Fixing the VCL (LONG) (was Re: [DUG]: Dumb question of the day)
Rohit Gupta said: > Your view (or indeed anyones) of their code and facilites is coloured > by your own experience. My (and people such as Paul Lowman, Max > Neilsen and Paul Heinz) maybe far greater in that respect. ^ FYI: its Nilson, and I thought that being invoked I should reply. > My users demand more from my windows system than they had in my dos > system. I cant give it to them using standard components. Heck, I > cant even do it with all the libs out there. And others (including > the few named above) have gone to great pain in duplicating and > fixing most of VCL). They didnt do it for fun. and Max Renshaw-Fox replied: > The point I was making was that the VCL does what it was intended to do, > which is clearly less than some people want (which is why Max et al have > had to "fix" it) - but still what was intended and, arguably, what the > majority of Delphi users need. That may make it a commercial solution, > rather than a technically pure one - but not a childish one. We (That is Paul, Ian and myself) have replaced large chunks of the VCL, and the reasons behind doing this fall into two four categories. As far as I'm aware anyone who starts trying to build complex business solution in Delphi is going to strike problems in these areas, so I'll talk a little about each in turn: Problem 1: Microsoft common controls. - All of the basic editing controls (TEdit, TComboBox, TCheckBox etc) are all just object wrapper about the original (and we're talking Windows 3 or earlier here!) Microsoft windows. Once you start working these hard and asking them to perform stuff that they were never designed to do, then you hit problems. Big problems are in the ares of subclassing, adding extra UI components and embedability into grids. The VCL wrappers do a good job, but if you want more from your controls then you need top replace these completely. And by this I don't mean using InfoPower, because all of their controls are just more wrappers over the VCL wrapper over the MS windows controls. If you read their code and then start trying to extend the controls even further things break in really exiting areas 8-( So the Profax team wrote an entire set of replacements for all of the common editing controls, and they use no Microsoft control at all. Now the controls do what we want and can be extended rapidly and easily in any direction that is needed. Problem 2: Data-awareness issues. - After three years of working with data-aware controls I have still not really decided if the design is correct or not. Danny Thorpe (Senior Engineer, Delphi R&D) in the borland.public.delphi.vcl.components.writing wrote yesterday: > One thing I've been wanting to tackle since the day the interface syntax > was sussed out (pre-D3) is reworking the nature of "data awareness". > If a TEdit implements an IDataAware interface, then it can be bound to > database fields. The interface could even be implemented by satelite > helper classes that "attach" themselves to the TEdit instance, so that > TEdit itself has no knowledge of the database stuff. So I'm not alone in wanting a better way of building data-awareness into controls. So unless your prepared to go completely non data-aware, something that would quickly drive me insane, or force me to essentially duplicate the entire data-aware mechanism, you must use the TDataLink and TFieldDataLink interfaces provided. The main problem with the existing interfaces are those of navigation between controls and cleanly handling invalid data entry situations. If you have ever tried to build a idiot proof interface using the existing data-aware controls you quickly start to hit nasty problems in these transition areas. The biggest transition problem is that all of the data-aware stuff fires in the DoExit code, which itself is inside the WM_SETFOCUS processing, where you have some severe restrictions on what you can and cannot do. So the Profax teams controls have to jump through some burning hoops to make sure that weird errors don't occur and confuse the users. Problem 3 Keyboard handling. The standard Windows keyboard handling is broken in one major way. That is that the WM_KEYDOWN event is first prepatched furiously because of the stupid Windows design, and then sent to the active window which must handle anything thrown at it. I see this a lot on the Delphi news groups, people furiously using TForm.KeyPreview in an attempt to handle keypress before controls eat them, and to do the VK_RETURN is a VK_TAB thing. Ian Farquharson realised that the CM_CHILDKEY behaviour that the VCL adds to the entire grubby keyboard handling process was exactly what we should be utilising instead. From Delphi 3 onwards Delphi sends a CM_CHILDKEY to the focused windows, and that window can either process the key or pass it up to its parent. That control can then process the key or pass to its
RE: [DUG]: Delphi and Crystal on NT4
Russel, > I may wrap all the reports into a D4 program using CRW32 ver 5.0.1.108. I > hope this task will be as simple as I think. It is not that difficult - just drop the VCL component on the form, set a few properties and you will be alright. Our EXE was only had 5 lines of code for the reporting part!. Do use the report distribution expert as that will put the right files into the right places. Dennis. --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
