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PowerBuilder Developers ConferenceBreakout Session Descriptions

October 15-19, 2012, Las Vegas, Venetian Hotel

SAP Sybase PowerBuilder Techniques and Experiences in Industry — Manufacturing

Execution Systems

This session presents various SAP® Sybase® PowerBuilder®

techniques and solutions that are used to fulfill the requirements

of manufacturing execution systems (MES) — a layer of automation

software that is situated between ERP systems and lower-level

software, including PLCs, labeling systems, and scanners.

SAP Sybase PowerBuilder is the main tool used to combine

various, separated sub-systems and to gather data from the

production floor and transmit the necessary information back

to the SAP system. SAP Sybase PowerBuilder also is used to

create applications that serve as a main control for labeling,

steering conveyor systems, and communicating with a robot

system. The major topics covered in this session include:

Techniques used to access and send data from different

types of PLCs using OLE COM objects and UDP.

SAP-SAP Sybase PowerBuilder data exchange in a closed

loop, using an example of a warehouse management and

labeling system with SAP BAPI-RFCs and FTP in SAP

Sybase PowerBuilder.

Controlling the conveyor and robot system of an automatic

packing department from the SAP Sybase PowerBuilder

solution using examples from four factories of similar

systems and techniques that are written in SAP Sybase

PowerBuilder.

SAP Sybase PowerBuilder as a tool for reporting on

production, calculating efficiencies, and other factors.

Speaker: Andrzej Janiszewski, Information Services Manager –

Manufacturing Execution Systems, Silgan White Cap

Using .NET Assemblies with SAP Sybase PowerBuilder

This session demonstrates how to use visual and non-visual

assemblies in SAP Sybase PowerBuilder (any version) using

COM Callable Wrappers (CCWs) and the Microsoft Interop

Forms Toolkit. Demonstration also includes how to use non-

visual .NET assemblies from SAP Sybase PowerBuilder .NET,

WinForm, and WebForm targets using conditional code blocks.

Speaker: Bruce Armstrong, Development Lead, Integrated

Data Services

Creation and Consumption of Web Services with SAP

Sybase PowerBuilder

This session examines some of the recent improvements in

SAP Sybase PowerBuilder for the creation and consumption of

Web services. Specific emphasis is placed on:

The new WCF client in SAP Sybase PowerBuilder .NET.

The new WCF service type in SAP Sybase PowerBuilder .NET.

The new REST client in SAP Sybase PowerBuilder .NET.

Using a WCF client in an SAP Sybase PowerBuilder .NET

assembly to enhance SAP Sybase PowerBuilder Classic.

Speaker: Bruce Armstrong, Development Lead, Integrated

Data Services

Restocking the Eye Candy Store — Visual Upgrade Techniques in SAP Sybase PowerBuilder

Changing the user interface in an SAP Sybase PowerBuilder

application can be a labor-intensive exercise if it’s done solely

within the IDE. This presentation offers tips to help you plan,

test, and execute a variety of simple visual changes to SAP

Sybase PowerBuilder objects on a large scale — including mass

object export, conditional search-and-replace of properties,

and the creation of test libraries. The session also explores a

variety of third-party tools that can assist in the process, as

well as some “build-your-own” SAP Sybase PowerBuilder code

samples that can help in the creation of a migration assistant

application plug-in.

Speaker: Matt Balent, Software Engineer, McKesson

Sessions are subject to change.

Revitalize SAP Sybase PowerBuilder Applications by

Enhancing the User Experience

Are you looking for low-cost, easy-to-implement tools to expand

the functionality of your existing SAP Sybase PowerBuilder

applications? By utilizing the power of the DataWindow®, you

quickly can add functionality beyond the visual layer that users

have come to expect with modern applications. This session

explains how you can extend the reach of your existing

applications by making them easier to use — without a large

investment in time, labor, and capital. Tools demonstrated in the

presentation include a fast DataWindow search plug-in, a grid

DataWindow treeview emulator, a type-ahead processor for

drop-down DataWindows, and a mouseover effects kit. All tools

can be implemented with minimum changes to the existing

application code. The toolkit itself is available for free.

