tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66582571060032481702024-03-13T10:14:21.977-06:00Views from an Advantage EvangelistMy perspective on Advantage Database Server and other programming topics.Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.comBlogger362125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-74995919830720010052013-03-18T07:00:00.000-06:002013-03-21T13:56:25.931-06:00Webcast Recording Available<p><a href="http://www.sap.com/community/showdetail.epx?ItemID=24424"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-t2TcORvB-ow/UUtl59j69mI/AAAAAAAAEVg/YQb5x4uFxLE/image%25255B10%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="640" height="159" /></a></p> <p>Last week I did a webcast with the help from other members of the Advantage team. During the webcast I discussed some of the new items included in version 11.1, using Advantage on a Amazon EC2 image and using the Advantage Web Administrator.</p> <p>The webcast was well attended and I appreciate everyone who took the time out of their busy schedules to attend. If you couldn’t make it to the webcast you can click on the banner and view the recording.</p> <p>I am currently working on some content for another webcast that I would like to do in the next couple of months. Stay tuned.</p> Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-17735058705532188422013-03-12T15:56:00.001-06:002013-03-21T13:58:58.644-06:00Book Review–Little Bets<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1439170428/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1439170428&linkCode=as2&tag=viewfromanadv-20"><img style="display: inline; float: right" border="0" align="right" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1439170428&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=viewfromanadv-20" /></a><img style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; margin: 0px; border-top-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=viewfromanadv-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1439170428" width="1" height="1" />Back in September last year I attended a Design Thinking class which was really interesting. One of the recommended books was Little Bets by Peter Simms. This book gives a great overview of how taking small risks can pay off with big dividends. It gives many practical examples of how Design Thinking can improve a business. I think this book is a better introduction to Design Thinking than <a href="http://blog.advantageevangelist.com/2012/09/book-reviewchange-by-design.html" target="_blank">Change By Design</a> which I read back in September. Both cover the material well but I found that Little Bets is a more direct and succinct.  </p><p>Little Bets is divided into essentially nine different topics which are broken into chapters. The topics all relate back to taking small, manageable risks i.e. little bets to move their objectives forward. The topics (chapters) are</p><ol><li>Big Bets vs Little Bets</li>
<li>The Growth Mind-set</li>
<li>Failing Quickly to Learn Fast</li>
<li>The Genius of Play</li>
<li>Problems are the New Solutions</li>
<li>Questions are the new Answers </li>
<li>Learning a Little from a Lot</li>
<li>Learning a Lot from a Little</li>
<li>Small Wins</li>
</ol><p>Each of these topics (chapters) use many examples from various businesses from Apple, HP, Pixar and even comedian Chris Rock. The stories used throughout the book are quite interesting as well as a good examples of the topics being discussed.</p><p>The chapter on failing quickly really resonated with me since I seem to learn well from trial and error. For example developing quick, inexpensive prototypes is a good way to discover what works and doesn’t work. I go through many iterations when I am developing a new form or webpage. Modern tools make it very simple to move controls around to get just the right flow. This ability to rapidly prototype visual interfaces has been invaluable to me.</p><p>The concepts of “problems are the new solutions” and “questions are the new answers” are also very interesting concepts. Problems don’t have to be obstacles they can serve as guidelines or limitations. Problems can be broken down into more manageable pieces so that one big problem can be broken into many smaller ones. This is a principal applied in the Agile development process. </p><p>We all have seen how the right questions lead to gaining new insight into a problem. By finding the right questions we often find the answers we seek. This is brilliantly illustrated by Douglas Adams when Deep Thought determined the answer to the "ultimate question of life, the universe and everything” to be 42. For the answer to make sense you have to ask the right question.</p><p>The bottom line: Each of the chapters have good tidbits of information about new ways to approach and solve problems. Using these ideas and principals can help you to find unique solutions or products to meet a need that you may have never though of before. Little Bets is a very good introduction to Design Thinking and an easy read. There is an extensive reference guide as well as a great list of recommended reading in the appendices.</p>Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-81274976350484453402013-03-08T07:00:00.000-07:002013-03-08T17:26:57.878-07:00Creating a Windows 8 Virtual Machine<p>Now that Advantage supports Windows 8 I thought it was time I got a test system configured. I have been an avid fan of virtualization for many years and I find it to be an invaluable tool in keeping multiple versions available for testing. It is also a great way to keep my machine relatively clean for my day-to-day work.</p> <p>I have been using VMWare Workstation for several years beginning with a 6.x version. I had upgraded to the 7.x version but I quickly found out that I needed a newer version to install Windows 8. There were several posts on the web that discussed successfully creating a Windows 8 image with version 8.x of workstation but the VMWare tools do not work. So I decided to take the safe route and get version 9, which officially supports Windows 8. </p> <p>Unfortunately that did not end my troubles when I tried installing I kept getting the following message when the VM started.