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

Home Edition

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

    Home Edition

    Hello folks,

    I've used Alpha products in the past. Mainly Alpha Four v6. Its been awhile, but wanting to try the new Alpha Five. I am not creating databases for business. I only use the databases at home. I create apps for my wife to do work at home such as a quotes and client app. My question is, I just saw the link for the Home Edition of Alpha Five and was wondering if you folks thought not being able to create and dist. apps and no xdialog boxes via xscripting would be something I might miss, although I dont have xdialog boxes in V4. Visual Basic 6 is what I have been using, but my wife keeps requesting new features to the 2 apps I have created for her, and I just dont have as much time to devote to VB to add these features for her. If I remember much about A4, I can probally recreate these VB apps and add the new features for her faster than just adding the new features to the VB programs I have written.

    #2
    RE: Home Edition

    Hi Jason

    I am with you I used Alpha DOS way back and now I am trying
    To get back into the swing of thing's in a windows setting
    I am looking at MS-VS.NET also I don�t want to get caught
    With me pants down so I am trying to compare well.

    I keep getting this confusing image in my head
    MICROSOFT or Alphasotware. I must admit they have come a
    Long way since I used it last but any 3rd party things
    That I want to do when code is available is either MS-VB
    Or C++ or FoxPro, ECT

    Alpha has the disadvantage little support from 3rd party
    Resources.

    Anyway that�s my 2 cents GOOD LUCK

    Ray

    Comment


      #3
      RE: Home Edition

      Yes, thats my problem to. I am pretty good at VB, but really like the simplicity of Alpha and since I am not creating anything that I would sell I like the price of the home edition. But then again, I dont want to short change myself to save money, not that I have money to waste. I think I have talked myself into the regular version because I am scared I am missing something with a slim down home version.

      Jason

      Comment


        #4
        RE: Home Edition

        Jason,
        I'm not sure what the Home Edition is. It's not listed on Alpha's product page.

        Alpha 5 Version 5 is not a trivial product. The capabilities are tremendous and rival Access. You can download a 30 day trial version from the home page. Give it a try.

        Comment


          #5
          RE: Home Edition

          Jason

          I really don't know what you are referring to when you say "home" version. There are really only 2 A5V5 versions, the full development version and the runtime which has different licenses based on the number of users. The big difference is that no development or design work can be done with Runtime. It is just what the name says - runtime. It will run a database that was designed in the development version. If you are going to do anything, you need the developement version.

          Concerning third party support, there are some reasons there isn't a great deal other that what you can find on the message board. The biggest it that there isn't much demand for it. Users coming from other products have learned that they need to rely on third party help since many of the programs aren't exactly user friendly. Try Alpha for a while and you may find you can do more than you think without much outside help. On thing I see on the forum is that people accustomed to Access for instance, frequently make some simple actions more complicated than needed. Maybe that is the way it is in other programs, but simplicity is one of the pluses of Alpha. Yes, you can get complex in xbasic, but complexity is not required to get the job done.

          Jerry

          Comment


            #6
            RE: Home Edition

            If memory serves me the home addtion was a term used way back when .... and was whn the database so sold with or without xbasic. The windows version has come a long way from those days and there is no home addtion any more.

            While the switch may require some learning curve, Action Scripting is extremly powerful, can build very complex applications without having to write code. xbasic language is available if needed. A5 adds xdialog with many of its features even available with action scripting.

            Comment


              #7
              RE: Home Edition

              Hi Jerry

              Maybe you misunderstand what I was saying or maybe just
              Have blinders on about the rest of the world when it comes
              To programmers.

              What I meant when I said 3rd party is if you want to
              Incorporate lets say payment processing into your App
              Using lets say GO Software's PC Charge www.pccharge.com
              They give you code and examples of how to do this in
              Other Lang like MS-VB, Access, FoxPro, Pearl, ECT.

