Transcript Pocket PowerBuilder Features (Microsoft PowerPoint Slide Show)

Pocket PowerBuilder Features
Pocket PowerBuilder Features
Don Clayton – Intertech Consulting, Inc.
[email protected]
Agenda

Mobile Computing Landscape

Pocket PowerBuilder Key Features

Developing Applications with Pocket PowerBuilder

Related Technologies

Summary

Additional Resources
m-Business Applications
Consumer
Stock trading
Remote banking
Mobile portfolio management
Directory & location services
Self-service kiosk systems
Infotainment
Business
- Sales force automation
- Insurance adjustor
- Dispatch, track & trace
- Inspection, compliance
- Warehouse, pick and pack
- Retail, POS
- Hospitality
- Healthcare
- Defense
Mobile Application Architecture
Mobile Application Architectures
Smart Client vs. Thin Client

Smart Client

Some business logic resides
within the client

Logic updates require client
redistribution


 Thin Client
•
All business logic is invoked from
a server
•
Logic updates can occur without
client redistribution
•
Online processing only
•
Synchronization is not required to
ensure fresh data
Offline processing
Synchronization required for
data integration
Agenda






Mobile Computing Landscape
Pocket PowerBuilder Key Features
Developing Applications with Pocket PowerBuilder
Related Technologies
Summary
Additional Resources
Pocket PB Overview


First conceived and proposed to Sybase as an ISUG Enhancement
Request
Early prototypes targeted Palm platform



Lack of GUI context moved development to Pocket PC
Provides RAD 4GL in an environment PB developers are already
familiar with
Leverages existing knowledge, business rules, and development
Pocket PowerBuilder Key Features

Productive 4GL IDE




DataWindow control



Supports complete development cycle
Rich component set
Visual development with minimal coding
Single component providing sophisticated data representation
Built in SQL for selects, updates, inserts and deletes
Tight integration with SQL Anywhere Studio


Easily develop mobile ‘smart client’ applications with ASA
Integration with MobiLink for data synchronization
Pocket PowerBuilder Key Features
Productive 4GL Environment
Component
Palette
Preview
Window
Debug
Information
Property
Inspector
Pocket PowerBuilder Key Features
Pocket PowerBuilder Key Features
Productive 4GL Environment

Complements PowerBuilder for Windows CE deployments

Based on core PowerBuilder 9 IDE
Similar look and feel, but separate IDE


Ability to export PB projects and import them into PocketBuilder
Rich Set of components









Command Button
Picture Button
CheckBox
Radio Button
Static Text
List View
Tree View
List Box
DropDown List Box
Edit
Mask
Single Line Edit
MultiLine Edit
Progress Bar
Scroll Bars
Line
Oval
Rectangle
Tabs
and many, many more!
No PFC!
Differences from PB

Unsupported Features




MDI Applications
EAServer Connections
Web and JSP Targets
Automation Server

Unsupported
Functions






OLE
DDE
CORBA
Printing
Rich Text
Among others
New File Extensions





PKW – Workspace
PKT – Target
PKL – Library
PKD – Runtime Library
PKR – Resource File
New Wizards
Pocket PowerBuilder IDE

Import desktop to CE



Export CE to desktop



Migrates Pocket PowerBuilder libraries to PowerBuilder 9.0 format
New libraries copied to same directory as old libraries with .PBL extension
MobiLink Synchronization for ASA



Migrates PowerBuilder libraries to Pocket PowerBuilder format
New libraries copied to same directory as old libraries with .PKL extension
Generates objects for launching MobiLink synchronization from remote client
Optional window to change dbmlsync runtime arguments
Sync User and Subscription Maintenance


Available in PPB 1.01
Generates objects to maintain synchronization user and subscriptions
in a remote ASA database
Main/Response Windows

Main Windows




Show Soft Input Panel (SIP) Checkbox
Close (OK)
Smart Minimize (X)
Response Windows


No Menu Bar
No Smart Minimize
DataWindow Control
DataWindow Control

Advanced control for displaying and manipulating data

Available in many formats






Freeform
Graph
Grid
Group
Tabular
Reuse existing DataWindows with minimal effort
SQL Anywhere Integration


Adaptive Server Anywhere mobile database

Uses full data storage capabilities of Adaptive Server Anywhere on Windows
CE client