</p> <blockquote> <p>your pc needs to restart <br />please hold down the power button <br />Error code: 0x0000005D <br />Parameters: <br />0x000000000FABFBFF <br />0x0000000028000800 <br />0x0000000000000000 <br />0x0000000000000000 </p> </blockquote> <p><font color="#666666">I did what any reasonable person would do and went straight to Google. My search was instantly rewarded with hundreds of hits from people with the same problem almost all of which were completely useless. Most recommended upgrading to Workstation version 9, which I had already done. Others discussed enabling virtualization in the BIOS, which I had already done since this is required to run any 64-bit OS. The whole process reminded me of an <a href="http://xkcd.com/979/" target="_blank">XKCD comic</a>.</font></p> <p><font color="#666666"><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Afwv1MC59U8/UTqByEuj9ZI/AAAAAAAAEVE/eG2UXBmuZCA/s1600-h/wisdom_of_the_ancients%25255B4%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="wisdom_of_the_ancients" border="0" alt="wisdom_of_the_ancients" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-jU1XOpq5kvM/UTqBz1waZKI/AAAAAAAAEVM/EaLuUMes_s8/wisdom_of_the_ancients_thumb%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="640" height="356" /></a></font></p> <p>At long last I found a post that had the <a href="http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/26800/windows-8-on-virtualbox-and-vmware-your-pc-needs-to-restart-fix/" target="_blank">answer</a>. You need to enable the No-Execute Memory Protection option in the BIOS. This option is disabled by default. </p> <p>I know a long story for a simple answer. Hopefully this post will help others get their own Windows 8 Virtual Machines up and running.</p> Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-57038474540439168212013-03-06T07:00:00.000-07:002013-03-06T10:37:35.935-07:00Advantage Webcast<p>On March 12th at 1:00 PM EDT I will be doing a webcast on using Advantage Database Server in the Cloud. All the details are below. </p> <blockquote> <p>Cloud computing is a hot trend in the market, and many independent software vendors are evaluating or implementing their own cloud offering. Join us on March 12, 2013, to learn how SAP Sybase Advantage Database Server can be used in the cloud</p> <p><strong>Get enterprise power – in the cloud</strong></p> <p>During this one-hour Webcast, you’ll have the opportunity to see live demos of the functionality of SAP Sybase Advantage Database Server, as well as:</p> <ul> <li>Discuss strategies for implementation, everyday business use, and integration with your cloud and software as a service (SaaS) software</li> <li>Explore how to run SAP Sybase Advantage Database Server from Amazon Web Services</li> <li>Learn about the remote administration functionality of SAP Sybase Advantage Database Server, using the Advantage Web Administrator</li> </ul> <p>Don’t miss this opportunity to learn what SAP Sybase Advantage Database Server has to offer. We hope you’ll join us.</p> </blockquote> <p><font color="#666666"><a href="https://sapevents.webex.com/sapevents/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=669127615&urlid=CRM-XU13-CST-ADWEBXHWC&t=1" target="_blank">Register Now</a></font></p> Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-59398817538925496122013-01-02T07:00:00.000-07:002013-01-09T10:01:35.148-07:00A New Year<p>Another year has past and it is time for me to once again make a bunch of resolutions that I will not keep. Last year I put together a <a href="http://blog.advantageevangelist.com/2012/01/book-reading-goals.html" target="_blank">book list</a> with the goal of reading one technology book every month. I managed to get through four of them. Of course one of the books on the list did not end up getting published, so I got that going for me.</p> <p>So with my past performance in mind I am once again setting a goal to read one technology book every month. To help I will be adding a simple reminder to the sidebar so I will see which book I should be reading. Perhaps with the extra accountability I will get through half of the list.</p> <p>Here is the “official” 2013 list:</p> <ol> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0123809304/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=viewfromanadv-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0123809304">Thoughts on Interaction Design, Second Edition</a><img style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; margin: 0px; border-top-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=viewfromanadv-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0123809304" width="1" height="1" /> </li> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1449302661/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=viewfromanadv-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1449302661">Head First Mobile Web</a><img style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; margin: 0px; border-top-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=viewfromanadv-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1449302661" width="1" height="1" /> </li> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1933988274/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=viewfromanadv-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1933988274">The Art of Unit Testing: With Examples in .Net</a><img style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; margin: 0px; border-top-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=viewfromanadv-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1933988274" width="1" height="1" /> </li> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1449380344/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=viewfromanadv-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1449380344">Head