Alpha Software Mobile Development Tools:   Alpha Anywhere    |   Alpha TransForm subscribe to our YouTube Channel  Follow Us on LinkedIn  Follow Us on Twitter  Follow Us on Facebook

Announcement

Collapse

The Alpha Software Forum Participation Guidelines

The Alpha Software Forum is a free forum created for Alpha Software Developer Community to ask for help, exchange ideas, and share solutions. Alpha Software strives to create an environment where all members of the community can feel safe to participate. In order to ensure the Alpha Software Forum is a place where all feel welcome, forum participants are expected to behave as follows:
  • Be professional in your conduct
  • Be kind to others
  • Be constructive when giving feedback
  • Be open to new ideas and suggestions
  • Stay on topic


Be sure all comments and threads you post are respectful. Posts that contain any of the following content will be considered a violation of your agreement as a member of the Alpha Software Forum Community and will be moderated:
  • Spam.
  • Vulgar language.
  • Quotes from private conversations without permission, including pricing and other sales related discussions.
  • Personal attacks, insults, or subtle put-downs.
  • Harassment, bullying, threatening, mocking, shaming, or deriding anyone.
  • Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, or otherwise discriminatory jokes and language.
  • Sexually explicit or violent material, links, or language.
  • Pirated, hacked, or copyright-infringing material.
  • Encouraging of others to engage in the above behaviors.


If a thread or post is found to contain any of the content outlined above, a moderator may choose to take one of the following actions:
  • Remove the Post or Thread - the content is removed from the forum.
  • Place the User in Moderation - all posts and new threads must be approved by a moderator before they are posted.
  • Temporarily Ban the User - user is banned from forum for a period of time.
  • Permanently Ban the User - user is permanently banned from the forum.


Moderators may also rename posts and threads if they are too generic or do not property reflect the content.

Moderators may move threads if they have been posted in the incorrect forum.

Threads/Posts questioning specific moderator decisions or actions (such as "why was a user banned?") are not allowed and will be removed.

The owners of Alpha Software Corporation (Forum Owner) reserve the right to remove, edit, move, or close any thread for any reason; or ban any forum member without notice, reason, or explanation.

Community members are encouraged to click the "Report Post" icon in the lower left of a given post if they feel the post is in violation of the rules. This will alert the Moderators to take a look.

Alpha Software Corporation may amend the guidelines from time to time and may also vary the procedures it sets out where appropriate in a particular case. Your agreement to comply with the guidelines will be deemed agreement to any changes to it.



Bonus TIPS for Successful Posting

Try a Search First
It is highly recommended that a Search be done on your topic before posting, as many questions have been answered in prior posts. As with any search engine, the shorter the search term, the more "hits" will be returned, but the more specific the search term is, the greater the relevance of those "hits". Searching for "table" might well return every message on the board while "tablesum" would greatly restrict the number of messages returned.

When you do post
First, make sure you are posting your question in the correct forum. For example, if you post an issue regarding Desktop applications on the Mobile & Browser Applications board , not only will your question not be seen by the appropriate audience, it may also be removed or relocated.

The more detail you provide about your problem or question, the more likely someone is to understand your request and be able to help. A sample database with a minimum of records (and its support files, zipped together) will make it much easier to diagnose issues with your application. Screen shots of error messages are especially helpful.

When explaining how to reproduce your problem, please be as detailed as possible. Describe every step, click-by-click and keypress-by-keypress. Otherwise when others try to duplicate your problem, they may do something slightly different and end up with different results.

A note about attachments
You may only attach one file to each message. Attachment file size is limited to 2MB. If you need to include several files, you may do so by zipping them into a single archive.

If you forgot to attach your files to your post, please do NOT create a new thread. Instead, reply to your original message and attach the file there.

When attaching screen shots, it is best to attach an image file (.BMP, .JPG, .GIF, .PNG, etc.) or a zip file of several images, as opposed to a Word document containing the screen shots. Because Word documents are prone to viruses, many message board users will not open your Word file, therefore limiting their ability to help you.