RE: Re: [DUG]: Dumb question of the day
Hi Rohit, Apologies if I sounded abrupt: I was trying to not be personal - but to point out that adequacy for any individual's needs is not a test of the VCL's competence. The point I was making, yes I'm feeling more tolerant today, is that "childish" is not a good description for the VCL. Inadequate for your purpose, frustrating etc - I can't disagree with that, nor argue with your, or anyone else's, competence. The point I was making was that the VCL does what it was intended to do, which is clearly less than some people want (which is why Max et al have had to "fix" it) - but still what was intended and, arguably, what the majority of Delphi users need. That may make it a commercial solution, rather than a technically pure one - but not a childish one. Nor was I questioning your competence - the fact that you, and your clients, set a high standard is not in question. But neither does that mean that the VCL is childish, and hence inadequate for the vast majority of us mere mortals. I understood that what you were saying was something like "I get frustrated when the VCL doesn't do what I want" - but I reacted to the emotionally charged connotation behind "childish". No offence intended. Max -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Rohit Gupta Sent: Friday, 12 March 1999 02:48 To: Multiple recipients of list delphi Subject: RE: Re: [DUG]: Dumb question of the day On 10 Mar 99 at 10:23, Max Renshaw-Fox wrote: > I guess I should take up the challenge... (OK I'm feeling combative today) Oops, did I hit a raw nerve. :-) Well, I certainly dont feel combatitive. As you know, I made no comment on the developers using Delphi, just its VCL. First, the kind of applications we write places different demands on the language and OS. Ever since Turbo Pascal 3, I have used the language to its utmost and BP7 has still not run out of steam. Even D4 has not got there yet. Your view (or indeed anyones) of their code and facilites is coloured by your own experience. My (and people such as Paul Lowman, Max Neilsen and Paul Heinz) maybe far greater in that respect. For instance we have in the past written our own multi-tasking kernel for CPM, MSDOS, TurboPascal, Microsoft Basic etc. When I look at various bits of this professional VCL, parts of it are a joke (for eg the multi-threading, we had better facilities 15 years ago). OTOH, certainly there are portions that are great. My users demand more from my windows system than they had in my dos system. I cant give it to them using standard components. Heck, I cant even do it with all the libs out there. And others (including the few named above) have gone to great pain in duplicating and fixing most of VCL). They didnt do it for fun. Regards Rohit == CFL - Computer Fanatics Ltd. 21 Barry's Point Road, AKL, New Zealand PH(649) 489-2280 FX(649) 489-2290 email [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] == --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
Re: [DUG]: Delphi and Crystal on NT4
Russel, have you tried installing crystal on the WS using the WS setup "disk" that they put together ? One of the subdirectories under CRW is just that. Many of our problems disappeared when we started using the setup in there. I dont use 16bit anymore, the 32bit directory is called WKCSETUP. On 11 Mar 99 at 14:51, Belding wrote: > I'm still looking for a solution to my NT4 WS problem. > Rohit == CFL - Computer Fanatics Ltd. 21 Barry's Point Road, AKL, New Zealand PH(649) 489-2280 FX(649) 489-2290 email [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] == --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
RE: [DUG]: Delphi and Crystal on NT4
At 10:08 11/03/99 +1300, you wrote: > >And for Russel, I would strongly recommend you use the 32-bit crystal report >engine. We still have 16-bit exes, and these call a 32-bit exe to do the >reporting. There is much you can do with the 32-bit print engine. >Furthermore, you can use the report distribution expert to setup the print >engines on your client's machine. > >I also suggest that you use the version 6 runtime as the version 5 runtime >has a few bugs. Version 5 reports are compatible with version 6 runtime. >Haven't used version 7, so I cannot comment on that. Version 6 also has a >COM interface that allows you to easily write user defined functions in >Delphi, VB, etc. > >The only thing I would like to see in the VCL that is available in the VB >control is the ability to create adhoc reports from a datasource. This will >round up a great product. > Hi Dennis Thanks for your comments. I have run RPTCHK16 and DSX diagnostic programs from Seagate/CR and I am confident I have all the DLL's loaded in the right places as far as RPTCHK16 is concerned but none of my reports get past error message "unable to load database". How to interpret the DSX comparison results is a bit of a puzzle to me, because I don't have an NT4 box on which the reports run. So I may have to install CRW an a client's NT4 box. I may wrap all the reports into a D4 program using CRW32 ver 5.0.1.108. I hope this task will be as simple as I think. Russell Russell Belding Belding Computing Devices WINLAW, BIZXWORD, ENGPER. --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
