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 start using, the very latest version of Genero.
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 V3.00.
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
V4.01 (GA April 2022)
GST:
- Improved layout in Project Manager
- Improved language support
- Improvements to the Business Application Modeler
- Improvements to the Code Editor
BDL:
- Code block variable definitions
- Regex support
- IN() operator
- Universal Rendering as standard
- Window containers
- Support for latest database server versions
- Improvements to Web Services
GAS:
- One license per browser
- Web services monitoring
GGC:
- Application snapshots
GDC:
- Universal rendering only option now
GRW/GRD:
- PDF page rotation
- Editor improvements
GBC:
- Table customisation
- Default colour schemes
- Various fixes and improvements
Conclusion
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
Suggestions above are 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.