Similarly, if you are uploading a zipped archive, you should simply create a .ZIP file and not a self-extracting .EXE as many users will not run your EXE file.
See more
See less

Alpha's Security and Updates to an app

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Alpha's Security and Updates to an app

    Has anyone run into this issue. I have an app that is used by a couple of different organizations. The app is using Alpha�s security, users and groups, for log in and permissions.

    The organizations with custom users, ones that they create to serve their needs, loose all the users they have created when I supply them with an update to the application. The list of users reverts back to the default list of users which I supply in my app.

    I have a feeling that the users and groups information is embedded in the .adb file. If this is the case, then supplying updates has become much more difficult when using security.

    The organization will need to recreate all of their users and update all their passwords after each update. This could be a real pain.

    I have updated other apps that use security, but I have an exact copy of that company �s application and I�m using their users and groups, so when I give them an update, there has never been an issue.

    How do others handle this issue?

    TIA,

    Ron
    Alpha 5 Version 11
    AA Build 2999, Build 4269, Current Build
    DBF's and MySql
    Desktop, Web on the Desktop and WEB

    Ron Anusiewicz

    #2
    Re: Alpha's Security and Updates to an app

    Deleted my post. Not relevant to Desktop.
    Last edited by Steve Wood; 04-04-2013, 02:25 PM.
    Steve Wood
    See my profile on IADN

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Alpha's Security and Updates to an app

      Steve - are they in the webroot_ file if its is a desktop app?
      Regards,

      John W.
      www.CustomReportWriters.net

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Alpha's Security and Updates to an app

        I guess I need to clarify that this is a desktop application using dbf files, no web involved at all.
        Alpha 5 Version 11
        AA Build 2999, Build 4269, Current Build
        DBF's and MySql
        Desktop, Web on the Desktop and WEB

        Ron Anusiewicz

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Alpha's Security and Updates to an app

          Shouldn't be necessary since you are posting the Desktop section, but hey, it never hurts.
          There can be only one.

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Alpha's Security and Updates to an app

            Ron, I have had this issue and agree with your hunch that on the desktop side the security arrangements are part of the "database library". Study the help file topic "Alpha Five File Types" in the wiki. When applying an update its fundamental to be sure which dictionaries or libraries are going to be impacted.

            Updates that do not impact the "database library" will not overwrite the security arrangements. Note: I'm using the term "database library" very specifically, and as defined in the wikipedia. i.e. The ADB, ALB, ALM, and ALX files. Typically these include everything on the Code Page of the Alpha Five control panel, plus (I think) the security and database wide settings.

            If you must update the contents of the database library you cannot simply copy your development database library files and paste them into the database folder at the client. That will overwrite the entire library. You must find a way to do incremental updates without overwriting portions of the library that are not being changed. Here are some options:

            a) Have your client freeze changes, copy their files and send them to you. Modify them to suit, and send them back. The database can then be unfrozen.

            b) Arrange for your changes to be made to the customer's database incrementally. Either by logging in and doing the update yourself, one piece at a time, or by automating the process using one or more scripts that run on startup.

            In a sense this is not a unique problem. I have customers who have developer versions and who make changes to forms, and reports all the time. I must remember not to overwrite their table or set dictionaries when applying an update.

            If memory serves Cal Locklin has written extensively on this. You might search the board, and also visit his web site.

            -- tom
            Last edited by Tom Cone Jr; 04-04-2013, 04:24 PM.

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Alpha's Security and Updates to an app

              The other alternative is to produce your own security and user profile in the application. With the help of a lot of people on this board, I did that many versions ago and long before alpha started their own.
              Dave Mason
              [email protected]
              Skype is dave.mason46

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Alpha's Security and Updates to an app

                Thank you Tom,

                You pretty much confirmed what I thought was the case.

