Latest News from Hoyt Nelson

BBrowse 2.14 by the PowerBuilder Developer's Resource

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EDT

PowerBuilder provides an object browser - the utility accessed via the "Cubes with a pair of eyeglasses" icon on the PowerBar menu. If you haven't tried the PB browser, you should. Among other things, it eliminates the problem of identifying which PBL contains the object of interest. Click a tab to select an object type and you're immediately presented with a list of the current application's objects of that type. Right-click an object, select Edit from the popup menu and PB opens the object in the relevant painter. It's a fast way to navigate your PB application.

Using Properties to Make Your PowerBuilder Application More Robust

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 13:45:00 EST

Like Java and C# programmers, PowerBuilder developers can create properties via the undocumented keyword indirect. Properties look like ordinary variables, only their value isn't accessed directly. When you declare a variable using indirect, you have to specify a function that's called when the variable is assigned (a setter) and another function that's called when the variable's value is returned (a getter).

Overriding the PowerBuilder MessageBox() Function

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 19:45:00 EST

A typical PowerBuilder application has a few zillion MessageBox() calls. This article explains how you can roll your own MessageBox() function, replacing the native PowerBuilder MB() function with your code.

Fixing Ugly Grid Borders

Fri, 03 Oct 2003 14:00:00 EDT

It's an aesthetic thing. When you click on a grid DataWindow label and change an attribute, it acquires what are formally termed UGBs - Ugly Grid Borders.

PBSearch v3.1 by TopWiz Software

Sun, 01 Dec 2002 00:00:00 EST

Roland Smith's PBSearch utility is the tool to turn to when you need to find a string in your PowerBuilder application. For example, if you have an error message from a bug report, it takes PBSearch only a few seconds to find all the instances of that message. Similarly, if you want to see usage examples for a given function, PBSearch will quickly find and show you the places where that function is called in your application.

Fixing Ugly Grid Borders

Tue, 01 Oct 2002 00:00:00 EDT

It's an aesthetic thing. When you click on a grid DataWindow label and change an attribute, it acquires what are formally termed UGBs - Ugly Grid Borders.

PBSearch v3.1 by TopWiz Software

Sat, 01 Dec 2001 00:00:00 EST

Popup Debug Menu Part 2

Sun, 01 Apr 2001 00:00:00 EST

In my previous article (PBDJ, Vol. 8, issue 2), I demonstrated the Object Name feature of the debug popup menu. The popup menu is a developer's tool invoked by holding down a magic key as you right-click a window or control. The initial and most useful debug menu item is Object Name, which you can use to identify any object in your PowerBuilder application as you run the application. Selecting Object Name as you right-click a DataWindow produces output like that shown in Figure 1.

Managing PowerBuilder Source

Thu, 01 Mar 2001 00:00:00 EST

How does your organization manage its PowerBuilder source? Your application has several PBLs containing several hundred objects. Do you use the native PowerBuilder check-in/checkout? Do you employ a 'real' revision control system, such as Microsoft's Visual SourceSafe?

A Pop-Up Debug for Faster, Better Coding

Thu, 01 Feb 2001 00:00:00 EST

Over the years we've adopted techniques that help us develop our PowerBuilder applications faster and with fewer bugs. This article describes my favorite bag of tricks, the pop-up debug menu (see Figure 1).

Writting Functions For All Data Window-ish Types

Mon, 01 Jan 2001 00:00:00 EST

What's the word for a set of objects: DataWindows, DataStores, or DataWindowChilds? If there is a word, I don't know it. Objects don't have any relationship in the PowerBuilder object hierarchy, so that doesn't help.Let's call them DataObjects...oops, that's taken! Lacking any other word, let's stipulate that the term DataWidgets refers to these various DataWindow-ish types.

Using Overloaded Functions to Determine Object Types

Mon, 01 May 2000 00:00:00 EDT

Overloading allows two or more functions to have the same name and return type, if their signature is different. The function signature is defined by its number and types of arguments. When you call an overloaded function, PowerBuilder decides which version of the function to call based on the function signature. This can be exploited to determine an object's type at runtime. This article presents a couple of practical applications of this technique, and describes a third situation where a different technique is required.

Popup Debug Menu Part 2

Sat, 01 Apr 2000 00:00:00 EST

PBBrowse 2.14 by the PowerBuilder Developer's Resource

Sat, 01 Apr 2000 00:00:00 EST

PowerBuilder provides an object browser - the utility accessed via the 'Cubes with a pair of eyeglasses' icon on the PowerBar menu. If you haven't tried the PB browser, you should. Among other things, it eliminates the problem of identifying which PBL contains the object of interest. Click a tab to select an object type and you're immediately presented with a list of the current application's objects of that type. Right-click an object, select Edit from the popup menu and PB opens the object in the relevant painter. It's a fast way to navigate your PB application.

Managing PowerBuilder Source

Wed, 01 Mar 2000 00:00:00 EST

A Pop-Up Debug for Faster, Better Coding

Tue, 01 Feb 2000 00:00:00 EST

Writting Functions For All Data Window-ish Types

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 EST

Using Overloaded Functions to Determine Object Types

Sat, 01 May 1999 00:00:00 EDT