Speaker: Matt Balent, Software Engineer, McKesson

Developing Enterprise Applications for the Film and TV Industry with SAP Sybase PowerBuilder

Gray Matter’s iRights application was a finalist in the Media,

Arts, and Entertainment category at the Computerworld Honors

Program 2010 event in Washington D.C. The application, devel-

oped in SAP Sybase PowerBuilder and the SAP® Sybase® SQL

Anywhere® database, has helped Summit Entertainment (The

Twilight Saga series, The Hurt Locker), Lionsgate Films (The

Hunger Games), Echo Bridge Home Entertainment, and other

film and TV producers and distributors license their products

around the world. In the past few years alone, entertainment

companies have processed more than 3.5 billion dollars in

international licensing revenue with the iRights system.

Developed over a period of 16 years as a collaborative, multi-

company Agile project, the iRights system includes features

such as contract and document generation through the auto-

mation of Microsoft Word and Excel, as well as special techniques

for the rapid handling of large and complex datasets and

complex multi-currency transactions. In addition to covering

special technology features, this presentation covers approaches

to evolving Agile applications from the departmental desktop

to enterprise-wide applications. Some of the discussion

topics include:

Designing, creating, and maintaining the data structures

using SAP Sybase SQL Anywhere and the SAP® Sybase®

PowerDesigner® Physical Architect.

Building robust “unit of work” transactions.

Using database declarative referential integrity to facilitate

application development.

Tricks to creating powerful and flexible user reports.

Multi-user lock handling techniques and concurrency

management with complex datasets.

Microsoft Word and Excel document automation.

Using recursive processing in SAP Sybase PowerBuilder

to navigate and manage data trees.

DataWindow techniques for entering and reporting

international multi-currency transactions.

Development, QA, and production configuration

management.

How SAP Sybase PowerBuilder and SAP Sybase SQL

Anywhere® support Agile development.

Speaker: Glenn Barber, Partner, Gray Matter LLC

Techniques for Storing User-Created DataWindows and Graphics in the Database

When integrated as a tool in an SAP Sybase PowerBuilder

application, InfoMaker® can be launched by end users to create

their own DataWindows for reports. This session presents

techniques for storing those user-created DataWindows and

graphics in the database. After returning from InfoMaker, the

main DataWindows and any nested reports are scanned

recursively to determine what other objects they use. The

main DataWindows and all dependencies (drop-down

DataWindows, nested reports, and graphics) are saved

automatically as objects in the database. Multiple versions

of InfoMaker can be used. For users running reports, the

application creates a scratch PBL in each user’s local TEMP

directory which is added to their library list. When a report is

run from the application, the report and all dependencies are

downloaded as-needed to the TEMP directory. Once downloaded,

the objects are not downloaded again unless the application

detects that the original object in the database has been

changed. Appeon versions of the application can use this

technique as well, and do not need a temp PBL. Required

graphics are downloaded to the “images” directory in the

user’s Appeon cache directory. The report and any nested

reports or drop-down DataWindows are created and displayed

dynamically from syntax.

Speaker: Mark Bemis, Senior Application Developer, Fortress

Medical Systems, LLC

Migrating Classic SAP Sybase PowerBuilder Applications to the Web Using Appeon

This one-hour session provides you with the skills you need to

migrate classic legacy SAP Sybase PowerBuilder MDI applications

to a Web-based interface using Appeon. Discussion topics

include the configuration of IIS and a quick overview of Web

Server concepts, followed by the migration of an application

that was developed using a style typical in the 1990’s to a

browser-based application. The presentation also explains

how to overcome common problems such as how to deal with

SAP Sybase PowerBuilder features that are not supported by

Appeon, the Appeon toolbar, and best practices for migrating

existing applications and developing new ones.

Speaker: Rik Brooks, Sr. Programmer/Analyst, AutoZone


Using InfoMaker as Part of an Enterprise

Reporting System

The DataWindow can perform fantastic feats of data retrieval,

updates, and formatting but don’t forget that it is still an efficient

tool for creating beautiful enterprise reports. This session explores

the use of InfoMaker to develop reports, and SAP Sybase

PowerBuilder applications to manage and deliver those reports.

Discussion covers how reports can be added to the SAP Sybase

PowerBuilder application, versioned, tested, released, and

updated if necessary — all without recompiling the SAP Sybase

PowerBuilder application — as well as how simple it is to add

this capability to existing SAP Sybase PowerBuilder applications.

A standalone SAP Sybase PowerBuilder report manager is

shared with attendees.

Speaker: Mark Copenhaver, Principal Consultant, Ideal Care

Technologies, Inc.

