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Resolved ActiveX on Powerserver

  1. Advice
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  1. Joerg Grunder
    Joerg Grunder
  2. PowerServer 2020 or older (Obsolete)
  3. Friday, 8 January 2021 10:16 AM UTC

Hello all,

as I develop rather as an hobby, unfortunately my time to spend is limited.

Recently I discovered the power of activeX-Components, as they provide lots of functionality at small cost. And in near future, I will make the next step with my application and export it to powerserver web.

So until now, the question, which sort of activeX (32bit or 64bit) to use, was unimportant. But now, I have to pay for an exontrol activeX and have to decide, whether I buy the 32bit-Version or the 64bit-Version?!?

(I read, that powerserver is a 64-bit architecture and can run 32-bit and 64-bit applications.

The Powerbuilder IDE runs 32-bit, but can handle 32-bit or 64-bit runtimes.

My Win10-Machine is 64bit.

The odbc-drivers are 32-bit/64-bit. Normally I have to use 32-bit.

So I'm not quite sure, whether I run in troubles with 32-bit or 64-bit ActiveX-Components. Especially as future development will bi 64-bit)

Any advice?

Thanks for any reply.

Jörg

 

 

  1. 64-bit
  2. PowerServer
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Accepted Answer
mike S
mike S Accepted Answer Pending Moderation
  1. Friday, 8 January 2021 16:25 PM UTC
  2. PowerServer 2020 or older (Obsolete)
  3. # Permalink

You should consider WAITING for powerSERVER 2021 to come out as it will be very different than the current PS 2020 in terms of what it supports.  It should be pretty much just like PB, except for the database connection and deployment.  Other than that, it should work with activeX just like PB does.  So then your question will come down to whether you want to deploy 32bit or 64bit and will have little do with how older versions of PS works.

 

In terms of 32 bit vs 64 bit, adding to what Armeen said, Windows 10 for ARM (tablets) should already run all 32 bit (win32) applications (as per Microsoft).  That may be of interest for future deployment options to non intel machines for cloud deployed applications.  

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Responses (4)
Joerg Grunder
Joerg Grunder Accepted Answer Pending Moderation
  1. Monday, 11 January 2021 11:42 AM UTC
  2. PowerServer 2020 or older (Obsolete)
  3. # 1

Hello all,

I guess, I will go for 32bit, as other activeX, I use, are 32bit as well.

In addition, I use windows-functions from the system32.dll.

So, my "gut feeling" (oh, I love dict.cc) as well as my experience leads in the same direction:

- For the Portation to Powerserver (21), only change the Deployment-Plattform, to keep it simple.

- In Future Times struggle with the bitness; if it is necessary at all.

Thanks to everybody, giving me a serious advice!

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John Fauss
  1. John Fauss
  2. Monday, 11 January 2021 14:50 PM UTC
I'm glad you've been able to decide how best to proceed, Joerg. I want to clear up a frequesnt and popular misconception in a statement you made, however.

The "System32" folder (C:\Windows\System32) contains Windows system DLL's in BOTH the 32-bit and the 64-bit implementations of Windows...in both versions of Windows, the folder is named "System32". In 64-bit Windows, the 32-bit version of the Windows system DLL's reside in the C:\Windows\SysWOW64 folder. Here's a URL for a more in-depth explanation:



https://www.howtogeek.com/326509/whats-the-difference-between-the-system32-and-syswow64-folders-in-windows/



Crazy, right? System32 may contain 64-bit DLL's and SysWOW64 contains 32-bit DLL's. So don't be mislead by the folder name...the System32 folder may or may not be limited solely to 32-bit DLL's.
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Armeen Mazda @Appeon
Armeen Mazda @Appeon Accepted Answer Pending Moderation
  1. Friday, 8 January 2021 16:05 PM UTC
  2. PowerServer 2020 or older (Obsolete)
  3. # 2

Hi Joerg,

My advice is go with the 32-bit unless you need your app to integrate with other apps or libraries that are 64-bit.  Keep in mind that the bitness needs to match so 32-bit PB app can only integrate with other 32-bit Windows apps not 64-bit.

There are 3 key reasons for my advice...

1. I believe 32-bit backwards compatibility will be supported for a very long time on 64-bit versions of Windows, and Microsoft does good job at this backwards compatibility. 

2. As John pointed out, the PowerBuilder IDE is 32-bit so it is easier to work with a 32-bit ActiveX than a 64-bit ActiveX.  But just to clarify, this doesn't mean you cannot use 64-bit ActiveX, and it is on our roadmap to add a 64-bit debugger to the PowerBuilder IDE.  On a side note, Visual Studio IDE itself is also 32-bit.

3. Compiling 32-bit lets you support users no matter they use Windows 64-bit or 32-bit, but if you compile 64-bit you can only support users on Windows 64-bit.  Maybe this is not an important point for you, but I have seen some customers that need to support Windows 32-bit users.

Best regards,
Armeen

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Miguel Leeuwe
  1. Miguel Leeuwe
  2. Tuesday, 12 January 2021 03:05 AM UTC
Hi Armeen,

Is there any idea of when we would get a 64 bit IDE, or at least an IDE in which we can place 64 bit visual controls on a window?

regards
  1. Helpful
Miguel Leeuwe
  1. Miguel Leeuwe
  2. Tuesday, 12 January 2021 03:06 AM UTC
Hi Armeen,

Is there any idea of when we would get a 64 bit IDE, or at least an IDE in which we can place 64 bit visual controls on a window?

regards
  1. Helpful
Armeen Mazda @Appeon
  1. Armeen Mazda @Appeon
  2. Tuesday, 12 January 2021 03:31 AM UTC
Please send suggestion to product@appeon.com about being able to place 64-bit OCX/DLLs in design time. There may be ways for us to solve this without a 64-bit IDE. FYI, we plan to add a 64-bit debugger to the 32-bit IDE.
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John Fauss
John Fauss Accepted Answer Pending Moderation
  1. Friday, 8 January 2021 14:28 PM UTC
  2. PowerServer 2020 or older (Obsolete)
  3. # 3

Hi, Joerg -

You'll need a 32-bit version for development purposes to use with the PowerBuilder IDE, as it is a 32-bit application.

If you deploy your PB app as a 64-bit application (either as a local app or thru PowerServer), you will need a 64-bit version.

Regards, John

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Miguel Leeuwe
  1. Miguel Leeuwe
  2. Monday, 11 January 2021 13:55 PM UTC
Hi John, wouldn't 64 bit applications be able to also use a 32 bit activeX?
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John Fauss
  1. John Fauss
  2. Tuesday, 12 January 2021 03:25 AM UTC
Hi, Miguel. Not generally. However, a little research on the web leads me to believe that it might be technically possible... but it requires a WIndows Registry hack. Even if this would be acceptable for an individual/independent developer, I doubt many companies would be willing to take such a risk in a production environment. My two cents.
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