Happy new year 2014

We wish everyone a happy new year 2014.

See you in San Antonio and Las Vegas later this year!

DynaPDF Christmas Sale ends in 12 hours

DynaForms runs a DynaPDF sale for Christmas:

We wish all our customers Merry Christmas and a successful new year.
As a thank you for the past 11 years, you get 30% Christmas discount
on everything till the end of the year.

For orders by invoice or Paypal, we apply the discount automatically. For orders through Share-it, please use the coupon code DynaPDF. Also take the chance to order updates and upgrades with this discount. We can sell updates up to 5 years in advance if you like. And of course licenses are per developer, so if you got a new coworker, you can now use the discount for a new license.

Please check our latest plugins. With 13.5 version of our Xojo and Real Studio plugins or 3.5 of our FileMaker Plugin you can even add vector graphics barcodes to your PDFs. And if you like to use reporting in Xojo, you can also check out BKeeney Shorts. There you can use our DynaPDF Plugin for PDF output.

PS: The offer expired.

All plugins build for 64 bit!

Today I finally got everything to compile for 64bit targets on Mac OS X, Windows and Linux.
Of course nothing is tested and a few things probably need to be fixed, but whenever Xojo comes with first 64bit preview of the LLVM compiler, I have a starting point for our tests.

A couple of things with go away. So far I added a lot of unsupported operation exceptions which tell you that some things are only allowed for 32 bit Mac applications. This way you notice that you call an old method.
Once 64bit is the default for new project in Xojo, we'll have to review our plugins again and mark all 32bit only things as deprecated.

So let's see what Xojo Inc. has in Las Vegas to show. If iOS and/or LLVM should come in in summer, they really should have an alpha/beta in March.

New special constants for your app

With our MBS module we already have a couple of useful constants like plugin version or build date and time. Now we added there user, computer and host names. Those names are queried when the IDE starts up by the plugin. Than at compile time those constants are included as text in your application. So the plugin only queries the strings in the IDE, not in the final app.

Mac:

Windows:

Linux:


Maybe a good idea for you to include this in your about dialog if you wonder who of your team built an app

SQLite Benchmark

Had some spare time today and tweaked the SQL plugin for SQLite a little bit, so the benchmark now looks much better:

Now our plugin is definitively faster

Merry Christmas

Frohe Weihnachten und ein gutes neues Jahr!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année

Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo


Sebastian, Michael, Monika & Christian Schmitz

DynaPDF Christmas Sale ends in 10 days

DynaForms runs a DynaPDF sale for Christmas:

We wish all our customers Merry Christmas and a successful new year.
As a thank you for the past 11 years, you get 30% Christmas discount
on everything till the end of the year.

For orders by invoice or Paypal, we apply the discount automatically. For orders through Share-it, please use the coupon code DynaPDF. Also take the chance to order updates and upgrades with this discount. We can sell updates up to 5 years in advance if you like. And of course licenses are per developer, so if you got a new coworker, you can now use the discount for a new license.

Please check our latest plugins. With 13.5 version of our Xojo and Real Studio plugins or 3.5 of our FileMaker Plugin you can even add vector graphics barcodes to your PDFs. And if you like to use reporting in Xojo, you can also check out BKeeney Shorts. There you can use our DynaPDF Plugin for PDF output.

PS: The offer expired.

Xojo 2013r4

The new release brings first over 100 corrections to the IDE and the frameworks. The most important for me is that the number of entry points to plugin functions can now be above 8192. So you can use more plugins in one app without getting complains from compiler.

A welcome addition on new features are the RSA based encryption functions. You can generate keys with 2048 bits. Those keys can be used to Encrypt and decrypt data. Also you can sign data with private key and later verify signature using public key. I would of course recommend to use 4096 bits which seems to work well. If you need different encryption options, please check our encryption plugin.

For Canvas and Container you can now specify with a Transparent property whether the control is opaque. If the control is now transparent, some optimizations can be made like not drawing controls behind, clipping the drawings and avoid flickering. Especially software on Windows and Linux will improve setting Transparent = false.

The App Identifier can now be a constant. That allows for using different identifiers for different platforms or changing the constants in a build script.

RegEx library has been updated to 8.3.3 and SQLite to 3.7.17. If you need newer versions, please contact us to provide an updated plugins in the next days.

For submitting apps to the Mac App Store, there is a need of getting away from QuickTime and QTKit frameworks. With Xojo 2013r4 the framework no longer uses QuickTime framework, but still relays on QTKit. And for the future there are plans to use AVFoundation framework, Apple's recommended way. AVFoundation is already used to play sound on Mac OS X 10.7 and newer. Until next Xojo version removes dependencies to QTKit framework, you may need to ask Apple's review people to have mercy and let your app pass review.