Database access via ODBC
MobiLink data synchronization

MobiLink bi-directional data synchronization used to integrate with other
enterprise databases (Sybase ASE and ASA, Oracle, MS SQL Server, IBM
DB2)

New component to manage synchronization properties
WinCE Fun With External Function Calls…
New Window Types

Popup Calendar and INK

Window Class:
"SysMonthCal32"

Window Class:
"InkX"
WinCE Fun With External Function Calls…
New Window Types

Custom Window Types
In PocketBuilder use…
hwnd = uf_createwindow("SysMonthCal32", Handle(this))

The local function…

public function unsignedlong uf_createwindow(string classname,
unsignedlong hwndparent)
// Create a window of the specified classname
// as a child of the specified window.
return = CreateWindowEx_CE( 0, ClassName, "", &
WS_BORDER + WS_CHILD + WS_VISIBLE, &
0,0,0,0, &
hwndParent, 0, 0, 0 )
End Function

Refer to PPB “Samples\misc\reeds_tests.pkt”
Agenda

Mobile Computing Landscape

Pocket PowerBuilder Key Features

Developing Applications with Pocket PowerBuilder

Related Technologies

Summary

Additional Resources
Developing an Application
4 Main Steps
1.
Application Design
2.
Application Development
3.
Application Testing
4.
Application Deployment
Application Design

Good UI is very important

More important than on the desktop?

Handheld <> desktop

No keyboard

Small screen

Platform differences

How do you squeeze lots of information onto a small screen?

Tab controls, menus, etc.

Iterative development

Keep application logic separate from GUI!
This helps when porting to other platforms
Application Development

Familiar IDE for PowerBuilder Developers



Most development is visual


PowerBuilder Objects can be imported into Pocket PowerBuilder
Pocket PowerBuilder objects can be imported into PowerBuilder
Drag and drop components and database access
Development Platforms


Windows 2000
Windows XP
Application Testing
Testing can occur in three ways:
1.
On the Desktop
Does not use the same VM, therefore not accurate representation of device
Good for quick testing early on
2.
On a device Emulator
Uses Windows CE VM, but not for the same chipset as physical device
Pocket PC 2002 Emulator is decent
3.
On the device itself
Best way to determine if application will work correctly at deployment
Can also test network connectivity at this point
Developing an Application

Test EVERY part of your application:

Device

Application

Network(s)

Synchronization

Integration with back-end

…
Project Painter

Deployment Options *






CE Device (ARM only)
PPC 2000 Emulator
PPC 2002 Emulator
Desktop
Build CAB File
Version Information – Desktop only
•Recommend using device with Remote observer application
Application Deployment


Pocket PC applications are often distributed as CAB files

Pocket PC SDK comes with ‘cabwiz’ which is a utility to package
applications into self installing CAB files

Deployment techniques are being researched by Pocket PowerBuilder team
Deployment to multiple devices in remote locations can be
facilitated by application deployment and management
software
Packaging and Deployment
Overview

Generate a CAB file





Generate a “setup” program






Single package
Single Platform: “my_app.ARM.CAB”
Installed and Uninstalled
Basic level of User Deployment
The “my_setup.exe” which does everything.
Multiple CAB Files
Multiple Platforms
May Contain PK*.DLL redistributable files too
Easiest level for final customer
Pocket PB Helps You – Project Painter
Package For Deploy (CAB)
CAB file
Project Painter –
CheckBox: “Build CAB File for Distribution”

Generates “inf” file and runs “CabWiz” from Microsoft.





INF file is an ASCII text file
We leave the INF file and the BAT file around for your modification
Compatible with PPC-2003 standards
Uses Installation Directories
Uses Version Information fields





Company Name  “Provider Name”
Product Name  “Application Name”
Description  comment in header
Copyright  comment in header
Version  comment in header
Developing an Application

PocketBuilder applications can be run on the mobile device in two
ways:
1)
Using the ‘stub’ application that is installed into the Pocket PC start menu as
Pocket PowerBuilder 1.0
2) By clicking directly on the application .exe (which is put into the ..\windows
directory by default)

Deployment Platforms

ARM based Pocket PC devices
This covers all devices coming out with Pocket PC 2002
operating systems

