Article Preview

NEWS

News

Issue: 12.1 (January/February 2014)
Article Description: No description available.
Article Length (in bytes): 25,896
Starting Page Number: 6
Article Number: 12101
Related Web Link(s):

http://great-white-software.com/rblibrary/
http://www.bkeeney.com/allproducts/pdf-classes/
http://www.monkeybreadsoftware.de/realbasic/plugins.shtml
http://www.ttpsoftware.com/
http://www.xojo.com/download
http://everwebapp.com/
http://www.xojo.com/xdc/sessions.php
http://www.xojo.com/xdc
http://www.monkeybreadsoftware.de/realbasic/WebStarterKit/
http://www.1701software.com
http://delaneyrm.com/fpPlugin.html
http://www.ohanaware.com/appwrapper/
http://thezaz.com/blog/2013/08/announcing_zirconkit_for_xojo.html

Full text of article...

Two New Xojo Books Published

Eugene Dakin has released two new Xojo books, I Wish I Knew How To... Program XML with Xojo in Windows and I Wish I Knew How to... Program Xojo Desktop and SQLite.

The fist book is over 200 pages and has 50 example programs which cover 15 chapters on XML such as Unwritten rules, Comments, Child sections, XML Documents, Reading, Editing, Writing, XQL (XML Query Language), XSLT, CData, Schema, SOAP, and more. There's also info on connecting databases, displaying data in multiple formats, making the information tailored to the reader, adding security through schemas and more. With Xojo's ability to work on multiple operating systems, using XML adds to the already diverse Xojo

environment.

The second book is over 300 pages, greater than 70 example programs which cover over 20 chapters explaining topics such as Joins, Thread and Progress Bar, Transaction, Alias, Encryption/Decryption, CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete), Reports, and much more.

Product: I Wish I Knew How To... Program XML with Xojo in Windows and I Wish I Knew How to... Program Xojo Desktop and SQLite books

Platforms: All

Price: $8.99

Website: http://great-white-software.com/rblibrary/

BKeeney Software Inc. Acquires Fireye PDF Classes for Xojo

BKeeney Software Inc. has acquired the Fireye PDF classes for Xojo and Real Studio. These PDF classes represent years of quality work and fill a need in the Xojo developer community in regards to the creation of PDF documents. BKeeney Software will spend some time modernizing the classes to conform with the new requirements for Cocoa and rerelease for sale once the work is completed. These PDF classes will also enhance our Xojo-related developer products, particularly Formatted Text Control and BKeeney Shorts.

Asher Dunn, the original developer of the Fireye PDF classes said, "I am happy that my work was highly valued by the community. I think Bob and his staff at BKeeney Software will do a great job maintaining and enhancing the PDF classes for years to come."

All existing customers will receive version 2 for free. An email will be sent to all registered users with instructions on how to upgrade to the BKeeney version. Once a new version is released existing customers will be able to upgrade at a discounted price. At this point, pricing has not been determined.

Product: FireEye PDF classes

Platforms: All

Price: N/A

Website: http://www.bkeeney.com/allproducts/pdf-classes/

MBS Plugins 13.5 Released

Monkeybread Software releases version 13.5 of the MBS plug-in for Xojo and Real Studio. The MBS plug-in comprises a collection of several plug-in parts which extend the Xojo development environment with 1,900 classes featuring over 50,000 documented functions. Our plugins support all three platforms Mac OS X, Windows and Linux with all project types desktop, web and console.

Some of the highlights on the 13.5 update:

You can now add barcode support to your application. Using the zint library we can create barcodes in a variety of formats. And using the zxing library we can recognize barcodes in several formats automatically. Both work for 1D and 2D barcodes including EAN, UPC and QRCode. For drawing barcodes into PDF, we have methods to draw them as vector graphics instead of bitmaps.

Our new OpenSSL encryption CipherMBS class allows you to encrypt the same way as the openssl command line tool. This allows you to use the same padding and encryption options as in other development environments. Same for hashes with the new DigestMBS class.

For Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks we have new classes and methods. You can read/write tags for folderitems, use the media library browser panel and enjoy new Core Image filters. The NSTimerMBS and NSUserNotificationMBS classes have been updated with new methods. The Core Location manager got new events and for the in-app-purchases you can use the SKReceiptRefreshRequestMBS class to test.