First C#, Second Edition</a><img style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; margin: 0px; border-top-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=viewfromanadv-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1449380344" width="1" height="1" /> </li> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1934356557/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=viewfromanadv-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1934356557">SQL Antipatterns: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Database Programming</a><img style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; margin: 0px; border-top-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=viewfromanadv-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1934356557" width="1" height="1" /> </li> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1449393217/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=viewfromanadv-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1449393217">Head First jQuery</a><img style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; margin: 0px; border-top-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=viewfromanadv-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1449393217" width="1" height="1" /> </li> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006P5O5GY/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=viewfromanadv-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B006P5O5GY">Head First HTML5 Programming</a><img style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; margin: 0px; border-top-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=viewfromanadv-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B006P5O5GY" width="1" height="1" /> </li> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0596100167/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=viewfromanadv-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0596100167">Information Dashboard Design: The Effective Visual Communication of Data</a><img style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; margin: 0px; border-top-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=viewfromanadv-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0596100167" width="1" height="1" /> </li> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1449316409/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=viewfromanadv-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1449316409">SQL and Relational Theory: How to Write Accurate SQL Code</a><img style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; margin: 0px; border-top-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=viewfromanadv-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1449316409" width="1" height="1" /> </li> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0977140067/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=viewfromanadv-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0977140067">Data Modeling Made Simple: A Practical Guide for Business and IT Professionals, 2nd Edition</a><img style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; margin: 0px; border-top-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=viewfromanadv-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0977140067" width="1" height="1" /> </li> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0071744320/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=viewfromanadv-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0071744320">Star Schema The Complete Reference</a><img style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; margin: 0px; border-top-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=viewfromanadv-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0071744320" width="1" height="1" /> </li> <li><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1449328016/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=viewfromanadv-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1449328016">Database Design and Relational Theory: Normal Forms and All That Jazz</a><img style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; margin: 0px; border-top-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=viewfromanadv-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1449328016" width="1" height="1" /> </li> </ol> <p>Good luck with your resolutions and have a great New Year!</p> Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-2640911384432365612012-11-09T14:44:00.001-07:002012-11-09T14:44:24.877-07:00Monitoring an Amazon Web Service Image<p>Peter Funk from our Advantage engineering team has been using Amazon Web Services (AWS) to host a project he has been working on. He was looking for a tool to monitor the activity on his site. Peter found a tool that met his needs so he asked me to share his thoughts about it. I was all to happy to post this information for him.</p> <p>Now that I have an application (website) up and running with the Advantage Web Platform I wanted to monitor the traffic. Primarily I want to be on the lookout for any hacking attempts but also I am curious how my users are accessing the site. Searching around for website monitoring tools quickly led me into the world of log analyzers.</p> <p>To have a complete picture of your site’s traffic you must log all activity to some sort of log file or database. With Apache this functionality exists in the log_config_module which is enabled by default. This module will log all activity to the access.log file (by default in the apache\logs directory). Although all the information I needed was in the access.log it wasn’t in a useable form. That’s where the log analyzer comes in.