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• Table of Contents

DESCRIPTION

Click here if you are searching for Michael Barlotta's other book, Jaguar Development with PowerBuilder 7, also published by Manning Publications.

Distributed Application Development with PowerBuilder 6.0 is a vital source for the PowerBuilder programmer; it provides the sort of detailed coverage of Distributed PowerBuilder that you can find nowwhere else.

The book opens with a discussion of distributed computing in general, as well as its design principles and technologies. Then Distributed PowerBuilder is examined in detail. By building a simple application step by step, the author discusses all of the concepts and components needed for building a PowerBuilder application and shows how to make the application available over a network.

Finally, the author explores how PowerBuilder can be used in distributed solutions both with and without using DPB.

Distributed Application Development with PowerBuilder 6.0 is for any PowerBuilder developer looking for information on distributed computing options with the PowerBuilder environment. IS managers, system architects, and developers using many different technologies can learn how PowerBuilder can be used as all or part of the solution for building distributed applications.

The main topic of this book is Distributed PowerBuilder (DPB). It covers the basics of building a DPB application and walks through each new feature with examples including the Shared object, DataWindow synchronization, Server Push and Web.PB. It also explains distributed computing technologies and design principles so that your application can be built to handle the stresses of a distributed environment.

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY ABOUT THIS BOOK...

"Distributed Application Development with PowerBuilder 6.0 provides detailed coverage of Distributed PowerBuilder applications? A wonderful book that fills in the gap from other PowerBuilder books."
--www.compbookreview.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR...

Michael J. Barlotta is the VP of Business Development at MO Systems Solutions, Inc., and is a CPD Associate. He holds a BA in Computer Science from SUNY Albany and has worked with PowerBuilder since version 3.0. He has consulted on client/server and distributed computing solutions for various companies and is a regular contributor to the PowerBuilder Developer's Journal.

Sample Chapters

Two sample chapters for Distributed Application Development with PowerBuilder 6.0 are available for download. The chapter is contained in a single ZIP file.

Free unzip programs can be found at www.download.com.

Download Chapter 3
Download Chapter 11

Introduction

While learning about distributed computing on various projects, I noticed a lack of books for the PowerBuilder programmer. In particular, coverage of Distributed PowerBuilder (DPB) was extremely light and rarely was covered in any book for more than a chapter. With this book, I have tried to rectify the situation.

In writing this book, my goals were threefold. First, I wanted to explain the main thrust behind distributed computing and some of the design principles and technologies behind it. Second, I wanted to present DPB in detail by reviewing the various concepts and components that are involved with building a PowerBuilder application and making it available over the network. Finally, I hoped to explore how PowerBuilder can be used in distributed solutions both with and without using DPB. I am often amazed at how many PowerBuilder developers have not looked into DPB as a means of solving their distributed computing problems. I hope that this book will help educate developers and managers as to how PowerBuilder can be used beyond the client/server realm.

Since this is my first book, I started with very grand and ambitious ideas. Some of the topics that I had hoped to include in the book were removed. For example, detailed coverage of Sybase's component generator technologies (part of the PowerBuilder 6 product) were cut because they are just entering beta as this goes to press. Chapters on integrating PowerBuilder applications with Jaguar CTS or COM were also scaled back because these technologies could themselves be the topics of books. They also began to detract from the principal goal for this book--presenting the Distributed PowerBuilder technologies in a straightforward and detailed way in order to interest developers and managers in DPB technology and to help them explore using it on future projects.

Distributed computing architectures are very complex; however, PowerBuilder makes them easier to implement. I have described these PowerBuilder features and covered topics in enough detail so that the developer can quickly begin building an application. I have also tried to lay out the material so that the book may be used as a handy reference, once the concepts are mastered.

The Internet and Web technologies have generated a lot of interest in distributed computing. These technologies are also explored in later chapters of this book, but the emphasis in this book is on DPB. Although the basics of the Internet and Web are covered, some readers may benefit from doing some additional research in order to become proficient enough to write a production application. Some important Web technologies and languages to brush up on include HTML, Javascript, CGI, and HTTP. To help these readers, I have tried to mention important or interesting points relevant to the PowerBuilder developer. Appendix E contains resources for additional information.

Who should read this book?