                I did read some of Cal’s posts, but they were a little old and I was just wondering if anyone had some newer information. At this point in time, my clients only have runtimes so nobody is making any changes but me. The one with security, I have a full copy of the app, so when I make changes and run an update, security is not an issue.

                I have a new app where the local admin can add and remove users. For right now, any updates will need to come with a warning unless they would be willing to give me their user names and passwords.

                All of my clients are computer illiterate. They can operate the software far better than I, but don’t ask them open up explorer and look for files, etc… I spend a lot of time making the app bullet proof so they can’t go where they can get into trouble. And that’s the way they like it.

                Ron
                Alpha 5 Version 11
                AA Build 2999, Build 4269, Current Build
                DBF's and MySql
                Desktop, Web on the Desktop and WEB

                Ron Anusiewicz

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Alpha's Security and Updates to an app

                  Ron, A less technical suggestion
                  prepare your update, then in the dev system add a user and credentials. Restore the backup and see if it trashed the new user.
                  What to do if it does, that's another matter.

                  I will in the meantime do similar experimentation and see if I can isolate where it's located, it may affect me too.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Alpha's Security and Updates to an app

                    You could provide an option for the administrator to export the user file and a further option to import it once the updates had been done.
                    This of course would only work if you hadnt changed any of the user groups or members.
                    I guess my question is why are you sending a new adb file. There are ways to import new scripts and functions without a new adb file.
                    Bob
                    Bob Whitaker

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Alpha's Security and Updates to an app

                      Hi Ray,

                      An update does overwrite the security. I have an app that a friend is beta testing for me. I fix the bugs and give him the update. His new users are gone.

                      Bob, I have found the easiest way for me to update is to use the built in backup and restore features in Alpha. I have a utilities form with the two buttons. That way, it doesn't matter if I make changes to a script, report, form or whatever. Just one file to deal with.

                      I've been using this routine now for over ten years and it works extremely well. I identify my backup by renaming the backup file always adding the word patch and always omitting the data files. This has worked flawlessly until I came across security, specifically, giving the local admin rights to add and remove users.

                      I'm using a modified version of the example that Dr. Peter Wayne wrote in his book Xbasic for Everyone. Jim Chapman wrote some code to enable the updating of forms, reports letters, etc.... That may be something that would work. I've used it before, I'll take another look at that. It's just adding another layer of complexity and confusion for the end user.

                      Ron
                      Alpha 5 Version 11
                      AA Build 2999, Build 4269, Current Build
                      DBF's and MySql
                      Desktop, Web on the Desktop and WEB

                      Ron Anusiewicz

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Alpha's Security and Updates to an app

                        There appears no help at the function level either
                        There are suitable functions to GET users, groups etc into lists
                        but none to SET them back - wherever they are kept.
                        That I haven't discovered yet, unfortunately don't have too much time to throw at it right now.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Alpha's Security and Updates to an app

                          Again,

                          You can write your own security that will not be overwritten.
                          Dave Mason
                          [email protected]
                          Skype is dave.mason46

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Alpha's Security and Updates to an app

                            Another option is to distract the user information before your update (as part of a designed update routine) using one of the standard security functions, store it on a safe location, do the update, and place the info back again, then delete the stored info. Sort of a "loop" outside the application.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: Alpha's Security and Updates to an app

                              Thanks for your suggestions.

                              First, and I'm probably being lazy, I was hoping to not get involved in developing my own security. I was figuring, why re-invent the wheel.

                              Now if I did try to write my own and again being on the lazy side, as Ray said, "There are suitable functions to GET users, groups etc into lists but none to SET them back ".

                              So that only leaves me with Dave's suggestion which is to create my own Security. In the end maybe, but for now I have other projects I'd rather deal with.

                              Thanks,

                              Ron
                              Alpha 5 Version 11
                              AA Build 2999, Build 4269, Current Build
                              DBF's and MySql
                              Desktop, Web on the Desktop and WEB

                              Ron Anusiewicz

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X