If you use HTMLViewer with WebKit on Linux applications, you can now use our LinuxWebKit classes to control the webviewer. For example you can check cookies or the history.

Use the iTunesLibraryMBS class to access the local iTunes library on Mac OS X with iTunes 11. Also check access permissions using our ACL* classes on Mac. Our plugins have been updated to relay less on QuickTime and other frameworks.

If you use RTF data, please check our StyledText.RTFDataMBS property, an improved replacement for the official RTFData property. Also you can now directly use Apple's RTF methods on Textarea on Mac OS X.

Use WindowsQOSMBS class on Windows for network flow control. For Windows we also improved our Zip file handling, CURL SSL support and HTMLViewer extensions.

DynaPDF has been updated to version 3.0.31.80, SQLAPI to version 4.1.2 and for EyeOne we now support i1Pro SDK 4.1.2. GraphicsMagick now includes JPEG 2000 support for all platforms.

The plug-ins require Real Studio 2006r4 or newer. Also required are 1 GB hard disc space and around 512 MB of RAM in addition to the requirements of Real Studio and your operation system itself. While all plug-in parts compile on Mac OS X (universal), Linux and Windows, each function may depend on additional system requirements to work successfully.

Plugin licenses are available for components or for the complete collection. If you buy a current license, you will get free updates for one year. After that year, you can update your license to cover an additional year.

Product: MBS Xojo and Real Studio plugins 13.5

Platforms: All

Price: $29-$299

Website: http://www.monkeybreadsoftware.de/realbasic/plugins.shtml

TaskTime4 v5.1.2

TaskTime4 is a reliable and versatile time tracking and billing solution.

With TaskTime4 you can track any number of clients and any number of projects for each client. Create invoices that can be emailed, printed, and saved to disk. Since you can have more than one project open at a time it is easy to switch between projects on the fly. Tracking expenses has never been easier.

Features Include:

• Create clear, attractive, customized invoices and send with Apple Mail or Entourage

  Include fixed rate items

  Keep project specific notes of any length and detail.

  Apply individual hourly rates to specific sessions

  Set a separate currency symbol on a project-by-project basis or globally.

  Track the status of each project.

  Use the Project Manager to add, delete, rename, merge, and store projects.

  Use the Client Manager to add, delete, and edit clients. (Import clients from Mail contacts)

  Link documents, applications, folders, and web/email addresses to any project.

  Minimize project windows to a small, floating timer controller window.

  Set due dates for projects and sync with iCal

  Create a variety of reports

  Sync data between computers using DropBox

  Export data in comma or tab separated format.

  Backup data from within the program

  Merge data from team members into one project for billing.

Product: TaskTime4 v5.1.2

Platforms: Mac

Price: $20

Website: http://www.ttpsoftware.com/

Xojo 2013 Release 4.1 Now Available

Xojo 2013 Release 4 contains over 150 improvements, 14 changes and 7 new features, including new framework Crypto functions, new examples and improved debugger functionality to allow for easier debugging of threaded code.

Xojo 2013 Release 4 Features:

• Added an ID to identify threads in the debugger

  Canvas and ContainerControls now have a Transparent property

  Added new RSA Crypto functions

  Added new examples

  Directly access Language Reference for language controls

  Updated to SQLite 3.7.17

  Enhanced web app logging

Product: Xojo 2013 Release 4.1

Platforms: All

Price: Free IDE (deployment of built applications requires a one-time fee, $100-$995, depending on target)

Website: http://www.xojo.com/download

BKeeney Training Day 2014

BKeeney Software Inc. is proud to announce their second annual training day to be held before the annual Xojo Developers Conference (XDC). They'll be holding it in the same location, the Monte Carol Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada on March 25 (the day before the conference starts).

The morning session is devoted to desktop applications and the challenges of Xojo cross-platform applications. The afternoon session is all about web applications and the challenges and solutions to building and deploying them. The BKeeney entire development staff will be there, so you can ask those really hard questions.

Sessions will be recorded so attendees and subscribers to BKeeney Xojo Training videos can view them long after the conference is over. Speaking of training subscribers, all attendees of the training day will receive a complementary three-month subscription to the BKeeney library of 100+ videos.