              So closing argument "NOT EASY WHEN THEIR IS NO SUPPORT FOR
              ALPHA5"

              I hope I cleard this up

              Ray

              Comment


                #8
                RE: Home Edition

                Ray,

                If you can understand the examples presented in other languages (VB, Access, FoxPro) then you can often translate the code into Xbasic commands and expressions. Code conversion and translation is a common requirement when trying to piece together an application that uses components from various independent sources. Whether this makes sense in your case is a personal call. There are tradeoffs in going with any developement tool. Deciding whether the benefits outweight the costs is a uniquely personal choice. -- tom

                Comment


                  #9
                  RE: Home Edition

                  Hi Tom

                  Thank you for the reply. I just don�t want to hit a road block in my application and in turn don�t want to trade
                  Ease of us for power and versatility.

                  This is going to be a big application and don�t want to be
                  18 months into the Development Ooops can�t do this. I need
                  POS pole display support I don�t no if this can be done in
                  A5.

                  I need credit card/check card authorization support using
                  PC Charge www.pccharge.com they have a Development Kit
                  Showing you can use OLE, ActiveX controls, VB, Pearl,
                  ASPS, ECT don�t no if I will hit a problem hear.

                  I need true client/server support OK V6 will take care of
                  This.

                  I need web access at some point OK the (WAS) will take care
                  Of that.

                  I need to voice enable my website at some point I can use
                  SALT but that requires MS-VS.NET so that still another
                  Environment I need to learn innless Alpha Software will come
                  Out with a way to make multi model Application at some point I don�t need this now.

                  I need mobile phone support don�t no about this either.

                  Maybe Alpha will come out with ways to make anytime anyplace from any device at some point and then they will
                  Not only give access a run for the money but also VS.NET

                  Let me no what you think what are your hunches about the
                  futcher of the Alpha Development tools.

                  Thank you
                  Ray

                  Comment


                    #10
                    RE: Home Edition

                    Ray

                    Like any project, you need the right tools to get the job done. You wouldn't use a kitchen knife to do brain surgery, unless you had no choice. It sounds like your project may require some specialized programming tools. When faced with a challenging project, my first thought is to see what tools I need and determine what I need to get them and use them. I certainly wouldn't get 18 months into a project to see if the tools I have chosen will work together. I would start by gathering the tools and experimenting to see if they can intergrate together. If they can't, maybe I need different tools or a different programming environment.

                    Having said all that, Alpha does support activeX and limited OLE support. Whether this will be enough to fit your needs is something you will have to determine very early in the process. Alpha is a great program, but just like a Mercedes is a great car, it doesn't haul manure as well as an old Chevy pickup.

                    Jerry

                    Comment


                      #11
                      RE: Home Edition

                      There is a home version. There is a graphic on the Alpha Five information page that says - Now Available - The Home Edition. And when you click on it, it takes you to a page that shows you the differences in the regular version and the home edition. Surely you folks can see the graphic. Its pretty big.

                      check out this page: http://www.alphasoftware.com/products/a5v5/overview.asp

                      Jason

                      Comment


                        #12
                        RE: Home Edition

                        wow, where'd that come from? It appears you can't buy it, but it does say there is such a thing. Perhaps someone from Alpha can clear this up.

                        russ

                        Comment


                          #13
                          RE: Home Edition

                          We have just recently released the Home Edition, a low cost version of A5v5 for home users not planning on developing their applications for distribution.
                          Aaron Brown
                          Alpha Software Development Team

                          Comment


                            #14
                            RE: Home Edition

                            Glad you saw it. Was beginning to think I was crazy. They must be in the process of adding the option to buy. Last night, the graphic was in the lower righthand corner. Today its up top and the page that describes the difference has changed from last night.

                            Jason

                            Comment


                              #15
                              RE: Home Edition

                              Jason

                              My apologies. Red faces all around. Alpha keeps coming up with new stuff so fast it is difficult to stay current. Actually, for many users, it looks like a great deal. The features left out wouldn't effect most beginning users until they have a need to move up. Nearly all of the good stuff is still there and cheap too.

                              Jerry

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X