Abstract

Originally developed as a GUI replacement to “green-screen” Informix 4GL, Genero has become a powerful and advanced development suite, with a long list of supported platforms, database engines and deployment options. A host of new features are added at every release; Whether you’re running an early version, still on 4gl, or looking for a platform for a new development project, there are some very compelling reasons to upgrade to the latest Genero release.

Content

Each new version of Genero delivers a huge number of enhancements, and it would be impossible to list them all here. Below is a list of some of the more noteworthy features added since V2.00.

V2.00 (GA January 2007)

  • ODBC, MySQL, PostgresSQL, and MS SQL Server support
  • Built in file transfer functions
  • Shared libraries for database drivers: No need to link into the runner
  • TYPE instruction: Ability to create your own data type structures
  • Pseudo-selectors: Enables individual row highlighting in tables
  • Several enhancements to Genero Web Services (GWS)

V2.10 (GA December 2007)

  • DIALOG instruction: Handle different parts of a form simultaneously
  • TRY/CATCH: Java style exception handling
  • SPLITTER form attribute: Allows form sections to be resized by the client
  • DOUBLECLICK action in tables

V2.20 (GA December 2009)

BDL:

  • Java support: Link in and reuse existing Java classes
  • TREE form container
  • PHANTOM form fields: Allow you to create screen records with invisible elements
  • Multi-row selection in lists
  • PUBLIC and PRIVATE functions: OO style function declarations

GAS:

  • Support for ISAPI and fastCGI: easier integration with your web server
  • Tree view support
  • Front call support: Call the file manager or other local function from the server

GDC:

  • SVG support
  • Image caching: improved loading times
  • Import/Export shortcuts: for easier client deployment

V2.30 (GA October 2010)

BDL:

  • Drag & Drop in DISPLAY ARRAYs: Move records between arrays
  • WEBCOMPONENT form item: allows interaction with external JavaScript widgets
  • Mac OSX support: Build and deploy application on OSX
  • Native CSV support: For loading, unloading and opening files

GAS:

  • Improved architecture: Using dispatchers and proxies, resulting in improved stability and performance
  • Java Application Server integration
  • Silverlight support
  • Native iPhone/iPad widgets

GDC:

  • Web component support

V2.40 (GA March 2012)

BDL:

  • DISPLAY ARRAY ON INSERT/APPEND/UPDATE/DELETE block: INPUT ARRAY functionality in DISPLAY ARRAY for clearer code
  • Searching in INPUT/DISPLAY ARRAYs: search for a record from the client
  • Table summary lines: Automatic totals/averages etc. in table footers
  • New NVL() and IFF() functions: reduce code complexity
  • Improvements to static SQL compatibility
  • Major enhancements to Genero Web Services (GWS) including SOAP 1.2 compatibility

GAS:

  • Summary lines in tables
  • Enhancements to Silverlight theme
  • HTML5 theme: Vastly improving the look and feel over the original GDCAX/AJAX themes

GDC:

  • Improved report handling for faster performance

V2.50 (GA December 2013)

BDL:

  • Dialog and form modularisation: allows sub-dialogs and sub-forms definitions to help reduce repeating code
  • UTF-8 support
  • JSON utility classes
  • New security library providing basic cryptographic features

GAS:

  • Major improvements to the HTML5 theme: this is now the default theme
  • Single Sign On (SSO) support: OpenID and SAML supported

GRD:

  • Table/Pivot table support
  • Native footers

V3.00 (GA December 2015)

BDL:

  • Built in temp file creation
  • Improved DATE/DATETIME/INTERVAL support
  • Autocomplete in text edit fields
  • ON TIMER trigger: execute code blocks based in timer from a dialog
  • Genero Mobile: Build native Android and IOS applications
  • Array sorting functions

GAS:

  • GWS for JavaScript (GWC-JS): New client
  • New universal proxy for improved performance
  • Genero Ghost Client: emulate user interaction to aid testing
  • Improved IPv6 support

GDC:

  • uaproxy support: uses new V3 proxy for improved stability and performance
  • IPv6 support

GRD:

  • Last page footer support

V3.10 (GA September 2017)

GST:

  • Create and run unit tests using Genero Ghost Client
  • Support for high DPI displays
  • Support for TUI applications
  • Enhancements to Project Manager, BAM, Code Editor/Debugger and Form Designer
  • BDL:
  • New DICTIONARY variables (hashes)
  • FUNCTION definitions and references
  • Program tracing
  • Extended dynamic array methods
  • Base64 support
  • Cordova and Google Play support in Genero Mobile

GAS:

  • GBC replaces GWC-JS and is now a separate module
  • Docker support
  • OpenID and SAML SSO support

GGC:

  • Generate test scenarios from GUI logs

GDC:

  • Qt 5.9
  • The client can now auto-update
  • Spellchecking in Web Components

GRW/GRD:

  • Data transformation
  • Embedded PDFs

V3.20 (GA June 2019)

GST:

  • Dark theme
  • Improved remote development architecture
  • New code quality tool: gslint
  • Improvements to Project Manager and File Browser
  • New events mechanism in BAM
  • Improvements to Code Editor
  • Stack layout support in Form Designer
  • GGC 2.00 support

BDL:

  • New INTERFACE structure
  • Named parameters in functions
  • Universal Rendering: Uniform output regardless of client
  • Support for Oracle 19c, PostgresSQL 12 and SQL Server 2019
  • Improvements to command line tools

GAS:

  • Genero Identity Provider integration
  • Enhancements to the gasadmin utility

GGC:

  • Centralised backend to provide better load testing
  • New ggcadmin/ggcgen tools

GDC:

  • Universal rendering support

GRW/GRD:

  • Improved WYSIWYG Excel output
  • New Calendar class
  • New Paragraph and Text elements

Conclusion

These are many great reasons why you should upgrade to the latest Genero release. The above enhancements are only a tiny subset of the new features provided with each release. In addition, each new release provides support for the latest database versions from a host of providers, as well as performance improvements and enhancements to the Genero Web Services.

Disclaimer

The above is provided “as is”, without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including without limitation any implied warranties of condition, uninterrupted use, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.

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If you have any questions regarding your upgrade to the latest Genero release and would like to find out more, simply contact us.

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