PowerBuilder 2017 R2 New Feature: Git source control support

In a previous blog article we looked at the new feature of PowerBuilder 2017 R2 for Subversion source control support. In this blog article we're going to look at a very similar feature, Git source control support.  I'm not going to go through the history of source code support in PowerBuilder again, I'd refer you to that previous blog article for that.  We're going dive straight in to how the Git feature works.

Setting up Git

For this demo, we're going to use Bonobo Git Server.  One reason I like it is because it provide a web based admin console for managing the server, so I don't have to use the Git command line to do that.

Because it's an ASP.Net application, the machine where we're going to install it must have IIS and the .Net Framework 4.6 installed on it.  To install Bonobo Git once you've downloaded it you simply need to:

PowerBuilder 2017 R2 New Feature: Subversion (SVN) source control support

PowerBuilder's initial support for version control systems required drivers for specific vendors (e.g., PVCS) and often for specific versions of that vendor's products.  It was not unusual to find that you needed to wait to upgrade your source control product until PowerBuilder released an updated driver for it.  And if your source control provider wasn't supported by PowerBuilder you were simply out of luck.

That changed with PowerBuilder 6.  With that release, PowerBuilder abandoned the vendor specific drivers in favor of the recently introduced Microsoft Source Code Control Interface (MSSCCI).  Essentially an ODBC for version control, it freed the IDE from vendor lock-in.  Provide the source control provide provides an MSSCCI complaint interface, or there was a 'bridge' product available that could convert MSSCCI calls into the source control providers native API calls, PowerBuilder could use the product.

PowerBuilder 2017 R2 New Feature: REST

One of the new features added to PowerBuilder 2017 R2 is support for REST web services.  This feature isn't 100% complete, as additional REST functionality is planned for 2017 R3.  There's still a lot in the R2 release to look at though.

To make things simple for the demo, we're going to use a online REST web service called JSONPlaceHolder..  The service doesn't require creating an account or user authentication.  While the GET (retrieve) methods are fully functional the POST ( insert ), PUT/PATCH ( update ) and DELETE (delete) methods are placeholders.  They return result codes or in the case of POST the id value of the inserted row, but they don't actually modify the data.

Note that while REST web services can return data in any internet mime encodable format, the vast majority of them use JSON  and JSON is the only data format supported by the REST client object in PowerBuilder 2017.

ALTERNATIVA PARA CONSUMIR WEB SERVICES REST JSON VERSIONES ANTERIORES (6.5, … , 11.5)

Con los nuevos sistemas una de las cosas que hoy en día escuchamos es: tenemos un web services donde puedes consultar…

Por lo que ante esta necesidad y teniendo un sistema desarrollado originalmente en powerbuilder 6.5 ( les traigo esta solución.

Un “consumer” de WS REST

Para hacer este ejemplo utilizaremos objetos no visuales, principalmente el objeto internetresult.

Exporting Datawindows to Excel / Html without loosing Format

I have a function called "GuardarAExcel2()" which uses a step datawindow called "d_filafichero". With this function you generate an excel with the same visual aspect as your datawindow. I hope it helps you:

Example of use:

GuardarAExcel2( dw_1, "c:\Report.xls")
GuardarAExcel2( dw_1, "c:\Report.html")

Result in datawindow:

Using PowerBuilder 2017 with TFS source control

This article is a guide to connect Powerbuilder 2017 with TFS. It is important to follow the steps in the order listed in the article.

The prerequisite includes

• PB17 installed on a local machine.
• TFS server running with access to the user. A collection is required where the code will be checked in. 

Next follow the below points:

1. Team explorer 2013 : Yes the first thing needed is to install Visual studio team explorer. I know the first question pop ups in mind is if Visual studio needs to be installed on every machine !! Well the answer is NO. All you need is Team explorer 2013 to access the TFS. Second question is why 2013 ? Well there comes the 32 bit and 64 bit compatibility issues, moreover there is no standalone installer for Team explorer 2015. If you figured out a way to do it with later versions, then mention it in the comments. 

The ClassDefinition Object (Part 1)

The ClassDefinition object was introduced in PowerBuilder 6.0 a long time ago. It allows you to retrieve information for an object at runtime. Most of us didn't pay too much attention to this object and it only attracts our attention when we see it in the debugger.

In this article I provide an overview of the ClassDefinition object and related objects and explain the most important properties of these objects. I also include a step-by-step guide on how to build a simple object browser. This browser has a limited functionality like the browser included in the PowerBuilder runtime environment and can't replace products like PBLPeeper by Terry Voth or PBBrowser by OOWidgets.

The ClassDefinition Object Hierarchy
The classdefinitionobject is a descendant of the pbtocppobject. It's the ancestor of all the other objects used to describe the PowerBuilder objects. Each object in PowerBuilder has one property named ClassDefinition that references the ClassDefinition of this object.

Refactoring Classic PowerBuilder Applications Using TDD and pbUnit

The migration march to PB 12.NET will have many shops revisiting legacy applications. In my previous article, "Refactoring Is Not an ‘R' Word" (PBDJ, Vol. 16, issue 12), you read why refactoring code before migration helps ensure smooth migration and enterprise integration. You were introduced to Test Driven Development methodology and saw how you can use it to ensure successful refactoring. You were also introduced to pbUnit, an open source tool and framework that you can use for both refactoring and developing new code in PB Classic applications. In this article I'll guide you through installing pbUnit and help you master the basic algorithm when refactoring your PB legacy code with pbUnit and test driven methodology.

Installing pbUnit and Configuring Your App: The Nuts and Bolts
In addition to installing and using pbUnit with Classic PowerBuilder to run unit Tests, you'll also learn how to get your code under test so you can go about refactoring your code with confidence. After that, I'll show you how to do a couple of refactorings to thin out a GUI and partition business and data logic

Now is the time to take that old code and whip it into shape. You suspect that unit test drive development has some merit and would like to try it out. This article will show you how to get started.

There are a couple of ways you can get your hands on pbUnit. You can download a PB v10.2 version from the Sybase CodeXchange. This version will migrate without error to version 10.5, 11.x or 12.0 Classic. Point your browser to http://www.sybase.com/developer/codexchange, then proceed to the PowerBuilder section and find pbUnit. You'll want to take version 3.2. Alternatively, if you want me know that you're trying out TDD, you can drop me an email and I'll send you a zip with a PB 12.0 compatible version. I didn't change the doc since I didn't make any changes to the code. I upped the version number on my zip to 3.3 to indicate the change.