Re: [DUG]: Delphi and Crystal on NT4
At 09:13 11/03/99, you wrote: >Russel, > >I use Crystal with Delphi. I have had absolutely no help from their >support email address. I finally complained to the president after >two weeks of continual email. That produced the help that I needed. >It turns out that if you mis-fill their forms, they are just junked. etc Hello Rohit I've been using Crystal for several years and my problem with NT4 is the first one I haven't solved in a day. Seagate-Crystal Reports is great otherwise as far as I am concerned. I'm still looking for a solution to my NT4 WS problem. Regards Russell Belding Belding Computing Devices WINLAW, BIZXWORD, ENGPER. --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
RE: Re: [DUG]: Dumb question of the day
On 10 Mar 99 at 10:23, Max Renshaw-Fox wrote: > I guess I should take up the challenge... (OK I'm feeling combative today) Oops, did I hit a raw nerve. :-) Well, I certainly dont feel combatitive. As you know, I made no comment on the developers using Delphi, just its VCL. First, the kind of applications we write places different demands on the language and OS. Ever since Turbo Pascal 3, I have used the language to its utmost and BP7 has still not run out of steam. Even D4 has not got there yet. Your view (or indeed anyones) of their code and facilites is coloured by your own experience. My (and people such as Paul Lowman, Max Neilsen and Paul Heinz) maybe far greater in that respect. For instance we have in the past written our own multi-tasking kernel for CPM, MSDOS, TurboPascal, Microsoft Basic etc. When I look at various bits of this professional VCL, parts of it are a joke (for eg the multi-threading, we had better facilities 15 years ago). OTOH, certainly there are portions that are great. My users demand more from my windows system than they had in my dos system. I cant give it to them using standard components. Heck, I cant even do it with all the libs out there. And others (including the few named above) have gone to great pain in duplicating and fixing most of VCL). They didnt do it for fun. Regards Rohit == CFL - Computer Fanatics Ltd. 21 Barry's Point Road, AKL, New Zealand PH(649) 489-2280 FX(649) 489-2290 email [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] == --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
[DUG]: Delphi and Crystal
Has anyone been able to get the VCL to retrieve all report values like their propoganda dept claims ? I couldnt, the on line help says I cant either - it will happily retrieve all formulas, variables etc but not their current values. That is, there appears to be no way for the report to tell me what total it worked out for the report so that I dont have to work it out as well (and come up with a different number). We have finally used the UFL (User Defined Lib) to add support for this. Rohit == CFL - Computer Fanatics Ltd. 21 Barry's Point Road, AKL, New Zealand PH(649) 489-2280 FX(649) 489-2290 email [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] == --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
RE: [DUG]: Delphi and Crystal on NT4
On 11 Mar 99 at 10:08, Dennis Chuah wrote: > Rohit, did you remember to register the product? Yes :-) > Complaining to magazines will not make Crystal Report a better > product. Let Seagate know of your gripes and let them think how > they can improve the product / their support. Thats a joke is it ? Let me explain, for two weeks I barraged the support email address with variations of form fill-in to ensure one was good. I also barraged their other known email addresses. I also tried all their known fax numbers (after spending hours on line looking at US yellow pages) before I found one fax number that worked. And the only reason I got a reply was that it was addressed to the President with a statement saying that I wrote for various Delphi Mags and was going to take it up with them. Then I get a non-techo person emailing me to tell me what the passwords were, which is all I needed. She also promised that they were going to look into their email system. In my reply to her, I asked her to indicate receipt of my email.. Two weeks later - nada. So I email her again and asked her if she had received my reply and what they had done about their email system. The reply "you must have entered the form incorrectly, they get junked. No one else has a problem with it." Yes sure, how would they know. The bottom line is that some companies actively want to improve their support - not Crystal aka Seagate. If you have had better luck, then you have been lucky. Because this was not an isolated incident. The same sort of thing happened in Oct last year and in Aug before that. In fact, the only time I have had good support was when their support fax number used to work. Regards Rohit == CFL - Computer Fanatics Ltd. 21 Barry's Point Road, AKL, New Zealand PH(649) 489-2280 FX(649) 489-2290 email [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] == --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
RE: [DUG]: Send To... menu?