I hope that this book will find its way into the hands of developers looking for information on distributed computing options with the PowerBuilder environment. IS (information services) managers, system architects, and developers using many different technologies will learn about distributed computing and explore how PowerBuilder can be used as a total solution or as part of the answer to building your distributed applications.

This book assumes that the reader has minimal previous experience with distributed technologies or DPB, as it covers these topics in detail. However, this book is not intended for those new to the PowerBuilder environment or to programming in general. The book is dedicated to covering Distributed PowerBuilder in detail, without spending a lot of time discussing how to use the painters, DataWindows, or PowerScript. Some basic PowerBuilder concepts are used to draw parallels to the newer DPB concepts, but, in general, the assumption is that the reader has experience programming in PowerBuilder.

Developers using 4GL tools--particularly those with a strong background in PowerBuilder, object-oriented concepts, and the client/server architecture--will get the most out of this book. Those developers new to the PowerBuilder environment, but interested in DPB and distributed computing, may benefit from using other books on general PowerBuilder topics as accompaniments to this book.

How the book is organized

Part I-Distributed computing architecture and technology

The first part of this book, chapters 1 and 2, give an overview of a distributed computing architecture and distributed technologies. It explores the advantages over other computing architectures and lays the groundwork for the technical discussions later in the book.

Part II-Distributed PowerBuilder

The second part of the book, chapters 3 through 10, are dedicated to Distributed PowerBuilder (DPB). The first chapters start with the basic concepts of DPB. Additional chapters build on the basics by explaining new features in PowerBuilder 6 and covering important techniques and tips required to build a distributed application. Issues such as data retrieval and updates, debugging, and error handling are covered. Advanced topics explored in this section include shared objects, server push, and DataWindow synchronization. Sample applications and a step-by-step guide to building a server framework are also included here, and throughout the book.

Part III-PowerBuilder and the Internet

The Internet and the Web are rapidly gaining acceptance as a growing number of companies plan on moving applications in this direction. Chapters 11 and 12 explore the Internet as a distributed computing environment. An overview of the Internet and Web environment is provided, along with detailed examples of how PowerBuilder can be used on the Web. We will explore the DataWindow plug-in, Window plug-in, and the new Window ActiveX control--but the emphasis is on Web.PB and DPB.

Part IV - PowerBuilder and the future

After learning about how to take advantage of DPB to build your next set of applications, you may be interested in figuring out how to leverage this with other products. Chapters 13 and 14 explore how to make DPB logic available to non-PowerBuilder applications. We will also look at how to distribute PowerBuilder objects outside of DPB by using COM, MTS, and Jaguar CTS. This part concludes with a glimpse at the not-too-distant future to see what enhancements are in the works for most of the Sybase/Powersoft product line in relation to distributed computing.

Appendices A through E

The topics found in Appendices A and B give the reader more details about distributed computing technologies and application partitioning. They were placed in appendices so that the presentation of DPB was not impeded by this information. I hope that this information is useful in comparing DPB to other distributed technologies and provides a handy reference to understanding them.

The remaining appendices list handy references to DPB objects, functions, error codes, and data types. Appendix E lists several resources, including Web sites, books, and magazines so that the reader can find additional information on several different computing topics.

What you need to use this book

In order to get the most out of this book, you will need to explore the code samples and write your own applications. To do this, you will need to have a copy of the Enterprise edition of PowerBuilder 6 because Distributed PowerBuilder (DPB) is only shipped with this version. To write a database application, you will also need a database server. All of the examples are written to work with SQL AnyWhere, which ships with PowerBuilder. In addition, to work through the Internet examples and features, you will need a Web browser and a Web server. PowerBuilder ships with O'Reilly WebSite, a personal Web server. This Web server was used in all of the examples in this book. The browser you choose is up to you; however, be aware of the incompatibilities of HTML and JavaScript when building your own application.

Code samples

Manning has made all the code samples seen in this book available on their Web site. The code samples were all written using PowerBuilder 6 on a laptop running Windows 95. By providing code samples on the Web, two things are achieved. First, this book can be offered to you at a lower cost because the expenses related to producing a CD are eliminated. Second, any enhancements or bug fixes can be made available to readers immediately by posting the newest code on the Web.

To get the code samples, just point your browser to the following URL:

HTTP://www.manning.com/Barlotta

Author online