Advanced registration is good through February 14th, 2014 and after that registration is full price.

Product: BKeeney Training Day 2014

Platforms: All

Price: $350-$450

Website: https://www.bkeeney.com/xojo-training-2014/

RAGE Software Releases EverWeb

Toronto-based RAGE Software today introduces EverWeb, its fully featured website designer for Macintosh. EverWeb builds on the ease of use of Apple's discontinued iWeb website builder. EverWeb brings the familiar iWeb interface with new, modern features such as mobile websites, drop down menus, built in search engine optimization, image slideshows and much more. Using modern HTML5 and CSS3, EverWeb websites are faster, leaner and compatible with all major desktop and mobile web browsers.

Since Apple announced that iWeb would no longer be developed, users have been looking for something as easy to use with new features they need to build modern websites. EverWeb takes all the technical challenges out of designing a website, publishing it online, and attracting new visitors. Using modern HTML5 and CSS3, EverWeb websites are faster, leaner and compatible with all major desktop and mobile web browsers.

With EverWeb, you can use one of the professionally designed templates or start a website completely from scratch. Built in widgets let you add design shapes, social media integration, image galleries, image slideshows, contact forms and more. The built-in HTML Snippet widget lets users add virtually anything to their EverWeb site.

EverWeb comes in two versions. A standalone version that can be used with any web hosting service and costs $79.95 USD. EverWeb can also be purchased with one-click publishing that includes the software, web hosting, and custom email addresses. EverWeb + One-click publishing starts at $99.95 USD.

Product:

Platforms: All

Price: $80-$100

Website: http://everwebapp.com/

2014 Xojo Developer Conference Offers 38 Sessions, Networking Opportunities and Gaming Contest

Xojo, Inc., makers of Xojo, a multi-platform development tool for the desktop and the web/web-mobile, is hosting the 2014 Xojo Developer Conference (XDC) in Las Vegas, March 26-28, 2014 at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino. XDC expands this year with 38 technical sessions presented by the company's development staff and leading users from around the world. In addition to a keynote address from Founder and CEO Geoff Perlman, XDC will include numerous opportunities for attendees to interface with the Xojo engineers themselves, network with other Xojo users from the international community, and participate in a gaming code battle.

"XDC is the best place for Xojo developers to hone their programming skills, learn from the experts and meet other Xojo developers from all over the world. Last year at XDC we had attendees from 15 countries and this conference promises to be even larger," commented Geoff Perlman, Xojo, Inc. Founder and CEO. "We believe that the education and networking opportunities offered are invaluable to our users, and our technical staff benefits tremendously from the in-person interaction with our users."

XDC 2014 features sessions on best practices, special interests and other technical issues, with content for every level of Xojo developer. Educational sessions will cover topics like Xojo iOS, database design, user interface design, debugging techniques, writing secure apps, and more. To view a complete list of sessions please visit the XDC website at http://www.xojo.com/xdc/sessions.php.

Conference pricing:

* Advanced Registration Price, 12/1/2013 - 2/14/2014: $850

* Late Registration Price, 2/15/2014 - 3/26/2014: $950

The Monte Carlo Resort and Casino is offering XDC 2014 attendees a special hotel room rate of $65/night during the conference.

Product: 2014 Xojo Developer Conference

Platforms: All

Price: $750-$950

Website: http://www.xojo.com/xdc

MBS Xojo Web Starter Kit Reaches 1.1

The MBS Xojo (Real Studio) Web Starter Kit is a starting point for building your Web Applications with Real Studio or Xojo. Version 1.1 is a free update for existing users.

Especially our new Web Signature Kit allows you to easily capture signatures on a tablet device with your web application. You can of course simply use it as a drawing area, too.

New in Version 1.1:

* Added Web Signature Kit project.

* Commented out Print commands. They are useful in standalone, but cause problems in cgi mode.

* Improved code to handle database. Now the app launches when no database is found.

* Added WebLoadBalancing example code

* Added System Information page.

Existing features of our Web Starter Kit:

* Database Support including REALSQLDatabase, MySQLCommunityServer, CubeSQLServer and SQLDatabaseMBS. Other databases can be added easily.

* Simple User Management for Admins and normal users.

* Login Panel.

