WebSmart ILE Fundamentals Course in Sidney, BC
BCD is hosting a 4-day WebSmart ILE Fundamentals training course the week of September 29. If you are interested in attending this class, please submit a training request via our website, or give us a call at (250) 655-1766 to discuss your training needs.
About the WebSmart Fundamentals Course
The WebSmart Fundamentals class is a comprehensive course that will give you a working knowledge of all the key areas you need to master in order to begin developing applications with WebSmart. The course begins with an introduction to HTML (page structure elements, tables, images and links), then continues on to creating simple WebSmart programs. As you familiarize yourself with the tool, you'll add more features to your own application: passing parameters between programs, customizing file access, and then prompting users for input and validating what they enter.
The class concludes with exercises in securing applications, SQL, and using WebSmart’s Change Management interface. This class also includes a session on the WebSmart interactive debugger.
If you have any questions about the course content, or whether the level would be appropriate for you, give us a call at (250) 655-1766. Our Sidney, BC offices are located just a 5-minute drive from Victoria International Airport (YYJ) and three blocks from a beautiful oceanfront walkway with panoramic views of Mt. Baker and the San Juan and Gulf Islands. September is a particularly nice time to visit southern Vancouver Island, with some of the best weather of the year and after the summer tourist crowd has moved on. Visit our website for further information about area attractions and accommodation.
Easy Window Conversion in Presto
We first introduced Presto at this year's COMMON conference and Expo and wrote about it in the April Tech Update. For the past couple of months we have been moving through the beta stage with the software, while feverishly adding new features and building code to handle all the weird and wonderful features that our beta clients have added to their applications over the years. One thing is certain, the old 24x80 green-screen displays are not as limiting as someone might initially think! We have run into an amazing variety of displays, and seen evidence of lots of creativity at work.
Presto will be in GA in just a few weeks, but in the meantime, here is another feature to whet your appetite.
Presenting Panels as Windows
When you web-enable a green screen application, often you're just after the PC look, the ability to use your mouse, an updated feel to your program and a way to run your applications through a browser. Presto gives you these things out of the box, but also includes features that allow you to override how many screen features look, both for your entire application or just individual screens. One recently introduced feature is proving to be a big hit with our beta customers - the ability to display panels as windows.
In the illustration below we are using the Presto IDE to customize an iSeries menu program. The standard display for this menu is shown in the main window area on the right:
 An iSeries menu in a default Presto skin.
The options available on the left for overriding the standard look include a 'Window Creation' option, which is set to Auto (the default).
If you have menus that are mostly empty space, you may find that instead of displaying them in the full browser window, they actually look better as small windows overlaying your other programs. Presenting the menus in windows also gives your users another visual queue for where they are in the application.
In the illustration below we have changed the Window Creation option from Auto to Custom, and Presto has built a preliminary window around the screen, which now allows you to see the program behind it as well:
 An iSeries menu displayed as a window.
Once you've toggled the option to present the panel as a window, you can also further adjust the window dimensions.
Presto Status Update
We are currently wrapping up the Presto beta and the software should be in GA in just a few weeks. If you would like to see a Presto demo, or try out the beta yourself, contact BCD.
WebSmart Example Programs and KB Articles
The Technical Support team has added another couple of examples to our online list. The latest are for WebSmart PHP, and show you how to:
Our online Knowledge Base also continues to grow at a steady rate. Here is a sampling of KB articles that have been recently published:
- KB 7406 - How to add a library at runtime, when you're already using library list object (WebSmart ILE).
- KB 7395 - How to resolve a timeout error when using the WebSmart interactive debugger.
- KB 7389 - Some suggestions on how to force an image to prompt for download, rather than being displayed (WebSmart).
- KB 7376 - How to migrate your Catapult installation from one iSeries to another.
- KB 7366 - How to open a PDF file (or other file type) without the use of an AliasMatch statement in Apache.
- KB 7353 - A list of potentially large files from older installations that can be cleared (WebSmart).
- KB 7349 - How to find whether a particular email address is used in any of your Catapult grab rules or distribution lists.
- KB 7348 - How to resolve a browser problem with a 'table' error when generating Excel spreadsheets with Clover.
- KB 7330 - How to run an iSeries command from a WebSmart PHP program.
- KB 7312 - How to use Monarch for EZ-Pickin's command line parameters and autoscripts.
As you can see, we are publishing articles on a wide variety of issues. So any time you are wondering how to do something, remember that in addition to the documentation, you can check BOTH the example programs list and the online Knowledge Base. All of these items are completely searchable, so it'll only take you a few seconds to find what you need.
