V7 Feature/enhancements?

[Bill Griffin]

Is there a list anywhere which contains the new features and or enahancements of V7??

[Peter.Greulich]

RE: V7 Feature/enhancements?

I would like to see that too. My impression at the conference was that v.7 is really v6.1 or 6.2. Maybe there is more to it than that. The only enhancements I remember were related to the web side of Alpha, not the desktop side. My perception on this may be wrong, which is why I would like to see a feature list myself. Selwyn said that v.7 was designed to "pull the rest of the Alpha user base that hasn't converted". Frankly, I don't see how that will happen if the changes are only web-based. Like I said, maybe I'm wrong about this. Stay tuned...

[russ Boehle]

RE: V7 Feature/enhancements?

I wasn't at the conference but I hope you are wrong. I don't need the web stuff but sure could use a few new things like a rework of browses. I was under the impression that this would be in v7.

Russ

[Peter.Greulich]

RE: V7 Feature/enhancements?

Sorry, Russ. The new browse will not be in v7. Selwyn made that very clear.

[ChrisHawkes]

RE: V7 Feature/enhancements?

This sounds disappointing as Selwyn says the browse object will be completely rewritten for v7, see here:

http://msgboard.alphasoftware.com/alphaphorum/read.php3?sortby=lastreply&direction=desc&num=15&id=7352&thread=4713

[Peter.Greulich]

RE: V7 Feature/enhancements?

It would appear that your url has been expunged from the record. But you are correct, it was promised for v7, but then again, it was also promised for v6. It is now promised (I think) for v8. The fact of the matter is, the browse has not been high on Alpha's fix list. Nonetheless, several Alpha programmers told me at the conference it was on top of their list now, it's just that the fix is not easy because it keys deeply into the bowels of A5. We are told that the eventual rewrite will be the cat's pajamas - but in the mean time we have to wait w. the faith of a Sphinx.

[russ Boehle]

RE: V7 Feature/enhancements?

sphinx(s) have faith?
Well----- that's too bad. So, if you don't need the web stuff what's the point of the upgrade? There's got to be something in there for us plain old database folks.
I guess it'll be nice if it can use MySQL natively.

What about the form scrolling issue, which is apparently a windows issue. Was that mentioned as going to be fixed in v7?

Russ

[Steve Dentler]

RE: V7 Feature/enhancements?

Oh, well, Tom Henkel got 10 years on Version 1....I guess I can get 10 years on version five.

[Lenny Forziati]

RE: V7 Feature/enhancements?

There was no expunging. The correct link that Chris was referring to is
http://msgboard.alphasoftware.com/alphaphorum/read.php3?sortby=lastreply&direction=desc&num=15&id=7352&thread=4711

It was previously stated that the new browse would be included in V7 and we readily admit that. However because of the complexity of the core problems which plague the browse, we will not be able to have it rewritten for V7.

[Lenny Forziati]

RE: V7 Feature/enhancements?

I don't know if the marketing crew has compiled a feature list yet. However since folks here seem most interested in the desktop features, below are some of the desktop items I have worked on which will be included in V7. It should also be noted that I work primarily on the Web App Server so this certainly is not everything that will be in V7.





User-mode PDF driver

The PDF driver has been updated to a user-mode driver for Windows 2003 (and beyond) compatibility. The current kernel-mode driver is only usable in Windows 2003 with special configuration. This driver also allows for new PDF capabilities on all supported operating systems.


New functions to get info about hardware and operating system

Several new functions have been added that will allow you to query the operating system and hardware of not only the computer on which Alpha Five is running but also other computers on the network (provided you have the correct permissions on the remote system). See below for some sample output from some of these functions.


Run VBScript code directly from Alpha Five

If you have existing VBScript code or have found some sample code to suit a need and do not want to (or cannot) translate it to Xbasic, you can now directly execute the VBScript code.


Credit card processing through Authorize.Net

Authorize.Net provides payment gateway services that enable merchants to authorize, settle and manage credit card transactions. Your Alpha Five application, whether desktop or web based, can now directly communicate with the Authorize.Net gateway to process credit card transactions. This is ideal for use in POS and accounting applications, as well as online stores.








sample ouput from new functions


?win_bios_info()

= +BiosCharacteristics.

+BIOSVersion.

BuildNumber =

Caption = "Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG"

CodeSet =

CurrentLanguage = "n|US|iso8859-1"

Description = "Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG"

IdentificationCode =

InstallableLanguages = 3

InstallDate =

LanguageEdition =

+ListOfLanguages.

Manufacturer = "Phoenix Technologies, LTD"

Name = "Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG"

OtherTargetOS =

PrimaryBIOS = .T.

