/
Book: Clarion Tips & Techniques Volume 4 (PDF)

Book: Clarion Tips & Techniques Volume 4 (PDF)

Apr 26, 2013

Our massive 650+ page Clarion Tips & Techniques Volume 4 is now available as a downloadable PDF!

Download the files

Table of Contents

Browses and Forms

Internationalization Tools Standards: Learning from an ABC Calendar Workaround * 3

  • ABC Calendar Class 5

  • Multi-language class workaround 7

  • Applying the multi-language ABC calendar 9

  • Translation file (PDABCCal.trn) 9

  • User interface file (ABUtilui.clw) 10

  • Sample application 10

  • Preferences 11

  • The AddLanguage procedure 12

  • DateForm 13

  • Conclusion 15

Completely Dynamic Listbox Formatting? * 17

  • Selection criteria 18

  • Sort options 19

  • The multi-tabbed browse 21

  • Multiple format strings 25

  • Summary 27

Edit-In-Place: Getting User Confirmation  * 29

  • Those clever users 30

  • Asking the user 31

  • The embeds 33

  • TakeEvent 35

  • An alternate approach 36

  • Conclusion 37

Updating Hot Fields  * 39

  • Trials and errors 42

  • Record Not Available and browse architecture 43

  • Planting palm firmly on forehead 43

  • One solution 44

  • Summary 46

Aesthetically Pleasing Recursive Updates * 47

  • Recursive updates 48

  • Recursive Inserts 51

  • SELF.BatchProcessing 53

  • Summary 53

Beautifying Clarion Applications * 55

  • Highlighting prompts and lists 56

  • Redrawing controls 58

  • The DrawGlassPanel procedure 59

  • Drawing the line(s) 60

  • Dropping a shadow 61

  • Getting a head(er) 61

  • Adding to your body count 63

  • The end of the line 63

  • Make up 65

  • The template 65

  • Conclusion 66

Replicating IDLE: Throwing Users Out * 67

  • But Wait! 68

  • TakeEvent 69

  • Doing the dirty 70

  • Who Did What? 71

  • Summary 72

Throwing Users Out: Methods of Computation  * 73

  • But first, the assumptions 74

  • And now, another assumption 74

  • Time of day 75

  • Countdown 76

  • Count up 78

  • But wait! There’s more! 78

Recursive Adds * 81

  • The default option 83

  • Buttons on the browse 84

  • Under the bonnet 85

  • And now, back to our show 86

  • Buttons on the form 88

  • Summary 90

A Survey Of Embed Usage  * 91

  • A storage problem 92

  • The schema 92

  • Parsing TXAs 94

  • Procedure types 94

  • The embeds 99

  • Event embeds 105

  • WindowManager method embeds 106

  • Browse embeds 110

  • Process/Report embeds 112

  • Embeds by procedure type 112

  • Conclusions and recommendations 125

Another Single Browse For Multiple Lookups  * 129

  • The browse code 130

  • The extension template 132

  • Features to be added 139

  • Summary 139

An Economical Record Status Control  * 141

  • The template 143

  • Features to be added 147

  • Using the template 147

  • Summary 147

A Template Debugger  * 149

  • The Ingredients 150

  • Adding ODS Messages to Templates 151

  • Conclusion 152

A Class Wrapper for the SimpleOCR API * 155

  • SimpleOCR 156

  • Class wrapper 156

  • Callbacks 158

  • Character recognition 159

Improving On The Non-Related Lookup Template  * 163

  • Using the stock template 163

  • Adding functionality 165

  • The code template 166

  • Summary 169

Global Variables, Threads, Critical interSections and the Dangers of Unprotected Sets * 173

