DataEase 8.5 BETA - .header .items .end DFD style HTML body on MemoExecDQL (Ver. 8.5.0.1815)
Download app, unzip and start it up from DE8.5.1815 or later.
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Today we release a preview of DataEase of tomorrow.
We are gradually moving away from the ineffective and troublesome ways of DFW and into the more fertile territory of the web.
The format used in DFW for printing/reporting is both proprietary and awkward.
The future of DataEase is in collaboration. Collaboration between us and you, and between us and open standards.
If we use standards like HTML/CSS/Ajax/Python etc. in our product the flexibility will be much better and the speed of development much faster.
If we try to "own" every little bit of our product, we get DFW i.e. we don't get anywhere.
We implemented ExecDQL quite some time ago now, and it has been a game changer. With ExecDQL you can manipulate both the data and the forms at lightning speed and with unlimited flexibility.
With all the new function classes and functionality introduced with 8.0, 8.1 , 8.2 and 8.5 there is very little you can't do in a form but one thing has been like an open wound - Reporting/Printing/Exporting.
It is no secret that the QBM and DQL Reports in DFW from Express 1.0 to DataEase 8.2 is CRAP! Sorry for the language, but there is no nicer word that describe it.
QBM was supposed to be an improvement on Quick Reports in DFD but to be honest, it was the opposite. As things have passed one get used to it, but to be honest it is nobody's favourite.
DQL was implemented in Express in a state of panic by a team that had no clue and it was abysmal from the start. Again something was as close to genius as you could come (in DFD) was turned into an absolute nightmare.
It was buggy, it was awkward, it was impossible to format, it was impossible to build, it was impossible to export, it was slow, it was blinking and flashing. IT WAS and IS DEPRESSING!
For 20 years DataEase tried to "bug fix" these hopeless features in the product (together with other freshly added hopeless features like TabControl, Multibox, Excel Export, WebPublisher etc etc).
This is now all "water under the bridge". ExecDQL body is the first of the next together with ExecDQL Script and showcase how DataEase will be and to be honest now IS.
We have based the ExecDQL body on the trust and loved DFD format.
.header.
.group header
.items.
.end
.group trailer with group totals.
.footer.
.page
The are all there!
But there is nore.
You can obviously export like you could in the good old days, but you can also format it with HTML and CSS to get modern looking prints.
You can view it directly in a Memo (AdvancedWebField), Edit the body in HTMLEdit, print directly to any printer of your choosing. Save it to a named PDF file without installing any third party software or do any trickery etc etc.
This is just a "early bird" write up, we will get back with proper documentation of this amazingly strong feature.
For now you will have to decode the sample, and there is also some small problems with formatting of numbers etc, but this will be fixed over the next couple of days but we won't hold back anymore so we release a Beta version with this strong feature.
Go to Downloads and download the latest beta, published today: 05/06/2015.
Re:DataEase 8.5 BETA - .header .items .end DFD style HTML body on MemoExecDQL (Ver. 8.5.0.1815)
I have not tried it yet. But this sounds amazing.
I will try over the weekend.
Re:DataEase 8.5 BETA - .header .items .end DFD style HTML body on MemoExecDQL (Ver. 8.5.0.1815)
wow!
I used to do this by writing a mini exe.
Re:Re:DataEase 8.5 BETA - .header .items .end DFD style HTML body on MemoExecDQL (Ver. 8.5.0.1815)
Hi Dataease,
I downloaded your sample in order to understand what I have to do for create an html layout without knowing the html language (source). I'm now using ckeditor but I have some difficult within the body (htmledit). Any suggestion will be much appreciated. Anyway it seems to me that your sample doesn't work correctly . Here screenshots of the sample database. The data doesn't go on the layout correctly (see 2nd picture). Obviously the htmledit used or web is more elegant that the classic layout but I also want to know I can arrange a simple list in it. Version 8.5.0.2500. Thanks
Re:Re:DataEase 8.5 BETA - .header .items .end DFD style HTML body on MemoExecDQL (Ver. 8.5.0.1815)
Hi Dataease,
I'm using htmledit fields in order to obtain a more elegant and modern layout for my reports but I have some trouble to use it without knowing html language. I'm trying to use ckeditor for this but it's not so easy to use especially when i have to craete a list of items (almost for me).
Anyway I downloaded DQLBodySample (a your sample database) but it seems to me that it doesn't work correctly. I mean when I open OrderHeadhtml form and I try to obtain a report in PDF or WEB the fields doesn't go into the layout. Please my screenshots above.
Any further suggestion by your side it will be most appreciated. Dataease Version 8.5.0.2500. Thanks.