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Questions on networking an application

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    #16
    Re: Questions on networking an application

    Hi Keith,

    Yes I do remember our conversation, nice to meet you here again!

    I too can see why they would like to start using it - it is light years ahead of what they do at the moment, however I would like some reward for my hard work, if they would like to introduce it officially into the company.

    Why is this boostrap code necessary? I set up an Access db on our network, years ago, and it was much simpler than this! No "bootstrap" code required! It is still working today although it isn't a patch on my Alpha Five db!!!!

    Comment


      #17
      Re: Questions on networking an application

      I have looked in the help file about setting up the network runtime programs and come across something called a bootstrap program which is required to be run before you install the actual application, is this still the case with V9? If this is a necessary step, it seems a lot more complicated than setting up an Access db to run on a network. Does this have to be run on each client?
      The bootstrap "application" mentioned in the help file is just a way to automate the process for a large installation. If you were to just follow the instructions for "Preparing a Runtime Installation to use a Shadow Database" and do this at each workstation, then you would be up and running. You have a small installation base so this won't take long.

      I emphasized the word "application" above as it is important to understand Alphas lingo while reading the help docs. You used the words "bootstrap program" which is technically incorrect as Alpha Five is a program and what you create with it is an application. This distinction is necessary to understand when following the instructions in the help docs as many people misunderstand the instructions for installing on the network on the very first instruction: 1. Install the Alpha Five application on your server. This does not mean to install the Alpha Five program on your server but to install all the files in the directory you created for the application that you created.

      Also, do take note of the information on "version numbers". If you use this technique then anytime you make changes to your application you can have the workstations automatically update themselves so that everybody is up to date without manually going to each workstation and doing a network optimize.

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        #18
        Re: Questions on networking an application

        Doug,

        Thanks for you advice!

        When you purchase a runtime version of Alpha are any instructions included with it to setup your first networked application? Or is it all covered in the A5 help file?

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          #19
          Re: Questions on networking an application

          I don't have the latest and greatest yet, so not sure what comes with them. I did look at the instructions in the help docs and they are all you need.

          Comment


            #20
            Re: Questions on networking an application

            Alastair,

            The instructions are pretty straiight forward for setting up runtime. They are covered in the help file.

            =================================

            As far as convesation about the runtime. It is a negotiation, but I have gone through it before with my boss(at the time). He gave me the money as part of my "outside" payment for the runtime. The check was made to me. He paid the asking price in a check for what alpha showed on the website. I actually got it cheaper in an ad via email from alpha. He also wrote a check to cover my time away from the business to develope the changes he wanted to the original app I had made to help me do my job better.

            Bottom line: I owned alpha and the runtime which I used in a bunch of installs for the same app. He would have used it only one time and I would have had to buy another copy of the runtime.

            ========================

            Security: I do not use alpha's security and have not even looked at it. I have no comment about theirs. I developed my own from the ground up and have further modified it as time has gone by.

            It is almost impossible to get to the control panel. You can no longer see the code and any meaningful script/function is password protected. Any table with privacy data in it is encrypted. There is a log file that will tell me when a user has gone ito most parts of the data and this can now be printed out by the people who have the right access.

            Every time i am get a new version ready, I save the original work to a new folder and set up the final steps of protection there.

            ========================

            You can go as far as you need to and I did this stuff with a tremendous amount of help from the board.

            You can learn how to set up a network or almost anything by searching this forum.
            .
            Dave Mason
            [email protected]
            Skype is dave.mason46

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              #21
              Re: Questions on networking an application

              Thanks everyone for your help!

              Comment


                #22
                Re: Questions on networking an application

                Originally posted by Alastair View Post
                .... Why is this boostrap code necessary? I set up an Access db on our network, years ago, and it was much simpler than this! No "bootstrap" code required! It is still working today although it isn't a patch on my Alpha Five db!!!!
                The bootstrap code isn't necessary but it is very useful when distributing generic applications. When installing an application yourself, which it sounds like you will be doing, you can simply install the A5 runtime on the workstation, open A5, click Database/Open and navigate to the application on the server, start that application and go to the Control Panel to run Tools/Network Optimize. That will put a copy of the application on the workstation and then all you need is an icon/shortcut on the user's desktop that will start that optimized/shadowed application. (Shortcuts are also very easy to create. I won't get into that one again here.)

                All the bootstrap really does for you is it helps with the problem of finding A5 on the local workstation and the main application on the server. If YOU are the one doing the installation, that shouldn't be a big deal. However, if you send an app to someone many hours away from you and you have to rely on them to find the correct files - well, I think you can see where this could result in some difficulties and long phone conversations as you try to explain how to navigate the folder structure. Been there, done that, hate it!

                The question here isn't so much "what HAS to be done" it's "what will work best in my situation" and that depends a lot on your own level of knowledge.

                Comment


                  #23
                  Re: Questions on networking an application

                  Thanks for your explanation Cal, this makes the process far more clear to me!

                  Comment

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