What is missing currently is the Xojo Cloud support. We hope to see it in 2014r1.
Of course we also expect to see news on iOS and 64bit support on the XDC in Las Vegas.

PS: Version 4 was pulled as there was a bug which causes Xojo to crash on launch for some users. But we expect soon a quick fix.

MBS FileMaker Plugin 3.5 for OS X/Windows - More than 2100 Functions In One Plugin

Nickenich, Germany - MonkeyBread Software today is pleased to announce MBS FileMaker Plugin 3.5 for Mac OS X or Windows, the latest update to their product that is easily the most powerful plugin currently available for FileMaker Pro. As the leading database management solution for Windows, Mac, and the web, the FileMaker Pro Integrated Development Environment supports a plugin architecture that can easily extend the feature set of the application. MBS FileMaker Plugin 3.5 has been updated and now includes over 2100 different functions, and the versatile plugin has gained more new functions:

New functions for barcode help with creating or recognition of barcodes. We support a variety of encodings including EAN, UPC and QRCode. With DynaPDF you can even draw barcodes as vector graphics on a PDF page.

For DynaPDF we added table layout functions which allow the creation of reports, invoices and catalogs. Cells automatically calculate their height based on their content and tables can flow over several pages.

Our DynaPDF functions have been redesigned with a new parameter for a PDF reference number. You need to allocate and later release those PDF references. This enables you to edit several PDFs in different scripts at the same time. You can also now change the page orientation and search text for highlighting it.

A few bugs have been fixed for FileMaker 13. And for Windows we now include a 64bit plugin. You need this new plugin for FileMaker 12 Server with Custom Web Publishing. And of course for FileMaker 13 Server where our plugin works with WebDirect.

For our popular syntax highlighting feature on Mac we can now also show line numbers in scripts which helps for debugging. You can define the color for the line numbers and disable them with plugin commands. If you like you can now let the plugin color script steps in red which contain undeclared variables.

Our network socket functions now support SSL with a few new functions. You can simply enable SSL for an existing connection.

For the Mac address book and calendar databases we now allow trigger scripts, so you can be notified about changes. We also added new functions for alarms and attendees to our calendar functions.

For more details, please check the release notes. Take the time to check out the plugin and try the more than 200 example databases. Maybe you get some ideas on how to use the plugin in your solutions.

For Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks we have new functions for file tags. And you can now use the media library browser panel. This allows your users to directly insert pictures into a container from the iPhoto library.

We updated SQLAPI to version 4.1.2 and Graphicsmagick functions got support for JPEG 2000 built in.

More details in the release notes. Please take the time to check our 200 example databases and check where you can use our plugin features in your solutions.

MBS Xojo / Real Studio plug-ins in version 13.5

NICKENICH, Germany (December 17th, 2013) -- Monkeybread Software releases
version 13.5 of the MBS plug-in for Xojo and Real Studio.

The MBS plug-in comprises a collection of several plug-in parts which extend the Real Studio development environment with 1,900 classes featuring over 50,000 documented functions. Our plugins support all three platforms Mac OS X, Windows and Linux with all project types desktop, web and console.

Some of the highlights on the 13.5 update:

You can now add barcode support to your application. Using the zint library we can create barcodes in a variety of formats. And using the zxing library we can recognize barcodes in several formats automatically. Both work for 1D and 2D barcodes including EAN, UPC and QRCode. For drawing barcodes into PDF, we have methods to draw them as vector graphics instead of bitmaps.

Our new OpenSSL encryption CipherMBS class allows you to encrypt the same way as the openssl command line tool. This allows you to use the same padding and encryption options as in other development environments. Same for hashes with the new DigestMBS class.

For Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks we have new classes and methods. You can read/write tags for folderitems, use the media library browser panel and enjoy new Core Image filters. The NSTimerMBS and NSUserNotificationMBS classes have been updated with new methods. The Core Location manager got new events and for the in-app-purchases you can use the SKReceiptRefreshRequestMBS class to test.

If you use HTMLViewer with WebKit on Linux applications, you can now use our LinuxWebKit classes to control the webviewer. For example you can check cookies or the history.

Use the iTunesLibraryMBS class to access the local iTunes library on Mac OS X with iTunes 11. Also check access permissions using our ACL* classes on Mac. Our plugins have been updated to relay less on QuickTime and other frameworks.

If you use RTF data, please check our StyledText.RTFDataMBS property, an improved replacement for the official RTFData property. Also you can now directly use Apple's RTF methods on Textarea on Mac OS X.

Use WindowsQOSMBS class on Windows for network flow control. For Windows we also improved our Zip file handling, CURL SSL support and HTMLViewer extensions.

