Let me do my best to answer your questions from below. Remember, Xojo
isn't Foxpro and Foxpro isn't Xojo. They're cousin products from
different mothers and fathers. :D
1) Yes, available. These can be either classes or modules. You can
link in external classes called "Plugins" and you can link to external
libraries through includes. (I think that's what they're called. I
haven't had to do this yet.)
2) Yes, possible but Xojo isn't quite as strong as VFP on data
manipulation. Xojo's native data handler is SQLite. You can create an
in-memory database and have query capabilities that way. It's not as
"magical" as VFP cursors, but it's possible. When you are done with the
in-memory database, it just "goes away". Sound familiar?
3) Yes. Especially with the licensed product (as opposed to the Free
version of Xojo), you get a source-code control friendly text format of
all projects, windows, classes, modules, etc. The Xojo project is
typically housed within a single folder structure unless you explicitly
include "something", and then make it external to the project. This
project style makes it very easy to copy the folder, open it in Xojo and
then start making changes to the copy.
4) The SQLite engine is very close to the VFP table speeds, and would be
called their native data capabilities. The transport "mechanism" for
data is the RecordSet however. It's not as nice as the VFP data
handling capabilities, but it is what it is. RecordSets are very fast,
but not as flexible as VFP cursors.
5) Yup. From a single project, (if you have the Pro license as an
example), you can compile your desktop application to Windows, Mac, and
Linux in a single step. Each compiled application will be put in a
corresponding folder for the target platform. The licensing is just
like VFP: you can distribute your application to as many sites, for as
many customers as you like with no extra expense and without Xojo
knowing anything about your customers. (I'm looking at you Servoy and
Lianja!)
6) I'm not quite sure what you mean by this point, but see #5 above.
7) Yes, ODBC is one of the native data handlers that is standard with
Xojo. MySQL, PostgreSQL, MSSQL, and Oracle are the others. Of course
with ODBC you can get to most databases. Note that I was never able to
get the VFP ODBC driver on Linux because Microsoft only provides an MSI
installer which doesn't play well with Linux. That was a major bummer
for me, being a Linux fan and all.
8) There's a real debugger with Xojo! Again, it might not be as nice as
VFP's debugger, but it does something that VFP can't: remote debugging.
http://cully.biz/2014/06/27/xojos-not-so-secret-weapon/
Hope this helps.
-Kevin
On 10/05/2017 01:53 PM, Paul H. Tarver wrote:
Kevin,
Those are pretty impressive! I appreciate the detailed examples, it helps.
I should probably clarify my interest somewhat. I have three applications for vertical
markets I created in VFP and they will probably continue as they are for the foreseeable
future. However, the main programming I do is building tools for clients to move data in
and out of third party service provider systems. Because each client is different and has
unique data characteristics but the third party specifications are relatively static, we
end up creating custom versions of the same "types" of applications over and
over again and then provide the finished product to the clients in a nice installation
package. We then maintain each client's project as a unique development line from that
point forward. Next client comes along, we find the most recent development that is
similar and copy that as our starting point for the new client.
So given that background I'm wondering if Xojo can provide the following
features to critical me:
1) Need ability to link or call objects/functions/procedures from a Global
Library of functions
2) Ability to create temporary cursors on the fly for importing and processing
(probably a function of the data backend)
3) Ability to copy a project to new folder to create a new development line
without changing source project
4) Ability to import and export data at VFP speeds (Xojo doesn't have native
data capabilities, right?)
5) Ability to compile to a runtime file and support files for desktop
distribution
6) Prefer relative file and folder management (ie: search paths, etc.)
7) ODBC connectivity with the ability to make DSN-less connections on the fly.
8) A real time debugger similar to VFP's
That's a pretty good starting point for what I need. I looked at an older
version of Xojo (RealBasic?) back years ago and I downloaded the program when
they first changed the name but that's about as far as I got other than some
basic playing around with the IDE. So far, I've been reviewing alternative
languages for about 3 years and I cannot either find one that is as agile as
VFP. Maybe it's just a case of not finding one that works like I think, but
ultimately in all the languages I have looked at so far, there comes a point
where I throw my hands up and give up because I can do what I need to in VFP so
much faster and easier.
Xojo keeps popping up on my radar and I keep wondering if I should give it
another run through and see where it takes me.
Paul H. Tarver
Email: [email protected]
-----Original Message-----
From: ProfoxTech [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Kevin Cully
Sent: Thursday, October 05, 2017 11:58 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [NF] learn more about what you hate so much.
Hello Paul,
My consulting business didn't focus on creating desktop apps for resale. There
are a lot of Xojo developers that do however. I was focusing on developing
custom software for small and medium businesses and Xojo is an excellent tool
to rapidly develop solutions for the business.
I've taken a full time job with our county government and I'm developing Xojo
applications for them. Most of them are internal-only web applications to ease
in getting the updates into the hands of the people that need them. Just deploy
the updated web app and I'm done! Just as it should be. My users literally
state that they would quit their jobs if their custom written web apps were
taken away from them.
Here are some of the Xojo apps that I've written in the last 2 years:
* A web application that allows the building inspectors to see their
building inspections for the day, bulk re-assign the inspections in
the case that an inspector is sick or on vacation, and to print a
report of the inspections with the private notes from the requestor
that might have the gate codes, loose dog on property info, etc.
* A web application that allows for document review by the building
inspectors allowing them to review affidavits and engineer letters
pertaining to permits. The inspector can then accept or reject the
letter in the case the letter doesn't meet the requirements. If the
letter is rejected, then an email goes to the primary contact on the
permit explaining the reason the letter is rejected. All data
changes are logged to an audit table.
* A desktop/web hybrid application that does data mining / graphing of
the data pertaining to building permits, planning applications, and
business licenses. This "Dashboard" application generates dozens of
charts and publishes the data to various department websites for
display. It takes 8 seconds for all of the data to be queried and
the charts generated. It's run twice a day automatically and then
terminates when done.
* The road-inventory application allows for the querying of roads in
the counties and tracks their condition and history of maintenance.
When the Roads & Bridges department finishes one job, it is far
easier and cheaper to move their equipment to close-by roads and
this application allows them to do so more efficiently.
* Our fleet department has a vertical market application but it has
some limited reporting capability. I'm writing a web application
that allows for more flexible reporting that doesn't require an
install or a license for the vertical market application.
I don't think that's a bad list of applications for less than 2 years on the
job! Xojo rocks just like Foxpro rocks.
-Kevin
On 10/05/2017 10:59 AM, Paul H. Tarver wrote:
Are you using Xojo for desktop applications for resale? If so, are you pleased
with how it works for that purpose?
Paul H. Tarver
Email: [email protected]
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