</p> <p>There are quite a few log analyzers available on the web these days. I wanted one that works with Apache, provides real-time statistics, has a wealth of information including graphs, and is free. Eventually I found the <a href="http://awstats.sourceforge.net/" target="_blank">AWStats</a> project hosted on sourceforge.net.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-skheaeEHaqQ/UJ15M7AqSeI/AAAAAAAAEUc/bYXc3t8UbOU/s1600-h/clip_image001%25255B4%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="clip_image001" border="0" alt="clip_image001" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/--pgnlg2OpE4/UJ15N90izII/AAAAAAAAEUk/d5mF0iWENy4/clip_image001_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="644" height="484" /></a></p> <p>AWStats met all my requirements and has been working well for me so far. It is written in Perl and is accessible from any browser. It is pretty simple in that it processes the access.log, creates a report with a summary of all the log information, and then displays the information in an informative and useful way. You can see a demonstration of AWStats in action using this <a href="http://www.nltechno.com/awstats/awstats.pl?config=destailleur.fr" target="_blank">link</a>. </p> <p>For up-to-date statistics AWStats must process the access.log to refresh the summary report. This can be done on demand or on a schedule (Windows task manager or Linux cron job). So far I’ve been using the on-demand approach (see AllowToUpdateStatsFromBrowser in the AWStats documentation) but creating a scheduled task may work better for you. When I want to view the current statistics I simply bring up the awstats page and click the Update Now link. A few seconds later I can view the report with current information.</p> <p>Make sure you have a Perl interpreter installed on your server before installing AWStats. I recommend the <a href="http://www.activestate.com/activeperl/downloads" target="_blank">Activestate</a> interpreter for Windows.</p> <p>Installing AWStats is simple. Just follow the instructions and it will create a project for your site and adjust any configuration settings. You will likely need to restart Apache after the installation is complete. You might also need to tell Apache which Perl interpreter to use. On Windows you can simply tell Apache to look into the registry for which application is assigned to the .pl file extension. Do this by adding the following line to your httpd.conf file:</p> <blockquote> <p>ScriptInterpreterSource registry</p> </blockquote> <p>By default the AWStats page is visible to anyone by your web server. You can limit that access to an IP address or domain. In your httpd.conf file look for the directory entry that points to your AWStats/wwwroot folder. It should be at the bottom of the file. There you can limit the access via the “Allow from” option.</p> <p>One issue I had with Google’s chrome browser was with the HTML frames that AWStats.pl creates. For some reason chrome didn’t like the frames so I had to disable them with the UseFramesWhenCGI setting in the awstats conf file for my website:</p> <blockquote> <p>UseFramesWhenCGI=0</p> </blockquote> <p>In conclusion I am very happy using AWStats to keep an eye on my website. It gives me a good view into how people are using my website. I can already see which URLs are used the most and look for ways to optimize them. I can also see which browsers are used the most which helps me test and tailor my website to provide the best experience for the most people.</p> Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-68568997423613341172012-11-05T07:00:00.000-07:002012-11-05T07:00:01.314-07:00SAP Innovation<p>SAP has been developing software the helps businesses run better for over 40 years. Recently SAP has begun providing solutions to OEM partners as well. In the article below Kevin Ichipurani from SAP discusses the many new opportunities solutions from SAP can bring to software developers. </p> <center><iframe style="border-bottom: #ccc 0px solid; border-left: #ccc 1px solid; margin-bottom: 5px; border-top: #ccc 1px solid; border-right: #ccc 1px solid" height="511" marginheight="0" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/14903765" frameborder="0" width="479" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"> </iframe> <div style="margin-bottom: 5px"><strong><a title="SAP Innovation Presents New Opportunities" href="http://www.slideshare.net/Roisinmon/sap-innovation-presents-new-opportunities-14903765" target="_blank">SAP Innovation Presents New Opportunities</a> </strong>from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/Roisinmon" target="_blank">Roisinmon</a></strong> </div> </center> Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-19290825397457393132012-10-20T17:32:00.000-06:002012-10-24T15:52:45.329-06:00SWFox & SWXbase Day 3<p align="center"><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-quruSG5tGbY/UIhjHhiBr3I/AAAAAAAAETg/_slm23QUhlE/s1600-h/SWFox_Booth_Sat%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="SWFox_Booth_Sat" border="0" alt="SWFox_Booth_Sat" align="right" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-CpJby21j_24/UIhjIXegOrI/AAAAAAAAETo/zwcyTRD6q5s/SWFox_Booth_Sat_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="161" /></a>Saturday morning began our last day at the conference. I arrived in the exhibit hall early and made some quick changes to our booth, putting out a few more giveaways. We were scheduled to leave that evening so I wanted to have as many people as possible dropping by.</p> <p>We had quite a few people stop by and tell us about how they had been using Advantage for many years and were very happy with the performance, we love hearing that. Several also told us how they were using version 8 which is always a bit of a surprise. However, I have always been a proponent of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”. Although I think that after hearing about all the great features in version 11 some are thinking about some upgrades.