Millard F. Brown

PowerBuilder includes a powerful set of foundation classes to speed development. These classes are collectively known as the PowerBuilder Foundation Classes, or PFC. Part 1 of this article provides an introduction to PFC and shows how to use it. For the experienced PFC developer, I'll outline the more recent changes and additions to PFC in Part 2. This article is not intended as a complete professional reference for PFC - that could be (and is) the subject of an entire book on its own. Nor is it intended as a tutorial, although there are code samples to show you how to use some of the features. What you'll find here is an overview of the architecture, objects, and services of PFC so that you can envision how to use PFC to make your applications more rich, powerful, and user-friendly. Getting Started with the PFC What Is PFC? PFC is a class library of precoded objects ... (more)

PFC Quickstart

PowerBuilder includes a powerful set of foundation classes to speed development. These classes are collectively known as the PowerBuilder Foundation Classes, or PFC. In Part 1 (Vol. 11, issue 9) I provided an introduction to PFC and demonstrated how to use it. Part 2 outlines the more recent changes and additions to PFC. PFC Quickstart This section contains some scripts that you can paste into your PFE objects to get a jump start on PFC programming. The Wizsrce Scripts As you saw in the section on the PFC Start Wizard in Part 1, Sybase has provided a few script files that you can... (more)

Have a Good "4"

Have a good one." We hear this expression often these days. I find myself wondering what exactly it means. Have a good...what? But think about it. What it really means is that the speaker is unwilling to make a commitment. Someone might be offended or annoyed if you said something that actually contained any meaning. Remember "Have a nice day"? That expression actually carries some small amount of content. But pretty soon anyone using it was ridiculed and berated for being trivial. Commitment, even on a modest level, can sometimes be dangerous. Commitment takes courage. With EAS... (more)

Have a Good "4"

Have a good one." We hear this expression often these days. I find myself wondering what exactly it means. Have a good...what? But think about it. What it really means is that the speaker is unwilling to make a commitment. Someone might be offended or annoyed if you said something that actually contained any meaning. Remember "Have a nice day"? That expression actually carries some small amount of content. But pretty soon anyone using it was ridiculed and berated for being trivial. Commitment, even on a modest level, can sometimes be dangerous. Commitment takes courage. With EAS... (more)

ODBC

Those who use PowerBuilder appreciate its productivity, its rich user interface, and its capable implementation of object orientation. But database connectivity is the cornerstone of PowerBuilder's power. PowerBuilder incorporates native drivers for several popular DBMSs, including Informix, Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise, and Oracle. If the only things that were delivered with PowerBuilder were these native interfaces, PowerBuilder's ability to connect to many useful and popular databases would be somewhat limited. Fortunately, in addition to the native drivers, PowerBuilder ... (more)