ReleaseDate = "20040415000000.000000+000"

SerialNumber = " "

SMBIOSBIOSVersion = "6.00 PG"

SMBIOSMajorVersion = 2

SMBIOSMinorVersion = 2

SMBIOSPresent = .T.

SoftwareElementID = "Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG"

SoftwareElementState = 3

Status = "OK"

TargetOperatingSystem = 0

Version = "IntelR - 42302e31"


?win_memory_info("selwyn3000")

= AvailableVirtualMemory = 2516080

Caption = "Logical Memory Configuration"

Description = "Logical Memory Configuration"

Name = "LogicalMemoryConfiguration"

SettingID = "LogicalMemoryConfiguration"

TotalPageFileSpace = 2523188

TotalPhysicalMemory = 1047532

TotalVirtualMemory = 3570720


?win_motherboard()

= Caption = "Base Board"

ConfigOptions =

Depth =

Description = "Base Board"

Height =

HostingBoard = .T.

HotSwappable =

InstallDate =

Manufacturer = " "

Model =

Name = "Base Board"

OtherIdentifyingInfo =

PartNumber =

PoweredOn = .T.

Product = "Springdale-G"

Removable =

Replaceable =

RequirementsDescription =

RequiresDaughterBoard =

SerialNumber = " "

SKU =

SlotLayout =

SpecialRequirements =

Status =

Tag = "Base Board"

Version = " "

Weight =

Width =


?win_1394_info("selwyn3000")

= Availability =

Caption = "VIA OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller"

ConfigManagerErrorCode = 0

ConfigManagerUserConfig = .F.

Description = "VIA OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller"

DeviceID = "PCI\VEN_1106&DEV_3044&SUBSYS_30441106&REV_46\4&1C660DD6&0&4BF0"

ErrorCleared =

ErrorDescription =

InstallDate =

LastErrorCode =

Manufacturer = "VIA"

MaxNumberControlled =

Name = "VIA OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller"

PNPDeviceID = "PCI\VEN_1106&DEV_3044&SUBSYS_30441106&REV_46\4&1C660DD6&0&4BF0"

PowerManagementCapabilities =

PowerManagementSupported =

ProtocolSupported = 12

Status = "OK"

StatusInfo =

SystemName = "SELWYN3000"

TimeOfLastReset =


?win_time()

= Day = 30

DayOfWeek = 4

Hour = 10

Milliseconds =

Minute = 58

Month = 6

Quarter = 2

Second = 16

WeekInMonth = 5

Year = 2005

[Bill Griffin]

RE: V7 Feature/enhancements?

Lenny,

Thanks for the info. I, actually was looking for the full feature list (web also), which I understand is forthcoming.

Bill

[Lenny Forziati]

RE: V7 Feature/enhancements?

The web features include (this list is also incomplete, it's just off the top of my head):

New TabbedGridLinker component - dsiplay your data in a tabbed format more like a traditional Alpha Five desktop form

New NavigationSystem component - easily build complex neavigation menus for your web apps

Grid events - several new events have been added to Grid components which give you more control over the data. Events include DeforeValidateExistingRecords, BeforeValidateNewRecords, CanUpdateRecord, CanDeleteRecord, CanInsertRecord, AfterUpdateRecord

Data-preloading in Grids - Grids can now preload data to provide a better user experience. Selecting a record in a grid to display its corresponding detail view is essentially instantaneous.

[Lenny Forziati]

RE: V7 Feature/enhancements?

A significant feature I forgot to mention that is applicable to both web and desktop apps is the inclusion of a charting ActiveX control. Attached is a screen shot showing a cart I just built against the Product Sales set in Alphasports. This took me less than 2 minutes and with a bit more time it can be tweaked to look much better.

-Lenny

[Peter.Greulich]

RE: V7 Feature/enhancements?

sphinx(s) have faith?

I was trying to say something clever. I too was wondering if sphinxes have faith? But they sure do sit there a long long time - if you know what I mean :)

[ChrisHawkes]

RE: V7 Feature/enhancements?

Lenny,

I know it's probably not your realm at Alpha, but it seems to me that the "BROWSE" problems since version 4 & 4.5 should be more important than charting(although this is welcome addition). I wonder how much patience some of us will have. In addition to the ease of use of Alpha, I chose to use it and invest in it because Alpha Software had some integrity where bigger companies do not. I would hate to see Alpha Software become just like them i.e providing bells & whistles without solving major problems and giving us nicer icons & pictures which are worthless. Are we going to wait for a new browse at version 12?

Perhaps a complete & comprehensive list of what v7 will contain is warranted now (including previous faults that have been fixed), so that Alpha's customers can decide whether it is going to be worth the price!

Sorry for the venting of steam.

Chris