Southwest Xbase++ Sessions

Presenter: Till Warweg
Level: Beginner
When: Friday, October 19, 11:30 - 12:45, Arizona (R1)
Saturday, October 20, 11:30 - 12:45, Arizona (R2)

In this presentation, you will learn how HTML (or more specifically, HTML5 and CSS) can be used to create rich application user interfaces. The new semantic tags in HTML5 make creating data-driven UIs a snap without the need to learn Windows GUI-programming. Attendees will learn how to make use of this technology in the context of their existing Xbase++ applications to give them an outstanding look-and-feel. Of course, web developers are welcome too, as many of the techniques presented can also be applied to web application development using CXP!

You will learn:

• The role of HTML5 and CSS in modern web applications
• About semantic tags and other new features in HTML5
• About CSS as a mechanism for abstracting the representation/UI from the actual data
• How to bind your declarative HTML code with your data using Knockout.JS
• How to add interactivity using JQuery and make the UI fluid

Presenter: Jim Graham
Level: Beginner
When: Sunday, October 21, 10:00 - 11:15, Arizona

A case study of shifting the delivering of a Call Center Solution to a "Hosted" model. The presentation will include the technical and financial details of delivering a hardware and software solution for customers to run in their office versus offering the same solution as a hosted subscription service. Different financial models will be presented illustrating the differences between selling a hard software and hardware solution versus selling a cloud based solution.

You will learn:

• How a company's business model has changed as a result of "cloud computing"
• What "software as a service" means for your existing application

Presenter: Andreas Herdt
Level: Beginner
When: Friday, October 19, 11:30 - 12:45, Bisbee (R1)
Saturday, October 20, 2:00 - 3:15, Bisbee (R2)

This session looks at various topics related to object-oriented programming from a practical, real-world perspective. By examining general design and programming patterns, attendees learn how to get the most out of the features available in an object-oriented language such as Xbase++ or Visual FoxPro. What is an interface and a contract, what is the difference between implementation and interface, and how do these relate to the DEFERRED keyword? What is the benefit of creating ACCESS/ASSIGN (set/get) methods? What is the effect on code robustness and security when using the EXPORTED keyword? These questions (and more!) will be answered in this session.

You will learn:

• Use-cases and design patterns for robust application design
• The implications and proper usage of interfaces and contracts
• The benefits of using ACCESS/ASSIGN methods (set/get) methods in a class
• Best practices for defining visibility for methods and member variables
• Coding style naming conventions

Presenter: Roger Donnay
Level: Intermediate
When: Saturday, October 20, 8:30 - 9:45, Bisbee (R1)
Saturday, October 20, 5:15 - 6:30, Bisbee (R2)

Xbase++ 1.9 and 2.0 has opened up some exciting new possibilities for incorporating new methods of control over the visual aspects of an application. The default behavior of Xbase++ is to allow objects such as XbpPushButton() to by drawn the operating system. This limits the visual aspects to only those features provided by the OS and gives the programmer very little control over the look of the application.

Owner-drawing gives the programmer the option of drawing all or portions of the object using the Xbase++ graphics engine.

Also included in this session are several complete new classes with source code and sample programs that are ready to be used in your Xbase++ programs with no other software required.

The new pushbutton class provides feature such as radiused corners, gradient options multiple bitmaps, icons and caption strings, a drop-down menu option and much more.

You will learn:

• Basics of owner-drawing
• The Xbase Parts classes that support owner-drawing
• The Xbase++ graphics engine
• The Draw() method
• How to improve the look of browses with owner-drawing

Prerequisites: Basic Xbase++ knowledge

Presenter: Xbase++ core team
Level: Beginner
When: Sunday, October 21, 11:30 - 12:45, Arizona

This session is intended to give the participants an opportunity to voice their technical concerns, questions and ideas with Alaska Software. No formal presentation will be given. Instead, this session will be about the issues YOU deem important!

You will learn:

• What the Alaska people think about the questions and ideas that you feel are important, of course from a pure technical point of view.

Presenter: Clayton Jones
Level: Beginner
When: Friday, October 19, 5:15 - 6:30, Arizona (R1)
Sunday, October 21, 8:30 - 9:45, Bisbee (R2)

Behavior control is a primary challenge when designing data entry forms because each window is different depending on what components are on the form, how events are handled, where focus is placed, and whether focus is kept in one place or allowed to change.

This session examines these issues by presenting a number of dialog windows, from simple to complex, each requiring a very different approach. Each window will be demonstrated, with a look under the hood at the source code and the design principles used.

You will learn:

• Where to place focus, and whether it should remain there
• Advantages of central Keyhandler Functions
• Differences with Child and Modal windows
• How to create windows with multiple modes of behavior
• How to create windows with browse objects
• How to design for keyboard and mouse events
• When to use event loops
• Uses for multi-threading

Presenter: Steffen F. Pirsig
Level: Intermediate
When: Friday, October 19, 10:00 - 11:15, Arizona

This presentation dives into the Universal SQL feature available with Xbase++ 2.0. Steffen outlines the advantages of converting existing logic to SQL, and how SQL can make the daily programming tasks easier and less error-prone. With Universal SQL, the declarative approach of query programming is extended to the programming language and data types, such as arrays or objects. Programming chores like searching for individual items in an array, merging arrays or calculating the intersection of two arrays of objects can now be solved with a single-line statement! With Universal SQL, the power of the relational theory becomes an integral part of the Xbase++ runtime, effectively allowing developers to write less code, make fewer mistakes and hence become instantly more productive.

You will learn:

• How the move to SQL affects performance
• The benefits of using SQL queries with objects and arrays
• How SQL impacts the programming effort and program maintenance
• When to use ISAM, when to use SQL and why is it a good idea to mix!

Prerequisites: Basic Xbase++ programming skills, basic knowledge about SQL