If you have any questions about any of the example programs or KB articles, please email Technical Support. And remember that we're always on the lookout for ideas for new examples, so if there's something you need to add to your website that you're finding a little challenging and which you think others might also want to use, drop us a note and we'll take a crack at building it for you!
Upcoming BCD Events
BCD will have groups attending these upcoming conferences. Let us know if you plan to be at either of these and would like to discuss any of your software needs.
COMMON Focus 2008
The 2008 COMMON Focus workshop conference features three days of intense, focused education. The conference will be held October 5-8 at the San Francisco Airport Crowne Plaza.
COMMON Focus is designed to be a smaller, more intimate event with a limited number of attendees – allowing them for more one-on-one interaction with the speakers and each other. Attendees can attend only one workshop per day, providing them the opportunity to focus their educational needs on a specific topic each day and gain in-depth education of each topic. This conference event will offer 15 in-depth, all-day educational workshops, both in lab and lecture-style formats.
RPG & DB2 Summit
The RPG & DB2 Summit on October 19-22 will be held at the Convention Center of the Riviera Hotel and Casino. This Las Vegas landmark has recently undergone a multi-million dollar renovation. There, the System i Developer team will be joined by guest experts Scott Klement, Mike Cain, Kent Milligan, George Farr, Barbara Morris and Bruce Vining to present in-depth training on topics such as the new RDi development tools and IBM i 6.1, WDSc/RSE, ILE, SQL, RPG IV, DB2, PHP and XML - all from developer's perspective. Four optional half-day Workshops will focus on SQL basics, SQL performance and scalability, getting started with RSE/WDSc/RDi tooling, and PHP for IBM i developers. The conference is sponsored by two leading media organizations, IBM Systems Magazine and System iNetwork.
iSeries DevCon
The 2008 iSeries DevCon will take place in Orlando, FL October 27-29. The DevCon features top speakers sharing their knowledge on everything from RPG and DB2 to AJAX, PHP and V6R1.
BCD will have booths at all these events, with representatives from our technical and sales teams available to answer all your questions. If you have any questions about these events, please drop us a note.
Upgrading to V6R1: Second Notice and Software Availability Update
The upgrade to V6R1 is not like most regular System i OS upgrades. While there is always a risk of incompatibilities surfacing as a result of an OS upgrade, in this case
it is a certainty (see IBM's article on this). You should make no assumptions that any of our software products will run on V6R1 unless we specifically tell you so, or publish that information on our website.
These are the earliest versions of our software that will restore and run on V6R1:
The V6R1-ready version of DbGen is available now by request, and we will post it to our website as soon as we update the documentation.
Beyond the conversion issues described in the IBM link above you should also be aware that new versions of the OS often introduce subtle changes to APIs or other interfaces which can create new problems in unexpected areas. While early adoption of a new OS always entails a certain degree of risk, we are actively working to discover and resolve any of these issues in order to minimize this risk.
Special note to WebSmart users: Running the IBM command ANZOBJCVN over a WebSmart program can leave you with the mistaken impression that it will run correctly on V6R1, when this is not necessarily the case. Service programs in XL_WEBSPT that are referenced by your program must also be able to be converted, and prior to WebSmart version 7.0, this will not generally be the case.
Special note to Exodus users: Another issue that has come to our attention is that at V6R1 IBM has begun using port 2015, which will create a conflict with the default communications settings for all our products that use Exodus. We have plans to handle this conflict automatically in new installations of upcoming releases, but if you upgrade to V6R1 before that feature is added, you'll need to manually change your Exodus configuration to use a different port. See KB article 7355 for further details.
If you have any questions or concerns about your V6R1 upgrade and BCD software, please give us a call at (250) 655-1766 drop us a note (before you upgrade!).
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New Customer Profile: Veolia Environmental Services
Veolia ES Technical Solutions - Custom ERP
"The least disruptive way to update business computing applications is through an incremental approach to application modernization", says evolveIT’s (www.evolveit.com) vice president of client technical resources, Dan Hogan. Headquartered in Tustin, California, evolveIT focuses on IBM i platform modernization and RF warehousing technology.
"WebSmart offers us a great combined value, which we were able to take advantage of almost immediately - my developers who have no html experience can create programs for the web and we can drastically cut the programming time needed to see results. Moreover, the back end logic, PML, is extremely easy to understand. WebSmart offered us a very quick payback when learning a new technology."