* Auto login, so people don't need to login each time.

* Collects Exceptions and JavaScript Errors in database and displays them to Admin..

* Allows logging to text file and database and displaying them.

* SQL Console with download of database and query result as CSV file.

* Session management for admin to see what users do..

* Chat Window.

* Creates Backup of database.

* Object browser and memory statistics.

* Messages for Admins to/from users.

* File Browser.

* Shows how to cache images/files to save memory.

* and much more...

You can use the Kit as a foundation of your new web application or simply copy the parts you need to your own web application. This Kit is the result of putting together all the goodies we developed in the last two years for various web applications. Things we believe everyone could need in their own solution. And of course in the next few years we will add more functions depending on user requests.

The Web Starter Kit requires Real Studio 2012 or newer and a license of the MBS Xojo (Real Studio) Plugins. The Kit uses a couple of plugins.

Product: MBS Real Studio Web Starter Kit

Platforms: All

Price: $149

Website: http://www.monkeybreadsoftware.de/realbasic/WebStarterKit/

Xojo Web Application Hosting

1701 Software, Inc. is proud to announce the general availability of our Xojo web application hosting services!

We use Xojo every day to build beautiful web based applications for our customers. We decided we could help the community at large by providing a service that understands the needs of Xojo apps.

Many people have gone searching for the web host who understands what makes Xojo special and unique. Many have become frustrated with poor support, inadequate libraries, incompatible versions, or restrictive policies that make shared hosting a nightmare. Going to a VPS is a wonderful improvement but requires a lot of time and patience as you learn the Linux command line and various server tools.

Now you can rely on a webhost that gets you. We offer fully managed private VPS servers that are optimized for Xojo. Everything out of the box is ready to run your Xojo app. In fact we install an example app on your box as soon as it's ready to go to demonstrate the speed. We use the latest technologies like solid state disk drives which make your apps fly. You can even choose from North American or European datacenters as we know many Xojo users hail from across the pond.

Last but not least the price is affordable. Our basic no frills developer plan is $15/month and includes 512mb of ram. If you require MySQL, PostgreSQL or email hosting you should look to our business plan at $25/month which gives you 1024mb of ram. Both plans offer two months free on a yearly payment schedule. Both plans allow you to host as many domains, Wordpress blogs, and Xojo apps as you like.

Product: Xojo Web Application Hosting

Platforms: All

Price: $15-$25/month

Website: http://www.1701software.com

fp Plugin 7.3

fp Plugin 7.3 adds the function fpPowerMod which can raise a square matrix to a very large integer power modulus an integer which also can be very large.

Using a custom fp multi-precision engine, fp Plugin for Xojo adds six new data types, BigInteger, BigFloat, BigComplex, BigFraction, BigPoly, and BigMatrix. Except for available memory, there is no limitation on the size of a BigInteger.

BigFloat is a multi--precision floating point number. You can set both the internal precision and the decimal output precision for BigFloat, with no limitation except for available memory.

BigComplex is composed of two BigFloats.

BigFraction represents num/den where num and den are BigIntegers.

BigPoly represents a polynomial with BigFraction coefficients.

BigMatrix represents a matrix with BigFraction elements.

fp Plugin itself allows you to construct programs which can handle the six new data types much like doubles and integers are handled. To a large extent the new data types can be freely used with the +, -, *, and / operators, and can be used in comparisons. And most of Xojo's functions have been overloaded to take the new data types, where it makes sense to do so. The added 7th data type is ComplexVector, which holds an array of complex numbers. Additional functions use the Laguerre method to find for a polynomial all its roots (complex or real) to any chosen precision.

Product: fp Plugin 7.2

Platforms: All

Price: Free

Website: http://delaneyrm.com/fpPlugin.html

Ohanaware improves App Wrapper with added support for Xojo

App Wrapper is the tool that Ohanaware use to package their applications for the Mac App Store and their web site. App Wrapper is a simplified approach to performing meanial tasks that are required in order to distribute applications for Apple's Mac App Store and OS X Mountain Lion. Version 2.2 now includes a new Icon editor and several bug fixes.

Version 2.2 of App Wrapper includes a new Icon Editor, allowing more control over icon generation and updates the icon code to the latest version. It also improves support for Xojo 2013r2 and an improved version editor, not to forget numerous bug fixes.