Searching in the registry for "SendTo" reveals some entries. There is a Shell API to read shortcut information. -Original Message- From: Mark Derricutt [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Thursday, March 11, 1999 1:19 PM To: Multiple recipients of list delphi Subject:Re: [DUG]: Send To... menu? Jeremy Coulter wrote: > you mean something more advanced than the sendto folder under the windows > directory ??? Well I was wondering if there any API methods of accessing this menu, other than reading the directory tree and picking up the shortcuts... This'll prolly be the way I'll have to go :) Mark --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz application/ms-tnef
RE: [DUG]: Send To... menu?
yeah, well, I will have a quick look at the code that wrtes the shell extension whenI get home, as see what I can see and let you know priv. Jeremy -Original Message- From: Mark Derricutt [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Thursday, March 11, 1999 1:19 PM To: Multiple recipients of list delphi Subject: Re: [DUG]: Send To... menu? Jeremy Coulter wrote: > you mean something more advanced than the sendto folder under the windows > directory ??? Well I was wondering if there any API methods of accessing this menu, other than reading the directory tree and picking up the shortcuts... This'll prolly be the way I'll have to go :) Mark --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
Re: [DUG]: Send To... menu?
Jeremy Coulter wrote: > you mean something more advanced than the sendto folder under the windows > directory ??? Well I was wondering if there any API methods of accessing this menu, other than reading the directory tree and picking up the shortcuts... This'll prolly be the way I'll have to go :) Mark --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
RE: [DUG]: Plugins/MS Scripting Host
If you are trying to plug in user calcs like TotalEnthalpy := MyWayFunction(,); Then there are several expression evaluating components on the DSP that you can plug in a piece of text and have the expression parsed and the result returned. Grant Black Software Developer SmartMove (NZ) Ltd Phone: +64 9 361-0219 extn 719 Fax : +64 9 361-0211 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > -Original Message- > From: Mark Derricutt [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Thursday, March 11, 1999 12:18 PM > To: Multiple recipients of list delphi > Subject: Re: [DUG]: Plugins/MS Scripting Host > > > Dennis Chuah wrote: > > > One thought. If the scripts are only used for reporting, > try using Crystal > > reports. It can do most of what you can achieve using the > basic scripts. > > Nah, they're mainly used for performaing advanced calculations to > building a summary table of imported information. For now, I think I > might just stick with the existing dll's I already have, as they work, > they're just not the most elegant way of handling the problem. > -- > - > New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz > --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
Re: [DUG]: DB Tree view
Peter wrote: > I need a (free prefered with source) data aware tree view component. Does > anyone have one? Regrettably, not free, but the Dream Tree subset of the Dream Controls (it can be purchased separately) is excellent, and very flexible. Here's an excerpt from the review I mentioned yesterday: "Like Dream Memo, Dream Tree provides components which many developers would find useful. It contains several TreeView and ListView components, with extensions such as custom drawing, multiple section, a "Treesource" architecture and database browsing (with or without a hierarchical structure). These tree components are widely used in the designer, for working with projects and several property editors, such as the menu editor. Custom Treesources can be developed for any data that has a hierarchical structure. DC supplies a large number of TreeSources that can be readily used, such as TDCMenuSource, TDCCollectionSource and TDCResViewSource. Developing a custom TreeSource for specific datastructure is easier and less work then developing a complete new (derived) TTreeView. The TDCDBTreeView component displays a database table with a tree structure. The table should have two fields that define that structure: a unique id field and a parentid field which references the id field of the record's parent). Set the DataSource property and the table will be shown in a tree-like manner. A similar result can be accomplished by using TDCTreeView combined with TDCDatasetSource." http://www.dreamcompany.com cheers, peter Peter Hyde, SPIS Ltd, Christchurch, New Zealand * TurboNote: http://TurboPress.com/tbnote.htm -- small, FREE and very handy * Print-to-Web automation http://TurboPress.com * Web design, automation and hosting specialists Find all the above and MORE at http://www.spis.co.nz --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
RE: [DUG]: Send To... menu?