DynaPDF has been updated to version 3.0.31.80, SQLAPI to version 4.1.2 and for EyeOne we now support i1Pro SDK 4.1.2. GraphicsMagick now includes JPEG 2000 support for all platforms.

See release notes for a complete list of changes.

Big Numbers

With upcoming plugin releases 3.5 for FileMaker and 13.5 for Xojo (Real Studio), we now have new records on the number of features in our plugins:

More than 2,100 functions are now included in the MBS FileMaker Plugin.

In Xojo (Real Studio) we finally reached 50,000 documented features.

We are very happy and look forward to new records in the upcoming years.

And for Xojo we are also happy that the limit for plugin functions used per app is now raised for the next Xojo version, so you can use more plugin functions in one app. The number of entry points per app is limited, and we now even show in our plugins list how many entry points each plugin has. See Feedback case 9200.

MBS Filemaker Plugin, version 3.5pr11

New in this prerelease of the 3.5 plugins:

• Changed PNG library and Graphicsmagick library to not throw exception in case of some warnings.
• Added Trace.ErrorsOnly function.

Download at monkeybreadsoftware.de/filemaker/files/Prerelease/ or ask for being added to the dropbox shared folder.

MBS Xojo / Real Studio Plugins, version 13.5pr11

New in this prerelease of the 13.5 plugins:

• Changed PNG library and Graphicsmagick library to not throw exception in case of some warnings.
• Fixed crash in NSAnimationMBS destructor.
• Fixed bug with Recordset.ColumnType for our SQLDatabaseMBS class. Be aware that integer is reported as 3, double as 7 and numeric (used for Int64) as 19.
• Removed more unneeded framework references on Mac OS X plugins.

Download: macsw.de/plugin/Prerelease. Or ask us to be added to our shared Dropbox folder.

Three weeks till year's end

The year 2013 will end in three weeks. Do you need some more licenses?

• You can order licenses for 2014 and have delivery in 2013.
• You can order DynaPDF licenses, upgrade and updates in 2013 using the current sale with 30% discount
• And of course you can order updates for several years in advance for all your MBS products.

Especially if you run on a budget and you want to spend some money in 2013, you can buy updates for several years.

Security Hole in every Xojo / RealStudio app

There is a big issue in the Xojo and Real Studio runtime. It will load at startup any dylib in the frameworks folder.

Below you can download a empty dylib. This is a plugin library for Xojo/Real Studio for Mac which does nothing but writing a message to Console.app. You can drop it in any Xojo or Real Studio made app (Carbon or Cocoa doesn't matter). When you launch your app the library is loaded and executed.

This makes trouble for us as some users have installers which don't remove the old dylibs. So the new version loads the old plugin dylibs and complains about bad registration or missing entry points.

Not to forget this is an easy way to add a key logger or other malware into each app!

See also feedback cases 31153 and 2089.
Test project and library: test.zip

MBS Xojo / Real Studio Plugins, version 13.5pr10

New in this prerelease of the 13.5 plugins:

• Updated DynaPDF to version 3.0.31.80.
• Reduced dependency on deprecated QuickTime framework.
• Fixed SHA256MBS.HashText and SHA512MBS.HashText function to not swap hex characters. If you used this function in 13.4/13.5 before this fix, your hashes will be swapped and you need to rehash.
• Fixed bug with AESMBS class and CFB functions.
• Added support to NikonLiveImageMBS class for modules 6, 8, 9 and 10.
• Fixed keyboard handling for NSSearchFieldControlMBS.
• Fixed a couple of memory leaks with HTMLviewer extensions on Windows.
• Added Twain functions for AutomaticBrightness, Brightness, Contrast, Gamma, Shadow and Highlight.
• Added MacUSBMBS constants for some errors.
• Fixed NSSearchFieldControlMBS tab order problem.

Download: macsw.de/plugin/Prerelease. Or ask us to be added to our shared Dropbox folder.

MBS Filemaker Plugin, version 3.5pr10

New in this prerelease of the 3.5 plugins:

• Added first version of 64bit plugin for Windows, required for WebDirect on FileMaker 13.
• Fixed bug in Container.GetTypeSize.
• Added DynaPDF Table functions.
• Added DynaPDF.HighlightPattern function to search for text and add highlight annotations.
• Changed DynaPDF functions to not only take flags as text, but also as numbers.
• Added additional checks to OCR functions to avoid a crash if you OCR without an image.
• Disabled font size feature. Not working properly right now.
• Fixed a couple of memory leaks with Webviewer extensions on Windows.
• Added Twain functions for AutomaticBrightness, Brightness, Contrast, Gamma, Shadow and Highlight.

