Presented by: Katie Milanowski

2  Formed in 1982  Bruce Barrington (HBO & Company)  Apply RAD technology to IBM PC  1986: Clarion Version 1.0, Atlanta, GA  1988: Clarion Professional Developer ◦ Version 2.0 ◦ Included Designer

3  1990 ◦ licensed compiler technology ◦ State-of-the-art  1992: merger

4  Founded May 2000  Acquired Clarion from TopSpeed  Latest technology  Stay ahead of technology curve

5  Fourth generation language  Data-centric  Advanced RAD tool  Includes: ◦ C++ compiler ◦ Modula-2 compiler

6  Code generation  Reusable metadata  Consistent coding standards ◦ Adopt styles quickly ◦ Learn quickly

7  Define application  Predefined templates  User-made templates

8  Helps manage files/processes  Includes: ◦ Source ◦ Executables ◦ Resources ◦ Editing ◦ Compiling ◦ Linking  Highly configurable

9  Basic Windows design  Common commands  Pick menu ◦ Recent files ◦ Arranged by type ◦ Open or remove from list  Project menu ◦ Commands ◦ Project only commands

10  Information on: ◦ How data is stored/accessed ◦ How data is displayed/processed  Important step in development  Organize data

11  Information in central place  Consistent look/feel  Fields/relationships/validity defined once  Default data handling

12  File names and descriptions  Field balloon help  File key and index definitions  Field status bar messages  File relationship definitions  Field validation rules  Database connection information  Field entry pictures and formatting  Relational integrity rules  Default screen and report controls for each field  Field data types and descriptions

13  Tool used for development  Creates procedures  Procedures accomplish tasks  “Writes” source for application

14  Used in application generation  Two types ◦ Legacy ◦ Application Builder Class (ABC)

15  Mix template language and clarion language statements  Source generated by options specified  At the end of the road  Problems with Legacy templates ◦ Lacks readability ◦ Doesn’t always make complete sense ◦ No visual development tools

16  Introduced in Clarion 4  Recreate Legacy templates  Contain core functionality of application  Rely on class library for source code ◦ Contain commonly used code ◦ Generic code ◦ Must know methods in library

17  “ToDo” procedures ◦ Main procedure ◦ Other procedures  Select templates  Define procedure  Add variables

18 Template Type Description Browse Browse fields in a page-loaded list box External An external procedure Form View/edit a record from a file Frame Multiple document main menu Process Sequential record processor Report Generic reporting procedure Source Source procedure Splash Splash window Viewer View an ASCII (text) file Window Generic window handler

19  A description of the procedure  The procedure prototype  The module containing the generated source code  Whether to export the procedure  Whether to declare the procedure globally  Parameters passed to the procedure  Return values from the procedure  INI file settings used by the procedure  Files accessed by the procedure

20  The window displayed by the procedure, including the size, shape, appearance and functionality  The report generated by the procedure  Data items (fields and variables) used by the procedure  Custom source code embedded within the procedure  Formulas used by the procedure  Template generated extensions

21  Code added to generated source  Embed points ◦ Where code is inserted ◦ Most standard events ◦ Developer created points  Allows for full customization  Saves embedded code for future generations  Must understand template source

22  Source in popup menu in application tree ◦ Opens Embeditor ◦ Embedded code in surrounding generated code ◦ Text editor  Choose Embeds ◦ Only embedded code ◦ Sorted alphabetic/logical ◦ Find embeds ◦ Tools to copy/move embeds

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25  Easy to use  Helps generate appropriate source code  Provides essential tools for development  Direct manipulation of window/controls

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27  Reports built in  Can use external reporting tools  Visually develop  Formatter helps create necessary code  Report sub-structures ◦ Form ◦ Header ◦ Detail ◦ Footer ◦ Break

28 GROUP('Ship to'),AT(3938,2375,3365,823),USE(?ShipTo),BOXED,TRN,#ORIG(?Group2) END LINE,AT(83,3302,7229,0),USE(?Line2),COLOR(COLOR:Black),LINEWIDTH(2),#ORIG(?Line2) END detail DETAIL,AT(,,,240),USE(?detail) STRING('Lines'),AT(21,21),USE(?ILines),TRN,#ORIG(?String43) STRING('Line'),AT(73,31),USE(?ILine),TRN,#ORIG(?String42) CHECK,AT(3969,42,250,177),USE(DTL:BackOrdered),#ORIG(DTL:BackOrdered) END Code snippet from

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30  Powerful development tool  Require less storage  Saves time  Easy to use, easy to learn

31  [1] Harms, D. (1999, March 08) ABC or Legacy: Which Templates Should You Choose? Clarion Magazine. Retrieved October 30, 2007, from ml  [2] SoftVelocity. (2003). Clarion 6. Retrieved October 9, 2007 from  [3] TopSpeed, (1998) Clarion 5: User’s Guide. Pompano Beach, Fl: TopSpeed Corporation.  [4] TopSpeed Corporation. Why: A layman’s guide to the merits of Clarion for Windows. Retrieved October 30, 2007, from