1. Ayrton Julian
  2. PowerBuilder
  3. Tuesday, 30 April 2024 02:55 AM UTC

Hi, I have an old 32-bit application that I want to move to the cloud (currently thinking of AWS). I've done some research on my own, which suggested tools like Power Server, but that isn't available on PB9. Would I have to upgrade to PB12 first before moving to the cloud? I'm also thinking of converting it to Java or C#, but I'm still thinking of the most efficient approach. What should my approach be? I hope everyone here can provide a few inputs/suggestions; your help will be very much appreciated!

Chris Pollach @Appeon Accepted Answer Pending Moderation
  1. Tuesday, 30 April 2024 11:42 AM UTC
  2. PowerBuilder
  3. # 1

Hi;

  PB 12.x is long deprecated and does not have any cloud features either. You need to be on Appeon PB 2022 to achieve cloud deployment & use.

Regards ... Chris 

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Roland Smith Accepted Answer Pending Moderation
  1. Tuesday, 30 April 2024 15:15 PM UTC
  2. PowerBuilder
  3. # 2

Remote Desktop Web (RDWeb) can run your PowerBuilder app unchanged.

 

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Armeen Mazda @Appeon Accepted Answer Pending Moderation
  1. Tuesday, 30 April 2024 16:17 PM UTC
  2. PowerBuilder
  3. # 3

The lowest-cost way to go to the cloud is PowerServer.  Running remote desktop in cloud is super expensive.  So you have to not just look at the difference in effort of implement remote desktop vs. PowerServer but also the on-going costs to get total cost of ownership.

With that said, upgrading from PB 9 to PB 2022 R3 shouldn't be too much effort.  The key thing is you got to deal with converting ANSI to unicode.  Once you get on PB 2022 R3, then deploying as PowerServer project type should be minimal work.  Most customers I've seen get their app running within several weeks.

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  1. Ayrton Julian
  2. Thursday, 2 May 2024 09:54 AM UTC
Hi Armeen,



Thank you for your input! I understand that I would need to update deprecated syntax, convert ANSI to Unicode, and refactor accordingly. Would you suggest opening the source code on PB2022R3 to show me the deprecated syntax and refactor from there? Or are there other available tools you would like to suggest to achieve this using the least problematic/complicated approach? I hope you can help. Thanks!
  1. Helpful
  1. Armeen Mazda @Appeon
  2. Friday, 3 May 2024 16:59 PM UTC
Hi, Watch this video to teach you how to upgrade: https://www.youtube.com/live/djGYbrVy328?si=0sHrYLLyuW_NfhhM
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John Fauss Accepted Answer Pending Moderation
  1. Tuesday, 30 April 2024 16:29 PM UTC
  2. PowerBuilder
  3. # 4

PB 9 was released in 2003. It does not support REST API's, Unicode, nor can it utilize current database drivers. With each passing year, you run an ever-increasing risk that your PB 9 application will no longer work due to changes being made in the Windows operating system. It is likely there are very few fellow PB developers that have knowledge of or experience with PB 9, which limits your ability to obtain advice/help.

It may be time for you to consider upgrading.

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  1. Ayrton Julian
  2. Thursday, 2 May 2024 10:01 AM UTC
Hi John,



Thank you for your input! I understand that PB9 is very outdated and does not support a lot of modern implementations. From what you know of the current version of PB, other than the few you mentioned above (REST API's, Unicode, database drivers), do you foresee any other parts of an older app that require change? Be it new things to implement or deprecated functions. I hope you can help. Thanks!
  1. Helpful
  1. Roland Smith
  2. Thursday, 2 May 2024 15:07 PM UTC
The main difference is that String/Char variables are now Unicode (2 bytes) instead of Ansi (1 byte). Because of this, any external function declarations will need to be updated. Most Windows API functions have A and W versions, you'll want to use the W version.

Your database connection will likely need to change, you didn't mention what kind of database you are using.
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John Fauss Accepted Answer Pending Moderation
  1. Thursday, 2 May 2024 13:43 PM UTC
  2. PowerBuilder
  3. # 5

Here are links to a couple of current PB documentation topics that you may find useful:

    https://docs.appeon.com/pb2022r3/pbug/upgrading_targets.html

    https://docs.appeon.com/pb/upgrading_pb_apps/UpgradingPowerBuilderApplications-Overview.html

The Migration Assistant utility (described in the first link) will check for obsolete syntax without migrating your target(s) to the new version.

The Upgrading PB Apps overview (described in the second link) contains helpful information for upgrading from each release of PB since PB 6.5. You should carefully read through each section beginning at PB 9 and work your way up through all of the sections to the most recent release.

What it boils down to is this: You need to perform the due diligence to try and determine what it will take to upgrade your PB 9 application - nobody knows your application better than you. Any advice you get here is going to be of a general nature. Armeen is correct... the migration should go relatively easy, but realize there are no guarantees that this will indeed be the case in your situation.

Good luck!

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