Download at monkeybreadsoftware.de/filemaker/files/Prerelease/ or ask for being added to the dropbox shared folder.

Xojo meeting in Bremen, Germany?

Next week I visit clients in Bremen, so how about having a xojo meeting for dinner?

Here is a survey for best time/date:
doodle.com/w8mfz62gggzhu8sb

If we have a couple of people interested, we can look for a meeting place and reserve a table.
Topics can be Xojo Release 3, MBS Plugins and of course the conferences.

Update: The meeting is Thursday, 12th December at 7pm. If you like to join, please contact me.

FileMaker Server 13 with Web Direct

As you see our MBS FileMaker Plugin runs fine on WebDirect.

For that please install the server version (the one with 64bit included) into /Library/FileMaker\ Server/Database Server/Extensions and /Library/FileMaker Server/Web Publishing/publishing-engine/cwpc/Plugins/ folders. You need to enable plugins for the server and enable our plugin.

You can always using calls like MBS("Version"), MBS("Platform") or MBS( "Plugin.Path" ) to show details on the plugin.

PS: This is on Mac OS X. Windows version will come soon. Please contact us if you are interested.

BKeeney Software is hiring Xojo developer

Application Developer/Consultant Position with BKeeney Software

BKeeney Software, Inc., a Lenexa software consulting company is looking to add a talented developer to our consulting staff. We have been creating cross-platform applications for our international clients as well as internally developed products for applications developers for over ten years. The resurgence of the Macintosh and web applications has driven our business growth.

see forum.xojo.com/7264-application-developer-consultant-position-with-bkeeney-software/0

Generate JSON with MBS Plugin

A client asked for help with the following JSON.

{"ticket":{"requester":{"name":"The Customer", "email":"thecustomer@domain.com"}, "subject":"My printer is on fire!", "comment": { "body": "The smoke is very colorful." }}}

As you see we have several levels deep nesting which may be confusion. But the goal is to work from inside to outside to make bigger blocks. First we start with an empty object, than we add the comment entry. Now we add there the entries for the requester section. Than we build the ticket section with requester, subject and comment entries. Finally be put that into a new object with ticket entry:

$jempty = MBS( "JSON.CreateObject")
$jcomment = MBS( "JSON.AddStringToObject"; $jempty; "body"; "The smoke is very colorful." )
$jrequester = MBS( "JSON.AddStringToObject"; $jempty; "name"; "The Customer" )
$jrequester = MBS( "JSON.AddStringToObject"; $jrequester; "email"; "thecustomer@domain.com" )
$jticket = MBS( "JSON.AddItemToObject"; $jempty; "requester"; $jrequester)
$jticket = MBS( "JSON.AddStringToObject"; $jticket; "subject";"My printer is on fire!" )
$jticket = MBS( "JSON.AddItemToObject"; $jticket; "comment"; $jcomment)
$j = MBS( "JSON.AddItemToObject"; $jempty; "ticket"; $jticket)

optional a call to MBS("JSON.Compact"; $j) for a more compact representation. Normally we use the human readable representation with more spaces and indention.

For debugging all those variables contain the intermediate JSON stings, so you can easily see what happens. And if you have common JSON you reuse, be sure to actually reuse the variables like we do with $jempty here.

FileMaker 13

FileMaker 13 was released today. A lot of new things are included.
Our MBS Plugin works fine so far with the FileMaker 13 version. Even WebDirect with plugins works fine on Mac with the 64bit enabled plugin. For Windows, the 64bit version is not yet ready. If you see an issue, please report as soon as possible.

and be aware that FM 13 can work fine with FM 12 databases, just if you create a new database, you may want to create it in FM 12 so you are able to open it in FM 12 and FM 13:

Training Day 2014

BKeeney Software Inc. is proud to announce our second annual training day to be held before the annual Xojo Developers Conference (XDC). We’ll be holding it in the same location, the Monte Carol Hotel and Resort in Las Vega, Nevada on March 25 (the day before the conference starts).

The morning session is devoted to desktop applications and the challenges of Xojo cross-platform applications. The afternoon session is all about web applications and the challenges and solutions to building and deploying them. Our entire development staff will be there so you can ask those really hard questions.

We will be recording the sessions again this year so attendees and subscribers to our Xojo Training videos can view them long after the conference is over. Speaking of training subscribers, all attendees of the training day will receive a complementary three month subscription to our library of 100+ videos.

Early bird pricing is good from now through December 31st. Advanced registration is good through February 14th, 2014 and after that registration is full price.

More information, pricing, and purchase details can be found at bkeeney.com/xojo-training-2014/. See you in Las Vegas!