Modernize the Look of Your SAP Sybase

PowerBuilder Applications

Presentation standards have evolved since some SAP Sybase

PowerBuilder applications were developed. Now may be the

time to update the design of your applications. This session

presents a few remodeling examples and introduces an SAP

Sybase PowerBuilder control library that you can use to revamp

your user interface. You can, for instance, implement a docking

system, a navigation bar, innovative tab pages, and other

powerful features easily. As a result, you get a modern user

interface for the cost of a minor evolution of your existing

application.

Speaker: Christophe Dufourmantelle, CEO, Novalys

Take Your SAP Sybase PowerBuilder Apps to the Web, and More

Did you know that more than 2000 companies have used

Appeon to take their SAP Sybase PowerBuilder applications to

the Web? The release of version 6.5.1 makes the Web migration

even more robust, simple, and fast and is used in this session to

demonstrate how any SAP Sybase PowerBuilder application

can be converted into a Web application while keeping a user

interface identical to the original client/server application.

This presentation also explains how Appeon Web and Appeon

Mobile complete each other, allowing you to develop once with

SAP Sybase PowerBuilder and deploy everywhere, to any user

or device; and examines how Appeon Web integrates with other

tools in the SAP Sybase PowerBuilder platform:

With Visual Guard, your Web application will support

Windows accounts and other complex security

requirements.

With Customization Studio, users can customize the

application themselves — particularly useful for SaaS

applications.

With Enable, you can deploy multilingual applications over

the Web.

With SAP Sybase PowerBuilder user interface controls, you

easily can modernize the look of your Web application.

The session includes a review of some major SAP Sybase

PowerBuilder projects that successfully migrated

applications to the Web using Appeon.


Modernize Your Application Security

Technology evolves quickly, as do security requirements and

user expectations. SAP Sybase PowerBuilder applications can

help you meet new challenges and stay competitive. This

presentation shows how to:

Allow users to identify themselves using their Windows,

Facebook, or Google account.

Keep track of sensitive operations performed by each user

within the application (auditing).

Completely separate business logic and security logic in

order to evolve security rules quickly and without making

changes to the code.

Delegate security management to a help desk or to group

administrators.


A New Approach to Making Changes in SAP Sybase PowerBuilder Applications

New features in SAP Sybase PowerBuilder allow end users to

adapt the application to their needs themselves by editing an

SAP Sybase PowerBuilder window as if it were a simple

Microsoft Office document. This presentation demonstrates

how Customization Studio 2012 can be used to customize

reports, add new controls and data to a window, and more —

without changing the source code — to modify the executable

version of the application and produce an immediate result.

This session also explains how your real-world projects can

benefit from this new technology by:

Releasing developers from customization tasks and

delegating those tasks to end users.

Enabling software vendors to develop new consulting

opportunities.

Beating the competition by adapting your application to

customer requests faster than others on the market.



Using SAP Sybase PowerBuilder to Deploy Dynamic

Visual Content in the Digital Signage World

When SAP Sybase PowerBuilder is one of your core compe-

tencies, the sky’s the limit. This session demonstrates that fact

with a real-world case of how SAP Sybase PowerBuilder 12.0

was used to implement a dynamic, cloud-based digital signage

architecture. An administrative studio was developed to manage

an entire inventory of kiosks for two large retailers. The kiosks

are running an application written in SAP Sybase PowerBuilder

12.0, and are used to display marketing materials through a rich

user interface. All of the kiosks track the user experience and

user leads through the touch screen interface. The management

console allows marketing executives to track real-time informa-

tion on all kiosks, and manage content in real-time from a remote

Web-based application. Demonstrations of a kiosk and manage-

ment console are included in this presentation, as well as a visual

discussion of the foundation architecture, coding examples,

and sample source code. This session is a must-attend for

any SAP Sybase PowerBuilder developer, and illustrates the

innovative use of SAP Sybase PowerBuilder, Microsoft

Silverlight, and other .NET technologies.

Speaker: Michael Eichenberg

CRAFT — A Software Platform for Building Customizable Applications

Yes, it is possible to create a business application in just a few

days or change the business logic immediately after a customer

request. This session presents CRAFT, a software platform for

building customizable and complex business applications.

CRAFT does not require expert programming skills — knowledge

of SQL is sufficient — and its visual tools allow developers to

build applications rapidly, even without a single line of code.