you mean something more advanced than the sendto folder under the windows directory ??? if you mean more advanced, you have to write a shell dll. I have some code for this at home, and if you want it, I can sent to you after work Jeremy Coulter -Original Message- From: Mark Derricutt [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Thursday, March 11, 1999 12:11 PM To: Multiple recipients of list delphi Subject: [DUG]: Send To... menu? Does anyone know how to access and build the Win 9x SendTo menu? -and- pick out any pertinent information about the destination so that I know what to do with it? like if its an email addy make my data in an attachment ready format etc. etc. or copy to disk etc.??? --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
Re: [DUG]: DB Tree view
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > I need a (free prefered with source) data aware tree view component. Does > anyone have one? Have you looked at TeeTree from David Berneda (TeeChart)? www.teemach.com --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
Re: [DUG]: Plugins/MS Scripting Host
Dennis Chuah wrote: > One thought. If the scripts are only used for reporting, try using Crystal > reports. It can do most of what you can achieve using the basic scripts. Nah, they're mainly used for performaing advanced calculations to building a summary table of imported information. For now, I think I might just stick with the existing dll's I already have, as they work, they're just not the most elegant way of handling the problem. --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
[DUG]: Send To... menu?
Does anyone know how to access and build the Win 9x SendTo menu? -and- pick out any pertinent information about the destination so that I know what to do with it? like if its an email addy make my data in an attachment ready format etc. etc. or copy to disk etc.??? --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
[DUG]: DB Tree view
I need a (free prefered with source) data aware tree view component. Does anyone have one? --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
RE: [DUG]: Plugins/MS Scripting Host
Dennis wrote: > One thought. If the scripts are only used for reporting, try using > Crystal reports. It can do most of what you can achieve using the basic > scripts. Ditto for Shazam Report Writer -- http://www.shazamware.com, which has the advantage of being VCL, so built completely into your app if you want. Can also be a standalone EXE working against your DB. cheers, peter Peter Hyde, SPIS Ltd, Christchurch, New Zealand * TurboNote: http://TurboPress.com/tbnote.htm -- small, FREE and very handy * Print-to-Web automation http://TurboPress.com * Web design, automation and hosting specialists Find all the above and MORE at http://www.spis.co.nz --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
RE: [DUG]: Delphi and Crystal on NT4
Rohit, did you remember to register the product? Complaining to magazines will not make Crystal Report a better product. Let Seagate know of your gripes and let them think how they can improve the product / their support. We've had very good results with Crystal - we have never had to rely on Crystal support to get going. Most of our problems stem from the crap ODBC driver we use to access our database. Unfortunately there is no other way to get at the data, save writing the Crystal database drivers ourselves. And for Russel, I would strongly recommend you use the 32-bit crystal report engine. We still have 16-bit exes, and these call a 32-bit exe to do the reporting. There is much you can do with the 32-bit print engine. Furthermore, you can use the report distribution expert to setup the print engines on your client's machine. I also suggest that you use the version 6 runtime as the version 5 runtime has a few bugs. Version 5 reports are compatible with version 6 runtime. Haven't used version 7, so I cannot comment on that. Version 6 also has a COM interface that allows you to easily write user defined functions in Delphi, VB, etc. The only thing I would like to see in the VCL that is available in the VB control is the ability to create adhoc reports from a datasource. This will round up a great product. - Dennis Chuah, BE (Hons) [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Manager, Product Development Contec Data Systems Ltd. [http://www.contecds.com] tel: +64-3-3580060 ext-775 fax: +64-3-3588045 > I use Crystal with Delphi. I have had absolutely no help from their > support email address. I finally complained to the president after > two weeks of continual email. That produced the help that I needed. > It turns out that if you mis-fill their forms, they are just junked. > And the beggars insist that no one else has any problems with the > email support. There are various other issues such as > misinformation in articles in various mags and I wouldnt recommend > Crystal to anyone. > > I have already written to the editors in question asking them to stop > doing their readers a dis-service by stopping any future articles on > crystal. > > Your problem does sound like missing or mismatched DLLs. They are a > mess