  • Common misconceptions 174

  • From bad to worse 176

  • Practicing safe sets 178

  • There’s gotta be a better way 183

  • Acknowledgements, thus far 183

A Global Variables Protection Class  * 185

  • SetGlobal method 186

  • GetGlobal method 188

  • Testing 189

  • A Template wrapper 196

  • Putting it all together 198

  • Acknowledgements 198

Classes For Background Processes  * 201

  • A background procedure 202

  • Almost STARTing a class 203

  • The example 204

  • Constructors, destructors, and GPFs 207

  • Thread safety 209

  • Summary 209

When START Starts  * 211

  • Controlling START 211

  • Resume 213

  • Summary 214

Using DOS Files To Send Printer Codes * 219

  • The lowly DOS file 220

  • Sending commands 221

  • USB printers 222

  • Summary 222

Printing A Tree From A Page Loaded Browse * 223

  • A dialogue tree 224

  • The tree design 225

  • Printing the tree 227

  • Getting started on coding 228

  • Adding the content 234

Printing Unknown Queue Fields * 239

  • Who()?, What()? 240

Printing a “No Records” Report  * 243

  • Step 1: Add the detail band 243

  • Step 2: Set the band filter 244

  • Step 3: Open the report 245

  • Step 4: Modify AbReport.Inc 246

  • Step 5: Set OpenReport’s result to 0 247

  • Step 6: Set SELF.Response 247

  • Other considerations 247

  • Step 7 248

  • Summary 248

Writing To A Printer Port: Sending Escape Codes  * 249

  • Forward to the past 252

  • CreateFile 253

  • WriteFile 255

  • CloseHandle 256

  • The Sample App 256

  • Summary 257

Print Directly to Printer Made Easier  * 259

  • A single call 260

  • The source procedure 261

The Easiest Way To Write To A Printer Port * 263

  • The Nova Templates 263

  • Winevent 265

  • Summary 266

Direct-To-USB Printing * 267

  • USB need not apply 268

  • DEVCON to the rescue 269

  • Caveats 271

  • Summary 271

Whitemarsh’s Use Of Mimer With Clarion * 275

  • Getting Mimer 275

  • Clarion & Mimer 276

Using the SQL Advanced Tab * 279

  • MS SQL Server and Sample Database 282

  • What properties? 282

  • Regular Totaling - retiring ResetFromView 282

  • PROP:Name 284

  • PROP:GROUPBY 285

  • PROP:HAVING 285

  • SQL() and PROP:ORDER 286

  • Why not just use PROP:SQL then? 286

  • PROP:WHERE 287

  • Summary 288

Creating SQL From XML With XSLT * 289

  • An XML template language 290

  • Transformation 290

  • Tools 290

  • Where to start? 292

  • What about Clarion? 299

Calling XSLT Code From Clarion  * 301

  • Transforming the easy way 304

  • Creating an OLE object in C# 304

  • Finally, Clarion! 308

  • Where to next? 312

  • Resources: 312

External Business Rules with the In-Memory Driver * 315

  • The basics of business rules 316

  • Code changes to the template 323

  • Summary 328

Using SQLIdentity in Clarion 6  * 329

  • The problem 330

  • Getting the primary key value 330

  • Summary 335

Multi-User Primary Keys: A Solution  * 337

  • A solution 338

  • Step 1 ñ Create the PrimaryKeys table 340

  • Step 2 - Create two stored procedures 340

  • Step 3 - Add starting values 341

  • Step 4 - Create a Clarion source procedure 341

  • Step 5 - Remove autoinc 343

  • Step 6. Remove IDENTITY 343

  • Step 7 ñ Add the extension template 343

Embedding The SQLite Engine In Clarion Applications * 345

  • What SQLite is and is not 346

  • Topspeed/SQLite performance comparisons 346

  • So, will you ever get to use it? 348

  • SQLite class quick start 349

  • Inside the supplied SQLite Class 351

  • Conclusion 354

PROP:SQL And Embedded Single Quotes  * 357

  • The problem with QUOTE 357

  • The example app 360

  • Summary 361

Encryption and Application Signing * 365

  • What is a digital certificate? 366

  • Who is it? 367

  • Who vouches for that? 368

  • What is the entity’s encryption code? 369

  • Symmetric encryption 369

  • Upside and Downside of Symmetric Encryption 371

  • Asymmetric Encryption 371

  • Encryption 372

  • Signing 373

  • Combining Public/Private Keys with Symmetric Keys 375

  • Next time 376

Signing Your Applications * 377

  • Your digital certificate 377

  • The Signing Software 379

  • Signing your code using the wizard 380

  • Verifying the Signature 385

  • Signing your code by batch file 386

  • Creating the Batch file 387

  • Conclusion 388

  • Additional Reading 389

Signing Your Applications: New Challenges * 391

  • A little background 392

  • Turning it off manually 393

  • Turning it off with code 396

  • Turning it off granularly 396

  • All users? 398

  • An end run - my application only 398

  • For SetupBuilder users 401

As for “real” networks *  401

  • Miscellaneous security annoyances 402

  • Conclusion 404

  • Additional Reading 404

  • Source code 405

Manifests for Hand Coded Apps  * 407

  • Manifest destiny 408

  • From the editor 411

  • Source code 412

Get Ahead Of Your Competition With Vista And Office 2007 * 413

  • Rose colored glasses 414

Ok, wise guy *  414

  • A not-so-short Clarion bedtime story 415

  • Payday 416

  • The good part? 417

  • The point 417

  • Rub your hands together 417

  • The bigger picture 418

Vista-Compliant INI Files * 419

  • INI folders 420

  • The VistaINIClass 420

  • The template 423

  • Viewing CSIDL values 424

  • Summary 424

  • Source code 424

Running C6 on Vista  * 425

  • Fixing clipped text 425

  • Fixing WinHlp32.exe 426

An Introduction to CVS and WinCVS * 429

  • What is CVS? 430

  • Installing WinCVS 432

  • Installing Python 432

  • Terminology 432

  • Running WinCVS for the first time 433

  • Start with Checkout 438

  • Commit changed files 440

CVS, WinCVS and Clarion * 443

  • Filters 443

  • Change logs 445

  • File status 447

  • Revision graphs 448

  • Version numbers 450

  • Tips 450

  • Summary 451

  • Recommended reading: 452

Version Control with CVS and Clarion 6.x  * 453

  • The software 454

  • SoftVelocity versions and hotfixes 455

  • Tagging a product release (version) 460

  • Modules 461

  • Release 463

  • Branching Out 464

  • Bug FIX! 467

Version Control with CVS and Clarion 6.x, Part 2  * 471

  • CVSNT Install on Red Hat Fedora Core 3 472

  • WinCVS install and configuration 473

  • Configure applications and directories 474

  • Directory Structure 481

  • Reasons to use WinCVS rather than Clarion 484

  • Administration, automatisation 485

  • Tools, ideas 486

  • Source code 487

Understanding The Clarion 6 Version Control Interface  * 489

  • The Clarion 6 Version Control System 490

  • The in and outs of Clarion 6’s VCS system 491

  • Details of operation 494

  • Exporting module TXAs 498

  • Summary 498

Using MS Visual Source Safe With Clarion * 501

  • Installation 502

  • Setup 502

  • Adding files 504

  • Sharing code 505

  • Checking out code 507

  • Getting the latest version 509

  • Summary 511