Applications can be customized easily during implementation

at a customer site. The CRAFT software platform:

Leverages the full power of DataWindow technology for

creating user interfaces and reports.

Enables software developers to create and manage

application business objects definition, their representation

(using DataWindow forms visual designer), and their

business logic (if needed) using embedded high-level

object-oriented language.

Program language syntax is very similar to PowerScript®

language (with some extensions) — SAP Sybase

PowerBuilder developers will have minimal learning time.

Supports the most well-known SQL databases (Oracle,

Microsoft SQL, MySQL, InterBase, Firebird, PostgreSQL),

and can be used as a prototyping tool, as a report

generator, and as a tool for business analysis.

The CRAFT platform was used to build a commercial ERP

system (http://binomsoft.com/view/72/CRAFT-enterprise).

A demo is provided during the presentation.

Speaker: Dmitry Golubev, CEO, Binom Soft

SAP Sybase SQL Anywhere Tips and Techniques

This example-filled session demonstrates some of the out-of-

the-box things you can do with the extremely flexible feature

set in SAP Sybase SQL Anywhere. Learn how to:

Access the Web by producing and consuming Web services.

Generate RSS feeds from the database.

Take advantage of location and spatial data by creating

density maps and generating spatial drawings and overlaying

them on graph paper — all generated using SQL.

Manage your database, log, and backup files as well as

external multimedia data from within the server using

directory access capabilities.

Generate cross-database queries using remote data access.

And more!

Speaker: Jason Hinsperger, Product Management, SAP

Real-World Case: Integrating SAP Sybase PowerBuilder .NET 12.5.1 CVUOs into the Lawson ERP (M3) Global Implementation

This session presents a real-world case of the integration of

SAP Sybase PowerBuilder .NET 12.5.1 CVUOs into the Lawson

ERP (M3) global implementation.

The integration process included:

Inserting CVUOs in SAP Sybase PowerBuilder .NET

assemblies into the Lawson Smart Office Mashup XAMLs.

Calling visual and non-visual objects in SAP Sybase

PowerBuilder PB assemblies to connect to the M3

databases and consume M3 Web services to retrieve

information and update the M3 system.

The system is comprised of:

One static .NET assembly installed in the GAC for

application management with one parameter to specify

which application to load.

Multiple business-related PB assemblies to be loaded

dynamically into the application for easy and flexible

business logic updates.

One static PB assembly to provide ERP-dedicated foundation

classes for rapid application development. The core of the

assembly is a custom DataWindow object that can perform

different roles according to the configuration read from

SQL database and that can take a variety of actions based

on user interactions.

Two applications were developed using the above system:

An Electronic Pricing List for the American division in

Houston, which performs automatic product costing and

quote pricing according to product types and dimensions,

and generates quotations in M3.


A Machined Seals Manufacturing Model, which provides a

comprehensive business model for:

– defining flexible product structures for customized

products

– providing integrated order entry interface for quick and

precise order intake

– developing production planning and scheduling based

on TOC

Speaker: Warren Hou, ERP Technical Lead, Hallite Seals

International Limited

VHG-Tools Platform — SAP Sybase PowerBuilder .NET,

Expression Blend, Web, and Cloud

The VHG-Tools platform is an application environment based

on the former Capital Architect program. The platform is

developed in SAP Sybase PowerBuilder .NET and is used to

present several tools anywhere, any time. Capital Architect,

now called Capital Simulator, is one of the tools integrated

within this new platform. Last year, a session illustrated the

implementation of the controls developed in Expression Blend

within SAP Sybase PowerBuilder .NET, and showed how the

application was mobilized on several platform-independent

devices. This session shows the continued evolution of style,

speed, mobility, and platform independency and covers

several techniques:

Multithreading.

Custom-styling DataWindows with SAP Sybase

PowerBuilder .NET using WPF “styles.”

Customizing Expression Blend buttons.

The integration of third-party control “amcharts.”

SMS service (a plain and simple solution).

.NET active directory user authentication.

Browser integration.

Web integration using Cloud Portal.