with different version number working with each other etc... and > they almost never complain about the mismatch of version numbers, > instead you get starnge non-sensical messages. > > On 11 Mar 99 at 7:40, Belding wrote: > > > Thanks Steve for your comments. I'm using the 16bit Dlls from CR ver > > 5.0.1.108. CR help replied within an hour to a request made at their WWW > > site with several things to try. Particularly doing a comparison of DLLs > > loaded on a PC when the reports run OK and on an NTWS4 box where the > > repoarts all fail. The tool to use for this is their DSX.EXE (16bit). > > > > The most likely cause is a missing DLL, I think. Would you agree? > > > > At worst I could strip all the reports out into a D4 program, > even if that > > meant installing two BDEs on a server. > > > > RB > > > > At 23:15 10/03/99 +1300, you wrote: > > > > > >-Original Message- > > >From: Belding <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > >To: Multiple recipients of list delphi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > >Date: Wednesday, March 10, 1999 5:26 PM > > >Subject: [DUG]: Delphi and Crystal on NT4 > > > > > > > > >>Hello team > > >> > > >>Anyone using Delphi with Crystal Reports on NT4? > > >> > > > > > >32 bit Works well. If you have 16 bit tools Seagate Software > will not help > > >you if you are a Delphi developer either. You will likely have > little joy > > >with versions prior to 5.x.108 and anything other than 32 bit > Delphi. The > > >Seagate developed VCL wrapper around crpe32.dll for v5, 6 or 7 is more > > >powerful than the COM/VB equivalents. > > > > > >>With NT 4 (sp?) the reports won't run and I get an error "cannot open > > >>database" from the Crystal DLL. > > > > > >You will have to specify the database type, database version, > > >Crystal Reports type, version, platform and the method you are using to > > >interface with the Crystal Reports Print Engine DLL i.e OCX, CRPExx.dll > > >imports, VCL (D2,3,4, CB1,3 with source) or the Automation > Server, as well > > >as the version of the BDE, ODBC, ADO, or native connection you > are trying to > > >hook up to Crystal Reports. > > > > > >Sounds like a configuration issue."Unable To Open Database > File" is an OCX > > >error which implies a Database verify may be required or the > pathname is too > > >long esp wih Access, or maybe some UNC pathing problems. If > you are using an > > >ActiveX bridge to Crystal Reports then there are a host of OS > and Microsft > > >DLL redistributables to factor in. > > > > > >> > > >>Any insight would be hugely welcome. > > >> > > > > > > > > >ftp.img.seagatesoftware.com/pub/crystal and > /pub/seagate_crystal_reports is > > >full of software samples, fixes, extensions e
RE: [DUG]: Plugins/MS Scripting Host
Mark, > > Forget the MS scripting engines - they are too much trouble for > what they > > are worth! Firstly, there is no proper debugger, and the languages > > Whats MS Script Debugger then? I've seen references to it on several > web-sites I've been looking at. I won't exactly call the script debugger a proper debugger. I installed it once, but decided it was not worth it, so now it is uninstalled! A debugger is especially important if you are expecting your clients to write the script. > > (vbscript / javascript) are rather limited. Furthermore, you > will need to > > make everything COM before you can export to the scripting > languages. Ouch! > > Whilst they may be limited, I don't really need MUCH out of the > scripts. Plus you can also get perl, and I think tcl for ActiveScript > now. If you must use scripts, I would go for the dreammaker tool, as it gives you more than just scripts. It would even let your clients design their own user interfaces! However, it too lacks a proper debugger. One thought. If the scripts are only used for reporting, try using Crystal reports. It can do most of what you can achieve using the basic scripts. - Dennis Chuah, BE (Hons) [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Manager, Product Development Contec Data Systems Ltd. [http://www.contecds.com] tel: +64-3-3580060 ext-775 fax: +64-3-3588045 --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
Re: [DUG]: Delphi and Crystal on NT4
I must say that my experience has been completely the opposite. I have found that the level of suppport for Crstal has been the best of any product I have ever used. I would frequently send requests and get responses within an hour or two, the answer was allways correct and usefull, and we never had a service contract. The product is sometimes frustrating but it's the best standalone reporting tool that I have used and I've used a few. [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Rohit Gupta) on 11/03/99 21:13:47 Please respond to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Multiple recipients of list delphi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> cc:(bcc: Peter Jones/Logistics&Information Technology/Christchurch/Foodstuffs) Subject: Re: [DUG]: Delphi and Crystal on NT4 Russel, I use Crystal with Delphi. I have had absolutely no help from their support email address. I finally complained to the president after two weeks of continual email. That produced the help that I needed. It turns out that if you mis-fill their forms, they are just junked. And the beggars insist that no one else has any problems with the email support. There are various other issues such as misinformation in articles in various mags and I wouldnt recommend Crystal to anyone. I have already written to the editors in question asking them to stop doing their readers a dis-service by stopping any future articles on crystal. --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
