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Report/Letters and Threads

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    Report/Letters and Threads

    Hello,

    This is my first post on the message board. I usually simply search the board to find the answer to my question, but unfortunately I was not able to find the answer to this particular question. To quickly get this out of the way, I am using Alpha Anywhere v3.5; Developer Edition Version 12.3, Build 2999; System Addins Build 4519.

    Now to get to the reason why I'm posting, in a thread (sorry do not have it available) posted in 2004/2005 someone from Alpha Software posted that report.saveas could be used inside a thread.
    Code:
    thread_create("name", "report.saveas(\"report name\", ...)")
    However, whenever I try to run report.saveas inside a thread in my version nothing gets executed. I've tried sending a pointer variable in the thread and I've tried hard coding the thread.

    The reason about this capability is to reduce the amount of time it takes to generate a set of reports, roughly 5000 reports. It currently takes approximately 1 second in order to generate a report (using an XBasic function for the data); so if I'm generating 5000 reports then it would take roughly 5000 seconds or 84 minutes.

    Does anyone know if this is a bug or if it could simply be that this feature/functionality was removed from Alpha Anywhere?

    #2
    Re: Report/Letters and Threads

    Joshua

    Nice first post. Join in the fun.

    I think there is more the the thread_create() than meets the eye.

    Also in Alpha Anywhere, the report server accomplishes what you are looking for. Somethings have changed in the last 10 years...
    Al Buchholz
    Bookwood Systems, LTD
    Weekly QReportBuilder Webinars Thursday 1 pm CST

    Occam's Razor - KISS
    Normalize till it hurts - De-normalize till it works.
    Advice offered and questions asked in the spirit of learning how to fish is better than someone giving you a fish.
    When we triage a problem it is much easier to read sample systems than to read a mind.
    "Make it as simple as possible, but not simpler."
    Albert Einstein

    http://www.iadn.com/images/media/iadn_member.png

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Report/Letters and Threads

      Alan,

      Thank you for the information, I've done some research on the Report Server now, but something seems to be missing; hopefully you will be able to answer it.

      When working in a development environment is the Report Server running the same as it would be on an actual server? IE, if it takes 1 second on my development machine per report it will take 1 second on the server itself (with same hardware).

      If this is not the case, how would one configure the Report Server for the development machine so it can work exactly the same as on a server. As I understand it you can enable and disable the report server, at least based on the information I've found from Alpha's website and feature videos.

      Regards,
      Joshua

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Report/Letters and Threads

        Originally posted by udsdev2 View Post
        Alan,

        Thank you for the information, I've done some research on the Report Server now, but something seems to be missing; hopefully you will be able to answer it.

        When working in a development environment is the Report Server running the same as it would be on an actual server? IE, if it takes 1 second on my development machine per report it will take 1 second on the server itself (with same hardware).

        If this is not the case, how would one configure the Report Server for the development machine so it can work exactly the same as on a server. As I understand it you can enable and disable the report server, at least based on the information I've found from Alpha's website and feature videos.

        Regards,
        Joshua
        Joshua

        I'll leave that question for those who are using the report server in production to give their sage advice of performance.
        Al Buchholz
        Bookwood Systems, LTD
        Weekly QReportBuilder Webinars Thursday 1 pm CST

        Occam's Razor - KISS
        Normalize till it hurts - De-normalize till it works.
        Advice offered and questions asked in the spirit of learning how to fish is better than someone giving you a fish.
        When we triage a problem it is much easier to read sample systems than to read a mind.
        "Make it as simple as possible, but not simpler."
        Albert Einstein

        http://www.iadn.com/images/media/iadn_member.png

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Report/Letters and Threads

          Alan,

          Thank you for the response; I'm hoping that someone will be able to answer how the Report Server functions and if sending multiple reports (5000 at a single time) to it is possible.

          Regards,
          Joshua

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Report/Letters and Threads

            What do you intend to do with these reports? Bundle them up in a .zip file and forward to the user? Simply store them on the drive somewhere? You certainly wouldn't deliver them as a PDF through a browser.
            -Steve
            sigpic

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Report/Letters and Threads

              Steve,

              Thank you for replying. The reports are specifically used to send via email to customers as a bill; specifically for online bill pay. We're aware that we might not be able to do it this way, but we're wanting to explore as many options as which are available to us before deciding on the final delivery system.

              Regards,
              Joshua

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Report/Letters and Threads

                It's probably not a good idea to drive this with your web server. Instead, set up an A5 runtime instance with access to your database and email account, and let that do the work.

                Your A5 subscription likely already includes a runtime license. If not, check with sales.

                And the instance itself is quite inexpensive. I just set one up at Zebrahost at $19.95/month + $100 setup fee gets you all you need.

                Some of your calculations depend on how you're sending the email -- it can take 2-4 seconds to send an email through conventional method. And make sure your email account doesn't see and flag this as spam or you'll be really out of luck.
                -Steve
                sigpic

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Report/Letters and Threads

                  Steve,

                  Thank you for the information. Fortunately sending the emails themselves will not be the problem as we've already addressed that particular issue and have reduced the amount of time it takes to send emails significantly. We're also aware of all the rules and regulations required to provide solicited emails to correspond with spam prevention laws.

                  Currently our biggest hurdle is the Report Server, not producing the pdf files in a timely manner. It takes roughly 1 second to create each pdf file; so the creation of a large amount of pdf files doesn't seem like it would be the smartest approach to this process. I was hoping that it was simply an issue with lack of understanding pertaining to the report server or a driver issue. However, recently I was able to procure several other PDF drivers and none of them seemed to increase the speed at which pdf files were created. Some decreased, while others were able the same average speed. Unfortunately 1 second is too long to complete the task per individual pdf files.

                  Regards,
                  Joshua
                  Last edited by udsdev2; 03-30-2016, 04:15 PM. Reason: Changed a sentence to convery proper meaning.

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