WebSmart ILE 9.0 is available for download at our public site or via myBCDSoftware.com.
The most requested feature in this new version of WebSmart is the ability to create .pdf files. You can use static text and database file fields in your code to generate a PDF that your users can view, print or save. You can also make the PDF look similar to an HTML page if you want your users to view the data before accessing it as a PDF. Another way you can use this feature is to generate a PDF and attach it to emails you send with the sendmailex function which would be a good way to send invoices.
An example on how to create a PDF using the piping, streamfile and runcmd functions as well as XML code will soon be posted to the code samples page.
Read more…
This is a followup to our October 19, 2011 Minimum OS/400 Release Level Notification for BCD products.
As of later this month V5R4 will be the minimum OS/400 release level supported by most BCD product releases as well as any software updates we create.
The following versions of our products are the last releases that can be installed on OS/400 V5r3:
- WebSmart ILE 9.0
- WebSmart PHP 4.0
- Clover 3.0
- Presto 3.8
- Catapult 7.71
- Nexus 4.03
- ProGen Plus 9.6
- Spool-Explorer/400 4.52
- File-Flash Plus 4.5
- DbGen 2.5
- Docu-Mint 6.6
If you have any questions or concerns please contact Technical Support.
Categories: Catapult, Clover, DBGen, Docu-Mint, EZ-Pickin's, File-Flash Plus, Nexus Portal, Presto, ProGen Plus, Spool Explorer, WebSmart, WebSmart PHP Tags:
We have published a new version of the WebSmart 8.90 IDE (7635-11802) to address a reported problem where a user profile whose job description does not produce a job log will send the IDE into an infinite loop if there is a compile failure.
You can download this update from the WebSmart Updates page.
Give us a call if you have any questions!
We have published update 2 for WebSmart 8.9. This update addresses a reported issue where the mimetype function was failing in fixed-format programs.
You can download update W8900002P from the WebSmart Updates page.
Give us a call if you have any questions!
As part of our ongoing development strategy and planning efforts here at BCD we are scheduling future internal IBM i system upgrades. This will affect the minimum OS/400 release level supported by BCD products. Our product line currently requires a minimum OS/400 release level of V5R3. As of January 1, 2012 V5R4 will be the minimum OS/400 release level supported by most BCD products and updates released after that date.
As our products continue to evolve and new products are introduced it is generally our intention to keep in step with IBM OS/400 release levels, while also giving our clients enough time to plan for this change. This allows us to develop using current technology and to make this technology available to you in our product family.
IBM discontinued support for V5R3 on April 30, 2009.
If you have any questions or concerns please contact Technical Support.
Categories: Catapult, Clover, DBGen, Docu-Mint, EZ-Pickin's, File-Flash Plus, Nexus Portal, Presto, ProGen Plus, Spool Explorer, WebSmart, WebSmart PHP Tags:
For those of you using WebSmart or Clover to access MySQL on IBM i you may have been concerned about Oracle’s announcement earlier this year that they would no longer support MySQL on IBM i. Although we believe this would have had a minimal short term impact we are very pleased by Zend Technologies’ recent announcement of a December release of an IBM i-specific version of the MySQL database that they will develop, maintain and support.
The Zend Server 5.5 for IBM i release will include Zend DBi, which has been described as a ‘drop in replacement’ for MySQL. This is good news for IBM i shops who deploy pre-packaged or already develop PHP and MySQL applications.
Since last December, when Oracle announced plans to drop support for MySQL on many operating systems including i5/OS, IBM i PHP developers have been left wondering who, if anyone, will maintain the database. The MySQL project is open source, so developers could download and create binaries, but that’s much easier said than done! With this announcement Zend has moved into this space with the upcoming release of Zend DBi.
Changes that Zend makes to the code base will be posted back to the MySQL open source project. Zend has no immediate plans to make the Zend DBi project open source though. The initial release of Zend DBi will be functionally identical to the current release of MySQL shipped with Zend Server 5.1. Moving forward there is the potential for some divergence as the code base is maintained and features added. We’ll be keeping an eye on these developments.
WebSmart and Clover clients can now have a greater degree of confidence that the classic PHP and iAMP stack will be supported on IBM i although we may have to rename the stack iADP.
More good news is that IBM will continue to support the IBMDB2i storage engine, which enables MySQL data to be stored in DB2/400 and accessed using traditional DB2 functions. For those of you interested in IBMDB2i we’ve developed a free utility called DB2iToMySQL to help you create MYSQL tables with that engine.
If you weren’t aware that you can create web reports over MySQL with Clover Query that’s probably because we just released a new version with that feature last week. You can read more details on the Clover new features page.
Read the full Zend DBi announcement in IT Jungle >>
Some of the features and fixes are:
New Features
- PHP debugger; same feature set as the ILE debugger
- Clover job scheduler
- Clover can access non-iSeries databases
- PHP license keys: site license, limited seat license, stand-alone (no iSeries needed)
- PHP now has a ‘getparm’ function (actually called xl_get_parameter).
- Formatting changes to the PHP templates to make them easier to read
- New PML functions for hashing
- New PML function ‘addheader’; write any http header you want
- Support for calculated fields in SQL templates
- Support for creating record filter in some PHP templates
Enhancements
- Download generator files upon first defining a system (for new installs)
- An optional ‘FOR FETCH ONLY’ clause can be appended to Clover queries
- XSS protection code added to the PHP templates
- Reduce the number of messages appear after a failed compile
- Improved the default toolbar positioning
- Updated the trial banner
- User-customizable extensions; if you want your .zork files to be color coded as PHP (for example)
- Database reconciliation now works with JDBC as well as PHWs
- FTP now supports ascii transmission
- setcookie/dltcookie performance improvements
Fixes
- TIMExxx functions now work correctly
- Removed an incorrect “Object names cannot be blank” message box
- PHP validation improvement for quoted strings
- SQL utility should work better when varying length fields are involved
- Visual HTML editor plays nice with JavaScript
- Update the ‘Info’ tab
- Fix memory leak in XML code
- Made the html more consistent with the declared doctype
The new version is available from our client portal myBCDSoftware or from our public site.
When running the posturl command a response is sent to the web server. This response includes both the post data and the http headers.
At times it is necessary to view and debug what is sent in the header since some web servers require specialized headers.
If you need to figure out what is being returned in the header of a request when running posturl follow these steps:
- Add a folder named ‘zztemp’ to the root directory in your IFS.
- Run your webservice.
- Look for the file httpapi_debug.log in zztemp. It will contain the last posturl that was run.
This is a back door debugging tool added by the developers.
If you are new to WebSmart or need a refresher on a specific topic be sure to register for our upcoming 2 hour online WebSmart PHP and ILE training sessions that start in May and June. It’s convenient and the price is great, and it’s even better if you enroll by April 29th to take advantage of our $99 promo (regular price is $149).
This is a great way to speed up the learning curve. The courses are conducted online in real-time with an instructor that you can interact with and ask questions. You will be given hands-on lab material that you can complete at your convenience after each course.
View courses or register now.