MIPS, SH3 chipsets are not supported as device manufacturers have all but
stopped making these devices
Application Architecture
Device
Enterprise
Sample
Application)
Pocket
PowerBuilder
Virtual
Machine
MobiLink
ASA
ML
TCP/IP
HTTP
HTTPS
ActiveSync
(wired or wireless)
Consolidated
Database
(Sybase/Oracle/
Microsoft/IBM)
Agenda

Mobile Computing Landscape

Pocket PowerBuilder Key Features

Developing Applications with Pocket PowerBuilder

Related Technologies

Summary

Additional Resources
Adaptive Server Anywhere (ASA)

Enterprise Features for mobile devices






Standard SQL interface
Stored procedures and triggers
Transaction processing
Row-level locking for referential integrity
Scheduling and event handling
Multiple Platform Support



Wintel platforms – Win95/98/ME, NT, 2000, CE
Novell Netware
Unix – Solaris, Linux, HP-UX, AIX, Solaris x86
Database (DSN) Connections

DSN File on Pocket PC



Copied to root directory of Pocket PC
Open Main Window, then connect to DB (use post event)
Only Sybase SQL Anywhere supported currently
MobiLink

A two-way synchronization technology for large scale mobile
database deployment

Remote database (mobile, embedded, or workgroup database server)

Consolidated database (enterprise, workgroup, or desktop database)

A server that processes synchronization requests from remote
databases

Synchronization Streams

Pocket PC: TCP/IP, HTTP, ActiveSync

128-bit strong encryption of synchronization stream supported using Certicom
TLS
MobiLink Design Goals

Heterogeneous consolidated database

Scalable and robust (tens of thousands)

Manageable in large deployments

Support handheld and wireless devices

Flexible
Pocket PowerBuilder Synchronization Wizard
MobiLink Synchronization in a Flash!

Develop a client/server application to start…

…Then add Synchronization using the Synchronization
Wizard!
Pocket PowerBuilder Synchronization Wizard

The MobiLink Synchronization Wizard handles ALL aspects
of enterprise database synchronization






Remote database connection
Publications for synchronization
Synchronization server connection information
Synchronization client options
User interface generation
Everything that the Wizard generates if fully modifiable later
on by the application developer!
Manage Anywhere Studio

Automated central software distribution



Support mission-critical mobile environment



Self-healing configurations
Remote control – reach out and help somebody
Security management



Including file distribution and collection
Complete device-level hardware and software inventory
Keep virus protection, OS up to date
Guard against unauthorized software, configuration
Optimized for mobile, remote, embedded



Simple for administrator and end-user
Offline operation, suspend & resume, minimal bandwidth use
Manage desktops, laptops, PDAs
Pocket PC Emulators

Pocket PC 2000 Emulator




Pocket PC 2002 Emulator



Easy to set up and use
Does not give accurate representation of device
Many ‘bugs’
Setup is more complex
More accurate in terms of device emulation
Both emulators can be downloaded from Microsoft Website

Recommend using PPC 2002 emulator
Pocket PC Power Toys

Set of applications to increase productivity of Pocket PC
development


http://www.microsoft.com/mobile/pocketpc/downloads/powertoys.asp
Most useful of these tools is the Remote Display Control

This utility allows you to view your physical device on your PC screen

Provides data entry for on-device testing
Agenda

Mobile Computing Landscape

Pocket PowerBuilder Key Features

Developing Applications with Pocket PowerBuilder

Related Technologies

Summary

Additional Resources
Summary

Pocket PowerBuilder provides the features that are required to develop enterprise
smart client applications

PowerBuilder users can use their existing skills and application code to develop
Windows CE applications

Windows CE applications are similar, but yet quite different than desktop applications,
so design your applications accordingly

There are many related technologies available for developers to increase the
sophistication of their applications, and their productivity at the same time
Summary Tips

Always think ahead

Don't forget about your current development practices

Use the devices and the networks to learn them

Don't forget about security

Figure out what part(s) of your application make sense for the device

A good UI is very, very important

Use a local data store
Additional Resources

Pocket PowerBuilder
www.sybase.com/pocketpb

SQL Anywhere Studio



Manage Anywhere Studio


www.ianywhere.com/manageanywherestudio
Mobile and Wireless Design Essentials


www.ianywhere.com/sqlanywhere
www.amazon.com/mallick
Microsoft Pocket PC Info

www.microsoft.com/pocketpc
Pocket PowerBuilder Overview