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March 2011

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March 2011

Visual DataFlex 2010/16.1 Beta Available

Data Access have announced that Visual DataFlex 2010/16.1 Beta is now available for you to download and participate in the testing program.

You are encouraged to take part in the Beta testing phase and to send your feedback to Data Access.

This beta release incorporates a significant number of developers’ suggestions and enhancement requests, consolidating some of the recent new features and making them even easier to use.

Particular attention has been paid to improving the new grid classes first released in version 16.0. The grid improvements in 16.1 include visual optimizations, new interfaces, a new, non-data aware prompt list class and numerous bug fixes.

Many of the features and changes in this release have originated from the developer community, therefore many enhancements have been made to the Studio to provide for an even better, more efficient user experience.

Important Changes in the VDF 16.1 Environment

There are two important changes in the VDF 16.1 environment:

  • In Visual DataFlex 16.1 the Codejock Report Control has been updated to version 13.4.2. Unanticipated changes to the Codejock control have led to beneficial product-wide changes to COM object handling that also affect the backward compatibility of 13.4.2.
    Learn the full details about this subject in CTO John Tuohy’s forum post.
     
  • Compatibility issues between the Codejock Controls and Internet Explorer 9, which are described in the Knowledge Base article, Visual DataFlex, Codejock and Internet Explorer 9.

Mertech Announces Beta FLEX2SQL v11 Now Available

Mertech Data Systems have announced that the Beta FLEX2SQL v11 is now available for users to download and try.

Here’s a brief summary of some of the new features that are available in the Beta release:

  • Users can now control whether table names are upper, lower or mixed case.
  • Save previous login details for up to five servers. Great for those who swap between testing and live databases.
  • Relationships can be migrated from DataFlex to SQL and/or SQL to DataFlex, which help significantly when using the Visual Report Writer tool on the SQL Server.
  • Generated INT file allows users to now do their modelling with existing SQL tools and then import the changes into DataFlex.
  • Improved documentation to help users find out more about how to use all the driver features.

Read more about the FLEX2SQL v11 Beta release at the Mertech Data website.

Find the prices for the current releases of Mertech’s Flex2SQL connectivity kits on our Database Connectivity Price List.

Synergy 2011 – Mike Peat Presenting JSON and Visual DataFlex

It’s nearly time for Synergy 2011 in Orlando, Florida, where MIke Peat will be presenting “JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) and Visual DataFlex” on Thursday 31st March 2011 (not 2009 as the heading says!). The presentation is an overview of JSON itself, VDF’s support for it and what can be achieved with the two combined (see the JSON and Visual DataFlex presentation summary).

Mike’s presentation delves into the use of JSON as an alternative to the more traditional SOAP/XML web service protocol in Ajax applications. Heavy going for first thing on a Thursday morning? Not at all. Those of you who have attended Mike’s presentations and training courses previously, will already know how he manages to inject humour into the most complex, and potentially dry subjects, making the sessions both enjoyable, informative and memorable.

We hope to see you at Synergy 2011.

If you’re not able to attend Synergy, but are interested in learning more about JSON or JavaScript, we can provide JavaScript Training to suit your specific requirements. Whether you want an introduction to JavaScript or a master class for those who are already using JavaScript but who want to know more, we can tailor our training accordingly.

Spring Clean Your Data for Improved Business Intelligence

The amount of data that we accumulate over time, is growing at an ever increasing rate. If like most companies, you’re not cleaning your data regularly throughout the year (and let’s face, we’ve all got better things to do), you’ve probably reached a point where a Spring clean is due.

There’s no denying that the new data that comes hand in hand with new customers, products and sales is great, but as details such as customer addresses and phone numbers change, our databases can become clogged with data that’s either inaccurate or not relevant. Incorrect data will ultimately cause problems further down the line, with duplicate and redundant records creeping in, filling databases and slowing systems.

To speed up the process of validating and de-duplicating your data, try using a a tool specifically designed for the job, such as DataSlave™ from Baycastle Software.

Why Bother Cleaning Up Data?

One of the benefits of cleaning up your data is the positive impact it will have on your business intelligence (BI) results. For the purposes of BI, the golden rule is that, the better the state of the data from which you produce your BI reports and dashboards, the more accurate and reliable your end results will be. That said, it’s not essential that your data is sparkly clean before you start a BI campaign, instead it’s more practical to build in data cleaning as part of your ongoing BI efforts and you will reap the rewards.

Generally, when you embark on a BI solution, any flaws in your data become exposed and have to be addressed in order to achieve the best results, but having an initial tidy up can only help the process.

If you are thinking of using BI to help improve your business decisions, look no further than Dynamic AI, the browser-based BI tool from Data Access.

Pervasive PSQL v11 Patch Release

Pervasive Software have released the second patch for Pervasive PSQL v11. Update 2 (which also includes Update 1) is available for download from their website and covers Workgroup and Server, Windows 32-bit and 64-bit, and Linux 32-bit and 64-bit.

You can find out more about this update and download it from Pervasive PSQL v11.

Diary Dates

Synergy 2011 – Orlando, Florida, U.S.A.

The Synergy Conference takes place on the 30th March and 1st April 2011, with two training days on the 28th and 29th March. The event itself is at the Hilton located inside the Walt Disney Resort and has a space-theme to add to the fun.

Synergy 2011 is packed with interesting and relevant presentations, including the latest thinking and ideas about the following:

  • Visual DataFlex, the AJAX Library and data dictionaries
  • Web Services
  • User Interface design
  • The New Grids
  • Electos 4.2 and beyond
  • Visual Report Writer
  • Dynamic AI 6.4

For a complete list of the agenda and the individual presentations, see Data Access.com/Synergy/Agenda.

This opportunity for meeting with the Data Access development team comes only every two years, and is well worth attending. The conference prices have been kept the same as the Synergy 2009 conference, making this an even more attractive offer.

To register for Synergy 2011 and to find out more information, visit www.DataAccess.com/Synergy.