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Scripting Tasks

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    #1

    Scripting Tasks

    Hi,

    What kind of tasks can and cannot be scripted.

    I notice that many users here likes to use their mouse instead of their keyboard and Alpha seams to be catering to them by stating "application without coding". I read somewhere that one can use a mouse to do a task, with an option to create an equivalent script.

    My question is "Can all GUI tasks be scripted? If not. then what cannot be scripted?

    Thanks, Stanley
    Tags: None
    #2
    Re: Scripting Tasks

    Don't mean to be rude, but you need to explore this yourself.
    Look at the Action Scripting options.
    The code produced is wordy - and you can view it - and it tends to work first time.
    If it is there, you can do it almost exclusively with the Mouse.
    See our Hybrid Option here;
    https://hybridapps.example-software.com/

    Apologies to anyone I haven't managed to upset yet.
    You are held in a queue and I will get to you soon.

    Comment

      #3
      Re: Scripting Tasks

      Stanley,

      Alpha Five has a general purpose code editor that can be used to write scripts from scratch that can create and manipulate tables, records and indexes. The language employed is proprietary and is called "xbasic". Xbasic includes functions and methods to manipulate objects in your forms, and to run or preview reports, labels, saved batch operations, and other objects in the application. The design surface for forms, labels, and reports is graphical. A mouse is used to drive the gui to create these graphic elements. You create the layouts using the GUI. Objects ( buttons, text boxes, etc) are placed in the layouts using the GUI. Once created via the GUI, the layouts can then be manipulated in code.

      Alpha Five also has a code generator called "action scripting" which, though more limited than xbasic, contains a host of useful pre-scripted functions that can be linked together to form useful scripts. Each such action script is written entirely in xbasic, and the underlying code is available for study.

      Comment

        #4
        Re: Scripting Tasks

        Tom,

        So, if I understand correctly, I can create a complete form with the GUI, then run the form thru a code generator which produces a script file that is capable of creating the form from scratch.

        Thanks, Stanley

        Comment

          #5
          Re: Scripting Tasks

          Stanley, no, that's not correct. What follows, and all that I've written before (in this thread) relates to an Alpha Five desktop application.

          In an Alpha Five desktop application the code Alpha uses to create and display a form is hidden from us. Both xbasic and action scripting permit us to open, close, and filter the form, but not "create" the form itself. Both xbasic and action scripting permit us to assign values to controls in our forms, but not "create" those controls in the first place. Both xbasic and action scripting permit us to change some properties of the controls in our forms (value, color, flyover behavior, etc ), but not "create" those controls in the first place. Alpha lets us write scripts (both xbasic and action scripting) that respond to some "events" associated with the controls in our forms ( onpush, onarrive, candepart, etc ), but not "create" those controls in the first place.

          In Alpha Five, desktop forms are automatically "bound" to the supporting tables. Designing the form is as simple as dropping table fields in to the layout. Each is automatically "bound" to the corresponding field in your table. This is very powerful.

          But sometimes you might want to create something akin to a form that doesn't have controls which are automatically "bound" to a data source. Alpha supplies what I think of as an "extension" (some might call it a "subset") to xbasic that permits you to write a script that will create, from scratch, modal or modeless dialogs. These are referred to as "xdialogs". Controls you insert into an xdialog are bound to variables. Event "hooks" are supplied by which you can then write code to process or store the values from those variables. Xdialogs are created entirely from code. There is no GUI to assist. However, action scripting supplies a useful "genie" that is a big help. Using the action scripting genie Alpha will build much of the required "boilerplate" each xdialog needs automatically. As mentioned above, once the action script is completed the code is accessible to us.

          Stanley, I suggest you download the trial and spend an afternoon getting acquainted with the "User's guide".

          Comment

            #6
            Re: Scripting Tasks

            Thanks Tom,

            That cleared up a lot. I was hoping for a yes answer, that allowed for creating a form with all its controls, properties, events, methods, and values/definitions. That way the form is completely scripted, which is a very powerful concept. I come from VFP where this is commonly done, so that's something I'll have to tradeoff, which I will for the other Alpha features that far exceeds VFP, primarily web and mobile.

            Because this is desktop technology, do you expect Alpha to do many more improvements to the desktop platform?

            Any idea on how many programmers are in Alpha's staff?

            Thanks, Stanley

            Comment

              #7
              Re: Scripting Tasks

              So what exactly do you want the scripting as you call it to do?
              At some point you will have to enter some information via the keyboard, or add a condition to a Conditional Object in order to show it.
              It is a lot quicker than VFP to create forms and GUI IMHO.
              See our Hybrid Option here;
              https://hybridapps.example-software.com/

              Apologies to anyone I haven't managed to upset yet.
              You are held in a queue and I will get to you soon.

              Comment

                #8
                Re: Scripting Tasks

                Because this is desktop technology, do you expect Alpha to do many more improvements to the desktop platform?
                Alpha has seemingly abandoned the desktop in favor of mobile. Which, to me, doesn't make any sense. If 50-60% of their base is still desktop it would make sense to continue to develop in that area. In 2012 80% of my work was web. In 2013 80% of my work was desktop. Go figure? But it only demonstrates that people need & want desktop apps. I just delivered a new desktop app for a warehouse a few weeks ago. Anyway, nothing says Alpha can't revisit the desktop. The desktop is definitely anything but dead.

                Any idea on how many programmers are in Alpha's staff?
                I don't have an exact number - at least half a dozen, probably a few more. It's a small staff, but a hard-working and a dedicated one. And these guys have been with Alpha forever. So that tells you something.
                Peter
                AlphaBase Solutions, LLC

                 [email protected]
                https://www.alphabasesolutions.com

                Comment

                  #9
                  Re: Scripting Tasks

                  Hi Stanly,

                  I also came from the Visual FoxPro and .Net to Alpha Five. I started in the early 80th from dBase III Plus and then to FoxBase and all versions of FoxPro to Visual FoxPro until Microsoft killed Visual FoxPro. I work only with the Web based capability of A5. You cannot bring the world of Visual FoxPro into the A5 world. A component in A5 is a binary file while in VisualFoxPro all classes and forms were stored into dbfs. Look there is way to create a components by code but it makes sense if you develop a framework and will get all definitions from data dictionary. I explored that possibility as well in A5. I suggest you follow this thread which I answered you before.

                  I see you downloaded VisualRep.

                  Let me know what you think.

                  Regards,

                  Doron
                  The Farber Consulting Group, Inc.

                  Web site: http://www.dFarber.com
                  MS SQL Blog: http://www.dfarber.com/computer-consulting-blog.aspx
                  Convert Ms Access to Web
                  MS SQL Remote DBA
                  Alpha Five Development
                  No Interest Loans Application

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