converting local xbase app to web-app

[Zdeno Bielik]

Hi Roger,

I just downloaded Xb2Net demo, but included samples are not usefull for me...
I also looked in your sample directory in exp19, but there are only two samples getweb and postweb...
Please, I kindly ask you, can you post any sample how to “convert” e.g. dcsay, dcget or dcbrowse to work in web app?
What all is needed to start convert Xbase++/eXpress++ app to web app?

TIA & Regards
Zdeno

[Tom]

Hi, Zdeno.

You may look at DCREAD HTML. This kind of converts eXpress++-dialogs into web forms, but there is some more work to be done than only changing DCREAD GUI to DCREAD HTML. To be honest, I never used it.

The older Alaska WAA maybe a solution, but it needs a windows server. The technology "CXP"-technology by Alaska ("Compiled Xbase Pages") is another way to do this - take a look at the Alaska site. But there is no out-of-the-box-solution for turning a standard Xbase++-application into a web application. It will take some time.

[Zdeno Bielik]

Hi Tom,

I looked at CXP and I don't know, if it is what I want/need... Xb2Net looks better - may be I'm wrong...

Well, currently I use dbf with cdx in my apps. One customer asked me for "on-line" version of one my little app and also little app for Android/iPad, but just only for part of app(only order processing - and e.g. reports and maintaince will be done with local app or via web app)...

Well, I started thinking about conversion with Xb2Net+SQLExpress, but it looks like big headache form me...

So like step between I will try first convert it to C/S with SQLExpress (what do you reccomended: MySQL or Postgree or any next?) and may be later convert it or make new version with Xb2Net too - it's not condition just now...
And when finally it will run on any SQL server, it will be possible connect to the datasource also from e.g. Android, I hope...

Is it possible do it in this way or it this completly wrong?

Can you or another else comment this or give me some other tips/solutions for successfull conversions?

TIA & Regards
Zdeno

p.s. I'm not sure, if Alaska's model/solution with its DBE engine for Postgree will allow access for intercharging data bettween different os systems, Win vs Android vs iPad...

[unixkd]

Like Tom said, there is no direct way to convert Desktop application to Web. The philosophies are different. Looking at the feature sets of all the options that are available today for Web app development using Xbase++, CXP may eventually be the best as it will allow applications developed with it to run on a variety of devices and OSs. Xb2net on the other hand only run on Windows, mark you. Concerning database engines, all supported Xbase++ DBEs are available for use in web applications.

Joe.

[c-tec]

Hello,
I use XB2NET for my webapplications. My dialogs are all predifined, I do not need to create them at runtime. So I can use HTML templates and fill in the content at runtime like tables and vars for form fields with placeholders like <%CUSTOMER_TABLE%>. Only the table rows I create in my source, but even here I have templates for tables. Here you can see some screenshots with a touch webeinterface for smarthpones and tablets:http://www.formcommander.net/screenshots.html
Actually I work on a webinterface in Windows metro style like my website: c-tec.at, this would make it possible to detect the decide and choose which style of webinterface is created. Boris also work on Websocket implementation and has Ajax and XMHTMLrequest samples, so I see no need for me to use CXP.
regards
Rudolf

[rdonnay]

I hate writing web apps because it takes so much longer to develop them.

It's not so bad if you can work with them all the time because then you get familiarized with the concepts.
Having to write one occasionally is not fun for me.

Maybe CXP will make me feel differently about this, but I doubt it.