Speaker: Dimitri Joosten, Analyst Programmer, Van Havermaet

Groenweghe

Gantt Chart Planner — Consuming .NET Assemblies in SAP Sybase PowerBuilder .NET

Construction companies need an overview of their planning

and work in progress. HBBSoft, an SAP Sybase PowerBuilder

.NET application, aims to achieve this purpose using Gantt and

scheduling. The application is able to communicate with the

Microsoft Exchange Calendar using Microsoft Exchange Web

Services (EWS) to plan employees’ tasks immediately into the

Outlook calendar. This presentation covers several techniques

used in the HBBSoft application:

.NET user authentication.

Consuming Exchange Web Services to sync with Exchange

Calendar.

Custom Expression Blend toolbar.

Integration of third-party Gantt and schedule controls.

Speaker: Dimitri Joosten, Analyst Programmer, Van Havermaet

Groenweghe

How to Migrate 7000 Objects in 180 PBLs from SAP Sybase PowerBuilder Classic to SAP Sybase

PowerBuilder .NET

As of 2011, Turkcell — with its 64.8 million subscribers — is not

only the leading telecommunications operator in Turkey, but also

the third-largest GSM operator in Europe in terms of subscriber

number. The company’s development team has been using SAP

Sybase PowerBuilder for more than 10 years, beginning with

version 6.5 and currently is using version 12.5. Turkcell’s enterprise

telecommunications application NEMS consists of 180 PBLs

and more than 7000 objects that work with SAP Sybase ASE in

more than 2000 tables as a native Windows application. There

are 16 different modules under NEMS. Recently, Turkcell began

an effort to migrate from SAP Sybase PowerBuilder Classic to

SAP Sybase PowerBuilder .NET. Within this project, NEMS will

be split into different targets creating separate native Windows

applications for easy maintenance which then will be migrated

to .NET. As an application of 180 PBLs, it is a difficult process

to find and split the independent objects from others while

considering base objects — such as PFC objects from which all

DataWindows and Windows are inherited — and also common

objects such as global functions. So far, Turkcell has migrated

four of the 16 modules, and the project is targeted to be complete

in September 2012. This session presents Turkcell’s project

experiences, and discusses the migration process in

technical detail.

Speaker: Sonat Karakas, Senior Software Developer, Turkcell

Appeon Mobile — Cross-OS Mobile Apps with SAP Sybase PowerBuilder

Want to use SAP Sybase PowerBuilder to build apps for iPad,

iPhone, Android, and other mobile devices? This presentation

shows you how to leverage SAP Sybase PowerBuilder to rapidly

build native mobile applications that will run on virtually any

device or OS. Learn about:

Mobile SDK integration.

Offline data access.

Application provisioning and distribution.

Get answers to all your pressing technical questions, have a

chance to register for the beta program, and learn about the

product roadmap in this informative session.

Speaker: Armeen Mazda, President, Appeon Corporation


Creating and Consuming Web Services Based on SQL

Queries in SAP Sybase PowerBuilder

Unlike direct connections to the database, Web services can be

managed and secured outside of an application and used by

any Website or client/server, Web, or mobile application. An

SAP Sybase PowerBuilder application then can use Web

services to return data sets as data sources of the application’s

DataWindows. This facilitates the incorporation of SAP Sybase

PowerBuilder applications and Web services into a cloud

computing environment. This session explains and

demonstrates how to:

Build a data store based on a chosen query and structure

that can be used for constructing Web service output.

Create a class (NVO) as a wrapper of a Web service with

the necessary “Get_...()” functions that populate arrays

of structures from respective data store(s).

Deploy a created Web service to an IIS Web server including

the creation of a WSDL file.

Create a DataWindow with a Web service as a data source.

Choose a proper Web service and find its desired method

(“Get_…()” function).

Select a proper parameter from the chosen Web service

method and finalize the created DataWindow to solve hidden

problems with the string data type.

Speaker: George Mikhailovsky, Principal Systems Analyst, Calibre

SAP Business One and SAP Sybase PowerBuilder — Now They Speak!

