Enterprise Release Date

[bemsofpe]

I am looking for a printing solution for my new company ATA IT bvba. Is there any status update on the Dycodoc Reporting edition? Scheduled release date? Features?

[potjerm]

I am looking for a printing solution for my new company ATA IT bvba. Is there any status update on the Dycodoc Reporting edition? Scheduled release date? Features?

If your software is running on Windows, the Windows version of VPE Enterprise 6.00 and Dycodoc 2.10 is available now, released a couple months ago. A trial version is also available for download on their website, as well as the complete manuals. Be sure and check the version history available on the website for additional info about what is new.

[IDEAL Software Support]

I think he talks about the reporting capability. This is still on the way. Having learned that expected release dates are difficult to fulfill, I just can say we are working on it and we *hope* to have it done until the end of 2010.

[bemsofpe]

I think he talks about the reporting capability. This is still on the way. Having learned that expected release dates are difficult to fulfill, I just can say we are working on it and we *hope* to have it done until the end of 2010.

Indeed, I was talking about the reporting capability. I have been using Dycodoc at my former company. I know and respect Ideal Software's "untraditional" but good view on discussing release dates

Is it possible to get an preliminary overview of the "reporting features" that will "probably" be available in this reporting version, as I have to have some info to promote Dycodoc and VPE at my new company?

[IDEAL Software Support]

Like nearly all report generators, it will be a banded report generator, i.e. with sections:

- Report Header
- Page Header
- Group Headers
- Detail
- Group Footers
- Page Footer
- Report Footer

There can be an unlimited number of nested groups, and the grouping conditions can be specified by JavaScript code. It will provide Sub-Totals and Grand-Totals and the usual aggregate functions (like sum, average, etc.). All formulas and complete code can be entered as JavaScript code.

Sections will provide properties like "Can grow" so they will resize with objects that do resize, and "Keep with previous section" to keep sections together on a page (if possible).

Furthermore it will provide a complete DOM (Document Object Model), and an event-driven model. I.e. for an event "BeforePrint" of a section, you can enter code like:

Code: Select all

if (fieldSum < 0)
    textSum.TextColor = clrRed;

which causes the text object "textSum" to be printed in red color, if the value of the field "fieldSum" is less than zero.

The first version will not support the creation of chart objects, this is planned to be implemented in the next release (next to-do after the first release is stabilized).

In a later release we also plan to make the full VPE API available to the JavaScript engine, so you can call VPE API functions from JavaScript like

Code: Select all

for (n = 1; n <= Report.PageCount; n++)
{
    Report.CurrentPage = n;
    Report.Print(1, 1, "hello world!")
}

in an event handler. This basically means that you can code your entire reports with absolute freedom using JavaScript within dycodoc, without using VPE.

This is the reason why VPE and dycodoc are already shipped with vJavaScript3260.dll, which is the JavaScript engine. The engine is already embedded into VPE and dycodoc and handles fields.

[bemsofpe]

We are highly interested in this new version of Dycodoc. If you need beta-testers (or alpha-testers) at any stage, please drop me a note.

[Patrick.Elsen]

Is the expected release date of end 2010 for the Reporting version still viable? If you need alpha- or beta-testers, just let me know.

[IDEAL Software Support]

We are working on it. Currently we are focusing on releasing the next version of VPE, so things might delay a bit.

[Patrick.Elsen]

Can you share some info about what 's new in this next version of VPE?

[IDEAL Software Support]

It will definitely bring true MAPI support (in addition to the long-time supported Simple MAPI). This solves many problems of the past with Exchange, Lotus and other mail service providers.

Other things are in the direction of providing additional components for other programming languages, like PHP, Python, Perl and Ruby. But it is at present not 100% clear, if and what components are stable enough to be released.

In addition we are working on the 64-bit port for Windows, but at present we try to solve some fundamental problems, which make it also unsure if it will be ready-to-ship with the next release.

As always it contains invisible bugfixes and improvements for dycodoc and VPE. All in all there are about 250 - 300 updates in our version control system since the last version.

[Patrick.Elsen]

True MAPI support is a real nice feature. This means we do not get the Outlook security warnings Microsoft added several years ago, doesn't it?

[IDEAL Software Support]

The security warning shown by the Microsoft Mail Service is not related to Simple MAPI. It is displayed when an external application tries to access the address book of the messaging provider (i.e. Exchange).

[Patrick.Elsen]

Any updates on the release schedule for the next version of VPE and Dycodoc Reporting version?

[IDEAL Software Support]

We are currently finishing VPE v6.10 and dycodoc v2.20. They will be released in January 2011.

Regarding the reporting functionality: we are working on it, but we can not give a release date yet.

[Patrick.Elsen]

VPE 6.10 is the new version with the features you mentioned in your mail of September 23th?