Re: [DUG]: Delphi and Crystal on NT4
Russel, I use Crystal with Delphi. I have had absolutely no help from their support email address. I finally complained to the president after two weeks of continual email. That produced the help that I needed. It turns out that if you mis-fill their forms, they are just junked. And the beggars insist that no one else has any problems with the email support. There are various other issues such as misinformation in articles in various mags and I wouldnt recommend Crystal to anyone. I have already written to the editors in question asking them to stop doing their readers a dis-service by stopping any future articles on crystal. Your problem does sound like missing or mismatched DLLs. They are a mess with different version number working with each other etc... and they almost never complain about the mismatch of version numbers, instead you get starnge non-sensical messages. On 11 Mar 99 at 7:40, Belding wrote: > Thanks Steve for your comments. I'm using the 16bit Dlls from CR ver > 5.0.1.108. CR help replied within an hour to a request made at their WWW > site with several things to try. Particularly doing a comparison of DLLs > loaded on a PC when the reports run OK and on an NTWS4 box where the > repoarts all fail. The tool to use for this is their DSX.EXE (16bit). > > The most likely cause is a missing DLL, I think. Would you agree? > > At worst I could strip all the reports out into a D4 program, even if that > meant installing two BDEs on a server. > > RB > > At 23:15 10/03/99 +1300, you wrote: > > > >-Original Message- > >From: Belding <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >To: Multiple recipients of list delphi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Date: Wednesday, March 10, 1999 5:26 PM > >Subject: [DUG]: Delphi and Crystal on NT4 > > > > > >>Hello team > >> > >>Anyone using Delphi with Crystal Reports on NT4? > >> > > > >32 bit Works well. If you have 16 bit tools Seagate Software will not help > >you if you are a Delphi developer either. You will likely have little joy > >with versions prior to 5.x.108 and anything other than 32 bit Delphi. The > >Seagate developed VCL wrapper around crpe32.dll for v5, 6 or 7 is more > >powerful than the COM/VB equivalents. > > > >>With NT 4 (sp?) the reports won't run and I get an error "cannot open > >>database" from the Crystal DLL. > > > >You will have to specify the database type, database version, > >Crystal Reports type, version, platform and the method you are using to > >interface with the Crystal Reports Print Engine DLL i.e OCX, CRPExx.dll > >imports, VCL (D2,3,4, CB1,3 with source) or the Automation Server, as well > >as the version of the BDE, ODBC, ADO, or native connection you are trying to > >hook up to Crystal Reports. > > > >Sounds like a configuration issue."Unable To Open Database File" is an OCX > >error which implies a Database verify may be required or the pathname is too > >long esp wih Access, or maybe some UNC pathing problems. If you are using an > >ActiveX bridge to Crystal Reports then there are a host of OS and Microsft > >DLL redistributables to factor in. > > > >> > >>Any insight would be hugely welcome. > >> > > > > > >ftp.img.seagatesoftware.com/pub/crystal and /pub/seagate_crystal_reports is > >full of software samples, fixes, extensions etc. Http access gives you some > >of this: http://www.img.seagatesoftware.com/crystalreports/techsupp/ You > >may find benefit by consulting the newsgroups hosted at www.cogniza.com or > >the alternative Crystal Report VCL at www.suprasoft.com or end user info @ > >www.crystaluser.com > > > >ftp://ftp.img.seagatesoftware.com/pub/seagate_crystal_reports/delphi/crvclap > >p.exe > >is a handy test tool written in Delphi with source. > > > >Cheers, > >Steve Cooney > >Pacific Windows > > > >--- > >New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz > > > > > > > Russell Belding > Belding Computing Devices > WINLAW, BIZXWORD, ENGPER. > > --- > New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz > Rohit == CFL - Computer Fanatics Ltd. 21 Barry's Point Road, AKL, New Zealand PH(649) 489-2280 FX(649) 489-2290 email [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] == --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
Re: [DUG]: Delphi and Crystal on NT4
While we are on the subject, is the latest version of Crystal able to use the BDE (32 bit) or must I have ODBC drivers installed - we use Interbase. --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
Re: [DUG]: Delphi and Crystal on NT4
