In Parts I and II of this article (PBDJ, Vol. 7, issues 1, 2) I started comparing Java to PowerScript. We covered some of the fundamentals of the Java language - identifiers, primitive datatypes and wrappers - and PowerBuilder's Any datatype, operators, flow control statements and more.

In the May issue of PBDJ (Vol. 7, issue 5) we looked at how to initialize a Jaguar component using the Jaguar component properties, focusing on a PowerBuilder component using the ContextKeyword object. In this article we'll look at a PowerJ / Java component and the Jaguar::Repository. The Jaguar::Repository interface discussed in this article can be used from PowerBuilder as well.

In this month's column I continue the series 'Creating the Executable' - focusing this time on project management and software development cycles and how this process should be implemented when creating a PowerBuilder application.

E-mail is almost as essential as the computer to the modern business world. To send messages, however, users must switch from their current application to the e-mail application. Not only is this annoying, cumbersome and time-consuming, it's completely unnecessary. As PowerBuilder programmers we can use the MAPI (mail application program interface) facilities that are built into the language to provide e-mail capabilities directly into our application.

Welcome to Part 2 of our exploration of EAServer's J2EE capabilities. In PBDJ's July issue (Vol. 7, issue 7) we constructed an Enterprise JavaBean (EJB) that housed the business logic rules for craps. This EJB, built as a session bean using PowerJ 3.5, was deployed with a simple point-and-click exercise into Sybase's Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE) application server: EAServer 3.5. We also provided a simple test applet to call the EJB for preliminary testing.

Let's look first at what PowerBuilder Web Deployment Kit (PBWDK) does and doesn't do. What it doesn't do is convert your existing client/server applications into Web applications. That is, it doesn't render your existing client/server applications into HTML and JavaScript. What it does do, however, is allow you to take advantage of one of the most significant benefits of Web applications - ease of deployment.

In this new three-tier world of database servers, application servers, Web servers, and thin and rich client interfaces, it's difficult to use rapid application development techniques. A RAD approach to developing software, while approachable in the two-tier PowerBuilder environment, is deadly in complex three-tier development scenarios. Well, here comes Sybase PowerDesigner 7.0 to the rescue with new support for UML object modeling, Java and PowerBuilder generation, and code and database schema synchronization.

One of the greatest benefits of moving your distributed applications to Jaguar CTS is the ability to use Jaguar's connection caches to manage database access for all users of your application. Connection caches allow Jaguar applications to share a pool of connections. In theory, this avoids the 'connection overhead' associated with establishing a connection to the database. When an application issues a disconnect statement, Jaguar doesn't actually terminate the connection to the database, it merely returns the connection to the pool for use by the next application that makes a connect statement. In theory, this can provide a substantial performance boost for applications that perform many connect/disconnect operations.

Over the past few years Application Service Providers (ASPs) have become the rage. It's unusual to pick up a trade magazine that doesn't contain a major article discussing the benefits of ASPs. Many believe that the ASP is a new deployment and business model; however, ASPs have existed for many years. The only recent changes of any significance were the proliferation of inexpensive wide area networking, such as the Internet, and improvements in software development tools. By using tools that are similar to the current offerings from Sybase, development of ASP service offerings is much easier than it was several years ago.

As many readers know, Sybase is one of the first licensees of the Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition from Sun Microsystems. J2EE promises to become the dominant industry model for quickly developing, enhancing and deploying mission-critical e-business applications.While portability is the most well-known of Java's attractions, the J2EE technology suite also provides a robust framework for reliable, scalable and secure applications.

For several years we've been creating large applications that tend to encompass sizable feature sets required for enterprise applications. The term fat client comes to mind....Over the years we've seen significant changes in application architectures, from client/server to n-tier to Internet/Web applications. But there's a new area that's growing in use.

This month I'll show you how to prepare a completed PowerBuilder application for deployment to users. PowerBuilder lets you develop and deploy applications for many application architectures. This month (and next) I'll try to help you make decisions about creating an executable and packaging an application for deployment in a client/server architecture.

However boring it might be, I believe that infrastructure is the key to e-business success. More specifically, it's having (or building) an adaptable application and IT infrastructure that can adjust to new business needs and competitive challenges over time, thus providing a competitive advantage for the foreseeable future. Keeping up with the competition is no longer good enough. Business success is now predicated on effectiveness, or how quickly and successfully companies can customize their applications and IT infrastructure to provide more effective and higher-value interactions with customers and prospects.

When I took a class on data structures with C++ at Brooklyn College, one of the topics emphasized was recursion. At first it didn't make much sense, and I wondered why we even bothered when other techniques were more understandable.