This session presents how one company achieved its goal of

enabling its ERP (MEP) application that was developed in SAP

Sybase PowerBuilder 11.1 to interact with SAP® Business One

8.82 using one code for both applications. The company’s

development team faced several challenges: they had no prior

experience with the SAP Business One SDK; they had examples

only in VB, .NET, C#, and Java; and the SAP Sybase PowerBuilder

language was not supported by SAP Business One. The team

needed to determine how to handle SAP Business One events,

how to integrate the ERP windows in SAP Business One, and

how to adapt the look and feel of the ERP application to the

SAP Business One skin. SAP Business One allows two basic

functions: GUI management and data management. The team

handled the data management function by first instantiating

and connecting OLE objects to SAP Business One, then building

a menu expansion. Using the pbdom110.pbd file to manage XML

files, menu building became faster. The challenge of managing

an SAP Business One event in SAP Sybase PowerBuilder was

more difficult, but in a week all events were traced and

handled by a SAP Sybase PowerBuilder NVO. Thanks to the

hierarchy of the SAP Sybase PowerBuilder application, it was

possible to adapt the SAP Sybase PowerBuilder “look and feel”

to the SAP Business One skin without massive changes to the

code. Using an external object perfectly integrated with SAP

Sybase PowerBuilder, the team was able to modify SAP Sybase

PowerBuilder visual objects including buttons, checkboxes,

and scrollbars. By calling external functions, the ultimate goal

of integrating the window’s add-on with the SAP Business One

MDI was achieved.

Speaker: Giuseppe Moglia, Software Engineer, SATA srl

XML and Web Services with SAP Sybase PowerBuilder and the Database

This session demonstrates how to use XML with SAP Sybase

PowerBuilder 12.5 using the DataWindow. Discussion covers

techniques such as:

Importing XML into the DataWindow.

Passing XML to the database and returning XML to the

DataWindow.

Sending Web services from SAP Sybase PowerBuilder.

Using the DataWindow to call a stored procedure that calls

a Web service to return result sets.

Data types.

Chunking in with Web services.

Speaker: Bob Piskac, Owner, PB Software

Extend SAP Sybase PowerBuilder to Use Virtual Channels with Microsoft Terminal Services and Citrix

This session explains what virtual channels are, and provides an

overview of a virtual channel API. One example illustrates how

to include virtual channel support in SAP Sybase PowerBuilder.

A second example shows SAP Sybase PowerBuilder running in

Terminal Server using a local TWAIN device to scan a document

over a WAN and send the image to SAP Sybase PowerBuilder

that is running in Remote Desktop on a Windows 2008 server.

Speaker: Bob Piskac, Owner, PB Software

Features for a DataWindow-Based Reporting System

This session explains how to use specific features for a

DataWindow-based reporting system. Discussion topics

include:

Run-time report criteria

Adding report criteria at run time essentially means changing

the “where” clause of the report and enables additional

functionality to be added – such as allowing a user to enter

a delimited list of parameters for a column rather than

requiring a long list of parameters.

Report parameters

Utilizing default values and prompts, and adding drop-

downs and look-ups for your parameters.

Report layout

Saving the layout of a grid-based report and reapplying the

layout the next time a report is run.


Report summarization

How to allow any report to be collapsed into a summary

report, and expanded back to a detail report.

Extending the usefulness of reports by using computed

fields for grouping, sorting, and page breaks.

Enabling the report system to override compute formulas

to change the grouping and sorting of the report, allowing

you to define whether a page break should occur.

Drill-down capabilities

Writing drill-down capabilities as dynamic features that can

be added to any report, including reports that were added

by users at run time.

Adding user-defined reports at run time.

Speaker: Mike Searer, Consultant, Searer Business Technology

Coding Tips to Bite Bugs Before They Bite You

This presentation provides a practical approach — based on

real-world experience — for detecting and tracking software

bugs the moment they occur. After the error tracking code has

been set up, the developer easily and quickly can include error

checking for every line of PowerScript® simply by cutting and

pasting. When an error occurs, the code automatically displays

the error’s exact location (i.e., object, function/event, line

number). The code logs this information into a text file or

database and also emails this information to the software

developer immediately. As a bonus, another module permits

the software developer to include a “Bug Fix Log” within the

code itself. It takes just one line of text for the software

developer to include the version number, bug description,

and bug fix. If you write SAP Sybase PowerBuilder code, this

presentation can help you improve its quality.

Speaker: Bruce Sherman, Developer, Consultant

Point-of-Sale Application in the Cloud with Appeon

Sizes and Colors is a point-of-sale solution that was developed

15 years ago in SAP Sybase PowerBuilder. The application was

migrated to Appeon and today, it is a cloud-based application

that is hosted on four servers in a Dallas datacenter with 2,000

shoe stores running it. Even during time periods with increased

sales (holidays, for instance), the Appeon application maintains

a high transaction rate per second with minimal CPU use. The

cloud platform makes applications such as Sizes and Colors

very affordable, particularly for small and medium-sized

businesses, since companies can share the application

resources and they do not need to purchase servers or any

infrastructure. The Mexican government, in fact, launched a

program to help small and medium-sized companies adopt

cloud technology, and dedicated 1.5 million dollars to the

program. This presentation shares insights on Sybase® EAServer

performance and tuning, as well as important techniques for

maintaining a fast application in the cloud. Discussion topics

include:

Advice on partitioning the application to enable best

pricing for your customers.

