Latin American PowerBuilder User Group Meeting Followup

Specifically on some PowerDesigner questions that didn't get answered earlier:

Q. We would like to use PowerDesigner, but the cost per seat ($4000 US) is unreasonable when compared to Enterprise Architect ($600).

A. PowerDesigner's features that appeal to the pure UML for the individual developer's increases productivity are indeed quite similar to what you will find in Sparx's product. All the UML diagrams are represented, and the code generation and reverse engineering functions are there. However, PowerDesigner has a few advantages even in this market that are not part of the Sparx feature set - complete loss-less round-trip engineering between model and code, plug-in capability into Eclipse for real-time model to code synchronization and interoperability with all Eclipse-based java tooling, a highly customizable template and script based code generation engine for easy pattern and model-driven development code creation based on your own customized code patterns, and the backing from one of the industry's best design tools development team - Sybase. Beyond the individual, PowerDesigner fosters greater multidisciplinary collaboration by combining the UML solution with the industry's top data modeling solution and some of the easiest to use tools for documenting and maintaining object-relational mapping and persistence code creation. Add to that the possibility up upgrading to the fully integrated design-time repository on the market and further upgrading to the studio adds business modeling and service orchestration design techniques to complete an enterprise-wide modeling and design environment.

Q. Why are the only localizations for PowerDesigner in English and French?

A. PowerDesigner was originally invented in Paris, France and was originally a French Language tool. We are still the most dominant player in the french-speaking world, and because of that history we retain the french User Interface. However, for other localizations, we have yet to meet growing demand to justify the conversion (user interface AND documentation where documentation is a very large part of the process, on-line help, user documentation, and screens all need to be translated, and then integrated into the engineering effort). So - as a result, we retain the PowerAMC brand for French countries for historical and current market condition reasons, and use PowerDesigner, English UI and documentation, for the rest of the world.

DataWindow.Net wins Readers’ Choice awards

DataWindow.Net took first place in the "Best .NET Libraries and Controls" category in the 2005 .NET Developer’s Journal Readers’ Choice Awards

Counting lines of code

Need to generate lines of code statistics for your project? For PowerBuilder, you're best served by PBL Peeper or Visual Expert. It's not immediately obvious how to do it with PBL Peeper, but if you go to Lists, then Scripts, and then select View->Show from the menu, you'll be presented with a dialog that allows you to add Line Count to the report.



If you've got to count lines of code for anything else, you might want to check out Code Counter Pro. Somewhat similar to SlickEdit, you define for a particular file extension how to distnguish between code lines and comment lines.



Then for a particular analysis you select the different file extensions that should be analyzed.



If your PowerBuilder project is under source control and you don't have "Delete PowerBuilder generated object files" checked in the source control settings, you could easily run Code Counter Pro on the PowerBuilder source files (they're generated by the source control system in the directory with the PBLs). The issue is that Code Counter Pro will include all of the system generated code lines as well (create and destroy scripts, etc.). Generally that's not the information that people are looking for when they are looking for code line counts for PowerBuilder projects.

Ovation

Well, perhaps not the greatest name for a product, particular when you decide to use a capital O as the logo in your icon. I can't help think of an egg rather than applause. But what it does is pretty spectacular. If it's not a cure for PowerPoint poisoning, it's a least a treatment.

It takes a PowerPoint presentation, adds moving backgrounds, sharper graphics and better transitions between points. And of interest to presenters, it allows you to see your notes side-by-side with the slides while your audience only sees the slides.

The product is in beta now. The only problem I've had with it is that it requires more serious graphics hardware that my current (couple year old) laptop is equipped with. Looks like it's time for an upgrade.

TechWave 2006

Mark your calendars for August 6th to 10th - Caesar's Palace - Las Vegas.

Vote for PocketBuilder (again)!

Developer.com has opened their "product of the year" contest again, and PocketBuilder is in the mobile category again. If you like PocketBuilder and think it deserves the recognization, please give it a vote. This contest is painless to vote for.

Check out: http://www.developer.com/

On the left hand side is the "Product of the Year 2006" link.

The Second PowerBuilder Developer Meeting in Latinamerica

On October 28th and 29th the Second PowerBuilder Developer Meeting in Latinamerica was held in Bogota, Columbia. I participated and did presentations on PowerBuilder, EAServer and PocketBuilder.

I've posted my pictures from the conference and from the special event (a tour of the "Cathedral of Salt").