Shared and remote objects - powerful features of DPB for business applications - can also be used in industrial settings. If you've been handling serial communications with many types of devices - such as gate security, pump controllers or PLCs that need to know what they're doing, or you simply want to turn your coffeemaker on remotely - read on.

Live Editing is a feature specific to Jaguar components. When enabled, it causes a component to be deployed automatically to Jaguar whenever that object is saved in the User Object Painter. When it's not enabled, the developer must manually deploy the object to the Jaguar server by executing a Jaguar Component Generator Project. Live Editing automates the step that deploys the updated component version to the Jaguar server when the component is changed in PowerBuilder. While this feature can relieve developers of the extra step of component deployment each time a change is made, it can also cause some headaches.

There seems to be a lot of 'sound and fury' concerning the move from PowerBuilder to the Web. I'm convinced, however, that the majority of PowerBuilder developers don't know how to get there. Many of those who have taken that course have found it more difficult than they first anticipated. If you're in the latter boat, perhaps this article won't be of much interest to you - you've already earned your battle scars. For those of you who have yet to venture into the minefield, perhaps I can guide you along the way.

If you're a regular reader of PBDJ and the Distributed Technologies column, then you've likely been gathering many tips and development techniques concerning EAServer (specifically Jaguar CTS). This article will continue along this path by looking at how to initialize a Jaguar component and discussing its functions, particularly database connection parameters. When writing code it's common to store this information in an INI file or, for Windows-centric platforms, in the registry.

AZs the title suggests, this article is about the error-logging feature within Jaguar CTS. Although this is a simple feature with simple commands, I'll show you how you can enhance it and add a level of control to the logging facility. I'll also show how to access the Jaguar repository from within your own components and applications.

If you're looking for the next frontier in enterprise IT, look no further than your own hand. The combination of mobile phones, two-way pagers and powerful personal data assistants (PDA) with the fast and cheap wireless Internet is about to unleash a revolution in personal and enterprise computing. (Yes, that's right - another one! Are you ready?) By the end of the year industry leaders expect 20 million handheld device-based Internet users. The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association predicts that by 2003 there will be one billion Internet-enabled handheld devices in use. To put this in perspective, at that time PC-based Internet users are expected to number only about 300 million.

John Fauss sent in this rather cool application of DataWindow technology along with this comment: 'I've read your PBDJ column for the past three+ years and look forward to it each month, as I almost always learn something new. It's time for me to pay you back for all that I have learned from your column.'

Last summer I discussed how the evolution of consumer portals like Yahoo! was expanding the industry's understanding of what a corporate Web site might entail (see PBDJ, Vol. 6, issue 8). In fact, the ultimate result of moving a business to the Web seemed to naturally create an 'enterprise portal' for the business. I also told you to be on the lookout for important announcements from Sybase regarding this trend. Here's the follow-up?

Since the advent of three-tier computing, more and more people are telling us to 'separate the business logic from the presentation.' And well they should. By separating the business logic from the presentation we can achieve a high level of reusability. Furthermore, this is a necessity when they're located on separate tiers. If you're thinking about migrating your PowerBuilder applications to EAServer in the future, you should start separating your logic now. But how? How do we go about separating our business logic from our presentation?

In last month's column, I led you through a very forensic and dry discussion on how the update process is performed with PFC DataWindows. This process is complex and a bit daunting for the beginning PowerBuilder programmer. The purpose of that column was not to dissuade you from using the PFC DataWindow when writing applications that require you to update data, but to give you an understanding of what's happening behind the scenes. As a matter of fact, you can safely ignore most of the processing that was explained last month (I know, I know, now you tell me!).

This article discusses a service that will help you bring into existence something that's been only a dream functionality for many of us: generic DataWindow retrieval. First we'll focus on the techniques that led to this solution, then use the service to build a powerful and flexible architecture for deploying reports.

In some ways, the appearance of J2EE in the Java world is similar to the introduction of SQL to the database world. Prior to SQL, each vendor's search engine and approach was unique and hierarchical - in other words, a proprietary system that was inflexible and difficult to maintain. SQL and the relational model offered a standard, nonproprietary approach to storing and organizing data that supported the trend toward a client/server architecture. Similarly, Java and the Web have pushed the trend toward a distributed architecture with components running on an application server. J2EE provides the standards for this trend.

This article will explain the Jaguar component life-cycle. Understanding the way Jaguar handles components is essential before one can begin designing and developing a solution with EAServer. The component life-cycle determines when a component is available and what information (or state) it will have. Portions of this article appeared in the book Jaguar Development with PowerBuilder 7, published by Manning Publications.