Ten months ago, evolveIT began enhancing core business applications at the Solutions and Technologies division of Veolia Environmental Services, a subsidiary of the largest environmental services company in the world. Existing applications received new web-based user interfaces, and entirely new applications were created to accommodate current business requirements.
To date, 48 programs have been developed using WebSmart from Business Computer Design
Please visit our website to read the complete Case Study or download the PDF version. We have also added several before and after screen shots to our WebSmart Customer Gallery
Alexandra Drew grew up on three continents - she was born and lived for 5 years in Austria (in Graz, birthplace of another less well-known Austrian), then spent 2 years in Beijing, and finally came to rest in Calgary, Alberta, where she spent the rest of her childhood. After finishing high school there she attended the University of Calgary for a year, and then moved to Victoria in 1995 where she completed her Computer Science degree with an emphasis in Software Engineering at the University of Victoria.
Before coming to work at BCD, Alexandra had worked for 8 years in Software Engineering, for several different software development companies in Victoria. Her job description ranged from software development to project management. In one interesting project, she was charged with automating observations on the 1.2m telescope at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory here in Victoria. Alexandra started working for BCD in April 2007 as a member of the Professional Services group, using WebSmart to develop websites for our customers. Among several others, she has worked on the sites for Wenger Corporation, Hornady and Fleetpride.
When away from the computer Alexandra spends her time with her family, which includes her husband, 6 year old son and a German Shepherd/Lab lapdog. Her fun/spare time usually consists of listening to music ranging from (Canadian) east coast music (she recommends the Barra MacNeils) to 70's disco, attending weekly kickboxing classes (at Zuma a Mixed Martial Arts school), and taking her son to his numerous sporting events.
The hiring here at BCD is coming at a fast and furious rate right now, and our latest addition is Daniela Kirsch, who has joined our Professional Services team and is currently learning WebSmart by immersion. Daniela moved to Canada from Germany on April 1st of this year. In Germany she worked as a web developer in the town of Bad Hersfeld. Prior to that, Daniela completed the German equivalent of a 3-year apprenticeship in web development while also attending night school to get her diploma.
Daniela first visited Vancouver Island in 2007 and fell in love with it (despite copious quantities of rain), and applied for a work permit shortly after that. Outside work, she's enjoying gardening, oil painting and reading (she recently read all 5 books in Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series in a week).
And further on Greg Patterson, Last Month's New Employee...
To follow up on last month's welcome to Greg Patterson and the mention of his proven golfing skills: in what the rest of us suspect was not a coincidence, but rather a shrewd career-enhancing move, our golf tournament organizer put Greg in the same group as Gillian Kenzie (co-owner of ESDI, the development arm of BCD) and their team swept to an easy victory in our highly-competitive Texas scramble. Greg, no mean diplomat himself, credits Gillian with making all the score-saving drives.
Current
BCD Software Release Levels
These are the current release levels for all our products:
If you have any questions about how to get to the latest versions, please contact
Technical Support.
Summary
List of Recent Updates
WebSmart 7.00 - W700002
There is a new server side update for WebSmart 7.0. This update resolves an issue with running the STRDBG command on WebSmart programs, where the file PW_DBGJFM was missing.
You can download the current PC and server versions of WebSmart from our website, or go to the WebSmart Updates page to download just the client side, and read more about this update and previous ones.
Organizations
that Recently Purchased BCD Software
Benetech • Camden County Courthouse • Consolidated Biscuit • Daniel Four Software • Draper Tools • Ductmate • Fumico • Gerdau Macsteel • Gladwin Paint Company • Goodhue County • Greenwood Commissioners of Public Works • J & J Industries • K C Transportation • Kobelt Development Inc. • L & S Electric • LB Water Service • Levante • Leydig, Voit & Mayer, Ltd • Mason Computer Consulting • Midwest of Cannon Falls • Monroe Muffler • Parma Qualita • Peerless Winsmith • Plaid Enterprises • Procecard • Rogers & Brown Cstm. Brkrs. • Shell and Tube • SSA Marine • Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Mexico • Vac-U-Max • Vermont Information Processing • Wenger Corporation
Organizations
That Have Recently Contracted BCD Professional Services
Alfa Aesar • City of Kearney • Demco • Swift Transport • Hans Johnsen Bikes • Heyco Products • Midwest Fuel Injection • Midwest of Cannon Falls • Gerdau MacSteel • Stanley Furniture • FleetPride • Nippon Express
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IBM i and PHP : The Strategic Web Platform with Duncan Kenzie. Part of System iNetworks RPG & Beyond Web Conference.
