it will use a class definition
• ado.NET supported with TPS files
  

  From Diego:
  This mean that there is an ADO.Net provider for TPS and is included with Clarion.Net, then you can use a DataSet with the ADO.Net data provider or with the old good FILE/VIEW

• the := symbol introduced, ie mydataset := People, or, SELF.components := NEW System.ComponentModel.Container()
  

  From Diego:
  The := does not replace the = or &= and both are still valid. In Clarion we use = for value types and &= for references. In Clarion.Net you can use := for both and the compiler will create the right one for you, but that does not mean that you can not use = or &=, it is just a short cut.

——-

• TPS driver is not managed code, it uses c7 drivers - This is not set in stone, and may change before release
• Clarion .NET only for TPS files, this was bluntly answered - This MEANS .. TPS Files will only work in Clarion.NET, you can’t use them in Visual Studio etc
  

  From Diego:
  You can use any driver on Clarion.Net, maybe the examples showed there where using only TPS because is easier but all the drivers are supported.
  The file access can be done using the old good Clarion Win way or you can use the DataSet and related classes.

• SoftVelocity have a mechanism to parse a c7 window structure to a .NET code
• the Clarion language will support Partial classes

——-

• Extension for Clarion .NET source files is .cln
• Because of how asp.NET works you don’t need a special IP to support it, you just distribute the DLL’s in a bin dir on your page
  

  From Diego:
  Clarion.Net support all ASP.Net deployment strategies.
  eg: aspx page with embeded code, aspx page with code in other cln file (code behind), compiled aspx and code behind files, aspx and compiled clarion dll.
  When source code is deployed the asp.net compiler will compile the clarion code on the fly (same as C# & VB.Net)

  Also Clarion.Net is able to Create and Consume .Net WebService.

• Demo with a list box showing states with a text box and a couple of buttons
• Tools in Clarion.NET is a C# to Clarion converter
• New .NET Template Change creating layer’d application, ie, presentation layer, business object later, ..
• .NET 3.0 Support
• Generic and Partial Classes
• LINQ No idea at all about this
• 64bit Native Compilers for .NET
• When appgen is implemented you’ll be building .NET applications (Desktop, Web, or Handheld) without knowing any of the .NET
• No hard and fast date for beta release, Bob is of the opinion that people don’t want the hand-coded version. But if enough of the populous want it, he may reconsider - This is interesting ..
• The Clarion .NET IDE looks very stable

That’s all I’ve got for now. This is hot off the press. I’ll be updating this list as more info comes along.

Edit:

Okay, it’s finished. Thanks to MarkS for his streaming updates. Apologies for the confusion caused over the TPS Only item.

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