Many reporting applications use stored procedures that sometimes take a while to run. Even with fast database servers, response time can be measured in minutes after your best efforts at tuning. Users who are used to seeing progress bars on their Internet downloads expect a similar visual clue from their database applications. How do you monitor and display the progress of a long-running stored procedure?

I have to admit I wasn't looking forward to writing this month's column. I've received many e-mails from readers who wanted me to document the entire PFC save process as it applies to DataWindows. I don't know if the requests were sincere or more of a tongue-in-cheek joke at my expense. After all, any programmer who has looked into this process has been boggled by its complexity as well as the amount of code involved. I challenge even the best PFC programmer to explain this process, step by step, from memory.

In my January article in PBDJ (Vol. 7, issue 1) I covered the basics of the Web DataWindow and we ended the article with the home page. We'll now move on to the employee page.

In this article we'll examine how to handle a Jaguar CORBA_TRANSACTION_ ROLLEDBACK exception that is thrown when a Jaguar transaction is aborted. We'll use the BTFBank sample application developed in an article I wrote for PBDJ in October 1999 (Vol. 6, issue10). This example is written in PowerBuilder, but the technique covered here is relevant for any Jaguar client (Java, Web, etc.) or Jaguar component that's involved in a transaction.

Okay, so you've used showplan, statistics i/o and statistics time to identify how your query has been optimized and what it's costing you. That's a good starting point. Sometimes all the answers are right there in the query plan or resource counts. They'll point out a table scan, the fact that your query is using a different index than you expected or that most of your I/O relates to one particular table or SQL statement. You know you have an index on the search columns, so why did it choose a tablescan? You've done your homework and identified that one index is more selective than another, yet the optimizer decided to access the table with the less selective index. You suspect that one join order is better than another, based on your knowledge of the data and relationships, but it didn't choose that join order. Unfortunately, these tools won't help you in these situations because they fail to answer the question 'Why?' They only answer the questions 'How?' and 'How much?'

If you want your DataWindows to look consistent, you have two basic choices. The first one - always code the DataWindow expressions the same in all your DataWindows. However, there are drawbacks to this: you have to make sure your entire development team is aware of the standards, and you have to have methods to ensure their use and document the standards for future developers. In spite of such precautions, it's likely your DataWindows will stray from the standards you've set up.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI) is one customer who's leveraged PowerBuilder and EAServer to develop an intranet solution. This application has provided BCBSRI with tremendous cost savings and enhanced performance.

In Part 1 of this article (PBDJ, Vol. 7, issue 1) I compared Java to PowerScript. We covered some of the fundamentals of Java language - identifiers, primitive data types and primitive data type wrappers - and PowerBuilder's any data type, and we began to discuss relational operators, so let's continue.

In this month's column I'll show you how to use the PFC multitable update service. This service, as you might expect, allows the DataWindow to update more than one table. Multitable update, one of the least used PFC services, has been around since version 5.0. I'll demonstrate how you can use it, how it works and pitfalls you may find along the way.

Imagine creating a PowerBuilder application that not only speaks to the user, but also understands when the user speaks to it. Speech recognition software has been around for a while, but so far it's found only limited to success in real-world use. However, some of the latest advances in speech recognition make this form of input a viable option for business applications. In this article I'll describe how to use Microsoft Agent ActiveX technology to add speech and speech recognition to PB applications. About Microsoft Agent Version 2.0

As developers, we often focus on code and give less attention to the database than we should. Developers on large development teams, who can usually rely on the database programmers and/or DBA to write and optimize their SQL, tend to shy away from anything database related. On smaller teams the developers are responsible for the schema and DML, but typically don't understand the nuances and complexities of the specific database they're working with. A very important yet undervalued feature in PowerBuilder's database painter, 'Explain SQL,' takes advantage of the database engine's query analyzer (Showplan report) to show pathing and performance information about a SQL statement. Every developer should know how it works and how to use it. In this article I'll describe the report and show you how to use it to optimize your SQL.

A lot of hoopla has surrounded the Web DataWindow, and it's actually well deserved. Not so long ago PowerBuilder critics claimed that PB would never make it to the Web because it was designed mainly for building client/server applications. I had my own doubts back then, but with the Web DataWindow much of the power of PowerBuilder is now available on the Web. This allows PB developers to build Web sites for dynamic publishing and e-commerce transactions with relative ease.

With the industry buzzwords being Java, Java, and more Java, I wrote this article to provide insight into how you can leverage your knowledge of PowerScript and PowerBuilder to quickly learn and build Java programs. I'm going to assume that you're familiar with PowerBuilder and the OOP religion. To exploit all of Java's features, you must design and build applications in accordance with OOP techniques. Where appropriate, this article presents a syntactical comparison of the Java language and PowerScript.