App Wrapper simplifies the process of Code Signing, Sandboxing, Compressing applications (via OS X Installer or Zip file), generating Retina Compatible High Resolution icons, and Help Documentation preparation. Reducing the time required to prepare applications for distribution via the Mac App Store or OS X Mountain Lion.

Code signing is required for both the Mac App Store and OS X Mountain Lion. App Wrapper's Code signing engine is capable of code signing helper apps, frameworks, plugins and AppleScripts. Sandboxing is required for the Mac App Store. App Wrapper 2 features a new GUI interface to simplify the specification of Entitlement keys and their values. It includes tools to help validate a Sandboxed application and to track down Sandbox violations.

App Wrapper can add High Resolution ICNS files to the application bundle, or it can generate High Resolution ICNS files from almost any transparent image. App Wrapper also features a 'Document Icon Maker' that can generate (AHIG conforming) High Resolution ICNS files using the Application icon and a simple identifier. App Wrapper uses High Quality scaling to retain as much detail when generating icons at smaller sizes. When creating Retina compatible applications, App Wrapper can generate HiDPI ICNS files (dependant on the specified Minimum OS).

App Wrapper can add a Help folder or Help file into the application bundle, and add the correct keys to the plist. Also featured is a Help Validator which will check the help documents for simple XHTML errors, broken links, missing images and other common errors.

App Wrapper features functionality to add importable and exportable UTIs to an application, it includes a function that can generate a matching UTI from a document type. This enables developers to easily add support for "Document Packages".

Many required plist keys can be specified using the App Wrapper interface. For more advanced plist editing, App Wrapper includes a simple plist editor.

App Wrapper features GUI options for configuring the Apple About Box. Included in the App Wrapper help is code for Real Studio developers to use, that will display a genuine Apple About Box.

App Wrapper automatically saves the settings, restoring them when the application is re-opened in App Wrapper.

App Wrapper was made with Xojo (formally known as Real Software's Real Studio) and App Wrapper was used on itself, to generate a Retina compatible icon, validate and include the help, configure the about box, codesign the bundle and then to create the Zip compressed file.

Product: App Wrapper 2.2

Platforms: OSX

Price: $49.99

Website: http://www.ohanaware.com/appwrapper/

ZirconKit for Xojo

Everybody who has written a custom control knows every single one of them needs some common work to get going. The ZirconKit Foundation is a free open source set of classes designed to make custom control authoring easier. The ZirconControl class is an automatic zero-flicker canvas that also handles retina scaling and appearance notification, to name a few. Also includes methods for drawing focus rings, adjusting color brightness, drawing stretched and patterned pictures, and detecting full keyboard access. If you're writing a custom control, this is a good foundation to build from, and there is plenty more room for this package to grow.

ZirconSwitch

Built on ZirconKit, this is an iOS replica switch control. This control is fully animated -- with the ability to turn the animation off -- and very customizable. Supports custom captions, colors, positioning, and sizing. And, for the record, this is not the same control as used in the Xojo IDE. Built from scratch, this control supports Retina displays, animates nicer, and is more flexible than the Xojo IDE control.

ZirconSwitch is available as a free demo. The control will fully function in debug builds, but will be completely invisible and inoperable in built applications. A licensed version can be purchased for $10, and allows use in an unlimited number of applications under development by the purchaser. Both demo and licensed versions ship as encrypted classes.

ZirconBreadcrumbs

ZirconBreadcrumbs is a massively flexible path control. It can be fully themed to match any application, supports Retina displays, and supports both icons and captions per cell. Displaying filesystem navigation -- or any navigation for that matter -- is a piece of cake now.

ZirconBreadcrumbs is available as a free demo. The control will fully function in debug builds, but will be completely invisible and inoperable in built applications. A licensed version can be purchased for $25, and allows use in an unlimited number of applications under development by the purchaser. Both demo and licensed versions ship as encrypted classes.

Product: ZirconKit / ZirconSwitch / ZirconBreadcrumbs

Platforms: All

Price: ZirconKit (free), ZirconSwitch ($10), ZirconBreadcrumbs ($25)

Website: http://thezaz.com/blog/2013/08/announcing_zirconkit_for_xojo.html

End of article.