Thanks Steve for your comments. I'm using the 16bit Dlls from CR ver 5.0.1.108. CR help replied within an hour to a request made at their WWW site with several things to try. Particularly doing a comparison of DLLs loaded on a PC when the reports run OK and on an NTWS4 box where the repoarts all fail. The tool to use for this is their DSX.EXE (16bit). The most likely cause is a missing DLL, I think. Would you agree? At worst I could strip all the reports out into a D4 program, even if that meant installing two BDEs on a server. RB At 23:15 10/03/99 +1300, you wrote: > >-Original Message- >From: Belding <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: Multiple recipients of list delphi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Date: Wednesday, March 10, 1999 5:26 PM >Subject: [DUG]: Delphi and Crystal on NT4 > > >>Hello team >> >>Anyone using Delphi with Crystal Reports on NT4? >> > >32 bit Works well. If you have 16 bit tools Seagate Software will not help >you if you are a Delphi developer either. You will likely have little joy >with versions prior to 5.x.108 and anything other than 32 bit Delphi. The >Seagate developed VCL wrapper around crpe32.dll for v5, 6 or 7 is more >powerful than the COM/VB equivalents. > >>With NT 4 (sp?) the reports won't run and I get an error "cannot open >>database" from the Crystal DLL. > >You will have to specify the database type, database version, >Crystal Reports type, version, platform and the method you are using to >interface with the Crystal Reports Print Engine DLL i.e OCX, CRPExx.dll >imports, VCL (D2,3,4, CB1,3 with source) or the Automation Server, as well >as the version of the BDE, ODBC, ADO, or native connection you are trying to >hook up to Crystal Reports. > >Sounds like a configuration issue."Unable To Open Database File" is an OCX >error which implies a Database verify may be required or the pathname is too >long esp wih Access, or maybe some UNC pathing problems. If you are using an >ActiveX bridge to Crystal Reports then there are a host of OS and Microsft >DLL redistributables to factor in. > >> >>Any insight would be hugely welcome. >> > > >ftp.img.seagatesoftware.com/pub/crystal and /pub/seagate_crystal_reports is >full of software samples, fixes, extensions etc. Http access gives you some >of this: http://www.img.seagatesoftware.com/crystalreports/techsupp/ You >may find benefit by consulting the newsgroups hosted at www.cogniza.com or >the alternative Crystal Report VCL at www.suprasoft.com or end user info @ >www.crystaluser.com > >ftp://ftp.img.seagatesoftware.com/pub/seagate_crystal_reports/delphi/crvclap >p.exe >is a handy test tool written in Delphi with source. > >Cheers, >Steve Cooney >Pacific Windows > >--- >New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz > > > Russell Belding Belding Computing Devices WINLAW, BIZXWORD, ENGPER. --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
Re: [DUG]: Delphi and Crystal on NT4
-Original Message- From: Belding <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Multiple recipients of list delphi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Wednesday, March 10, 1999 5:26 PM Subject: [DUG]: Delphi and Crystal on NT4 >Hello team > >Anyone using Delphi with Crystal Reports on NT4? > 32 bit Works well. If you have 16 bit tools Seagate Software will not help you if you are a Delphi developer either. You will likely have little joy with versions prior to 5.x.108 and anything other than 32 bit Delphi. The Seagate developed VCL wrapper around crpe32.dll for v5, 6 or 7 is more powerful than the COM/VB equivalents. >With NT 4 (sp?) the reports won't run and I get an error "cannot open >database" from the Crystal DLL. You will have to specify the database type, database version, Crystal Reports type, version, platform and the method you are using to interface with the Crystal Reports Print Engine DLL i.e OCX, CRPExx.dll imports, VCL (D2,3,4, CB1,3 with source) or the Automation Server, as well as the version of the BDE, ODBC, ADO, or native connection you are trying to hook up to Crystal Reports. Sounds like a configuration issue."Unable To Open Database File" is an OCX error which implies a Database verify may be required or the pathname is too long esp wih Access, or maybe some UNC pathing problems. If you are using an ActiveX bridge to Crystal Reports then there are a host of OS and Microsft DLL redistributables to factor in. > >Any insight would be hugely welcome. > ftp.img.seagatesoftware.com/pub/crystal and /pub/seagate_crystal_reports is full of software samples, fixes, extensions etc. Http access gives you some of this: http://www.img.seagatesoftware.com/crystalreports/techsupp/ You may find benefit by consulting the newsgroups hosted at www.cogniza.com or the alternative Crystal Report VCL at www.suprasoft.com or end user info @ www.crystaluser.com ftp://ftp.img.seagatesoftware.com/pub/seagate_crystal_reports/delphi/crvclap p.exe is a handy test tool written in Delphi with source. Cheers, Steve Cooney Pacific Windows --- New Zealand Delphi Users group - Delphi List - [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: http://www.delphi.org.nz