Tracking and charging based on the resources used by every

function in the software, for instance CPU and memory.

Considerations for developing in Appeon versus pure SAP

Sybase PowerBuilder.

Speaker: Fili Sosa, President, Sizes and Colors Mexico

How to Use SAP Sybase PowerBuilder .NET to Architect Powerful Mobile Apps for Mobile Workers

Does your SAP Sybase PowerBuilder application need to reach

mobile users? This presentation offers practical ways to unlock

your investment in existing SAP Sybase PowerBuilder application

code, and leverage SAP Sybase PowerBuilder development skills

to reach users on mobile devices including tablets. Architectural

choices are presented as well as a step-by-step demo of how to

take an SAP Sybase PowerBuilder application mobile. As a bonus,

the session examines how to make the most of Windows 8

platforms while providing a first-class user experience for

Apple, Android, and BlackBerry users.

Speaker: Marcelle von Wendland, Director, Bancstreet Axellera Ltd

Gradients, Not Glitz — Methods to Modernize SAP Sybase PowerBuilder User Experiences

Although DataWindow gradients were introduced in SAP Sybase

PowerBuilder 10.5, few applications use them. Modern applica-

tions have controls with gradients. They give a fresh look to an

old application. Where developers previously used solid colors

to highlight columns, gradients add nuance, flair, and practical

advantages that are much more than just eye candy. This session

presents practical methods and guidelines for applying gradients

to convey meaning and grouping, as well as to provide visual

focus. Discussion includes:

An intro to the basics of gradient properties.

Types of subtle effects for general visual interest – for

example, soft spots, title bar shades, and focus indicators

for rows and columns.

Uses of gradients in detail and group bands, and framing

free-form objects inside — or instead of — group boxes.

Distinctive DataWindow controls such as edit text, check-

boxes, and radio buttons.

Property expressions that create data-driven effects to

convey real meaning.

Gradients and the extended PFC (Multi-) Column Sort

service — gradients visually declare when the service is

available or not, aiding quality checks and solving the inter-

face challenge of click-sorting by enhancing column labels.

Speaker: Jeff Wayt, President, IOBar, Inc.


Stored Procedure and Update DataWindows in

SAP Sybase PowerBuilder Classic and SAP Sybase PowerBuilder .NET

The DataWindow stored procedure data source ability in SAP

Sybase PowerBuilder is well-known, and the stored procedure

icon on the new DataWindow wizard is hard to miss. What

might be less recognized is that the DataWindow has supported

automated stored procedure updates since version 7.0. Possibly

even more arcane is the DataWindow’s ability to generate SQL

updates for a stored procedure data source DataWindow. The

content of this session is excerpted from eLearnIT’s new Web-

based Advanced SAP Sybase PowerBuilder for Professionals

eCourse, and explains the basics of the stored procedure

datasource and update DataWindows capabilities, provides

tips and tricks, and discusses migration and implementation

in the SAP Sybase PowerBuilder .NET 12.5.1 IDE.

Speaker: Yakov Werde, Principal Consultant, eLearnIT LLC

Building a Snap-In Application Framework Using

Dynamic SAP Sybase PowerBuilder Assemblies

This session examines and contrasts the new dynamic assembly

feature in SAP Sybase PowerBuilder .NET version 12.5.1 with

the corresponding dynamic library functionality in SAP Sybase

PowerBuilder Classic in the context of a simplified yet practical

use case. The session:

Reviews pertinent SAP Sybase PowerBuilder Classic

dynamic APIs.

Examines a classic PBD implementation.

Explores the dynamic assembly feature in SAP Sybase

PowerBuilder .NET 12.5.1.

Delves deeply into the SAP Sybase PowerBuilder .NET

generated assembly internals.

Surveys a SAP Sybase PowerBuilder .NET use case

implementation.

Speaker: Yakov Werde, Principal Consultant, eLearnIT LLC


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