</p> <p>Keeping up with our reputation of having the best giveaways as expressed by Eric Selje in my favorite tweet of the weekend:</p> <blockquote> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/AdsEvangelist"><s>@</s><b>AdsEvangelist</b></a> Sybase does have the coolest stuff, in swag and tech. <a href="http://twitter.com/search?q=%23SWFox&src=hash"><s>#</s><b>SWFox</b></a></p> </blockquote> <p>This year we had cars, cell phone stands and playing cards to give away. Everything that was left over at the end was donated to the FoxPro usergroup presidents so they can get it to their members.</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-7Wy2SjvShBI/UIhjI3B0dPI/AAAAAAAAETw/NlQFR8afQGQ/s1600-h/SWFox_AllSwag%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="SWFox_AllSwag" border="0" alt="SWFox_AllSwag" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-yIMHLkjy5ko/UIhjJq_RutI/AAAAAAAAET4/_GOYfZ21y-Q/SWFox_AllSwag_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="604" height="278" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-WWn57ZE5WSs/UIhjKceYpjI/AAAAAAAAEUA/BqRMCXLXhKQ/s1600-h/SWFox_Prize%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="SWFox_Prize" border="0" alt="SWFox_Prize" align="left" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-hdIlVFSR-W8/UIhjKzNQmkI/AAAAAAAAEUI/wJk2_V3qNho/SWFox_Prize_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184" /></a>Our prize this year was a pico projector. We collected entries until lunchtime on Saturday and then had Tamar Granor do the drawing just before the sessions started after lunch. Congratulations to Jim Nelson on winning the projector.</p> <p>As always I had a great time and I want to thank everyone from <a href="http://geekgatherings.com" target="_blank">Geek Gatherings</a> for putting the conference together. I also want to express my thanks to everyone that stopped by to chat, ask questions or enter our contest. Both the FoxPro and Xbase++ communities are full of amazing people. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone next year.</p> Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-6533199768031630362012-10-19T22:30:00.000-06:002012-10-24T15:31:12.446-06:00SWFox & SWXbase Day 2<p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Ds0ySRqV10g/UIheHDkg0OI/AAAAAAAAETE/6_LeeK-Pyz8/s1600-h/IMG_0386%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_0386" border="0" alt="IMG_0386" align="right" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-yIB4y24FYvs/UIheH_s7_1I/AAAAAAAAETM/pbG-ukHliP4/IMG_0386_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184" /></a>Day two of the combined SWFox and SWXbase conference started out on a beautiful morning. One of the great things about this conference is the full breakfast that is included. It is a chance to chat with the attendees and get ready for the day.</p> <p>We got out some new give aways for our first full day in the exhibit hall. These were really well received and generated some traffic along with some good conversations. The general buzz about the conference was positive and people were learning a lot in their sessions.</p> <p>After lunch we did our first exhibitor session on “Expanding Access to your Data” which discusses how Advantage can serve data to a variety of clients. This year I wanted to focus on using Advantage in the cloud and on our Web Platform. I also spent some time discussing the latest features included in version 11. The online table maintenance capability was very well received.</p> <p>After the first full conference day there is a dinner for all attendees. The weather was very nice so the meal was setup outside. The food was excellent and the dinner provides another opportunity to talk with everyone. It was great to see people getting to know their peers that were attending the conference.</p> Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-24269572055760185742012-10-18T22:34:00.000-06:002012-10-20T15:34:34.261-06:00SWFox / SWXbase Day 1<p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-8TntSG6ceCE/UIMY53kG4TI/AAAAAAAAERA/7YB2oouliM4/s1600-h/IMG_0385%25255B8%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_0385" border="0" alt="IMG_0385" align="right" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-JvMe-PfxPNc/UIMY6WJFD_I/AAAAAAAAERI/WXB8iGtXEGI/IMG_0385_thumb%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="260" height="200" /></a>This is my 6th year attending SWFox in Phoenix Arizona. It is always a great conference with many great developers. This year the conference was combined with SWXbase++ which brought more developers and a similar but different community to the show.</p> <p>Having the XBase++ developers at the conference was great for us since just about all of them have heard of Advantage prior to attending. There were also several of our partners in attendance.</p> <p>The event always kicks off with a keynote followed by an Exhibitor Reception. This year the keynote included several awards and recognitions, including two lifetime achievement awards for Cathy Knight and Craig Boyd.</p> <p>The featured speaker at this years keynote was <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/jennifer/about.aspx">Jennifer Marsman</a> a developer evangelist from Microsoft. Jennifer is a very energetic speaker and she highlighted many of the new developer centric features of Windows 8. The general consensus of the people I spoke with after the keynote were really impressed with her knowledge and enthusiasm. You can view the recorded keynote <a href="http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/26258717">here</a>.</p> <p>After the keynote there was a reception in the exhibit hall. This was our chance to see everyone at the conference for the first time. It was good to see lots of familiar faces and to have so many people come by to say hello and to chat. </p> <p>I will be doing two <a href="http://www.swfox.net/exhibitorsessions.aspx">sessions</a> while I am at the conference one at 2PM on Friday and another at 2PM on Saturday. Hope to see some of you there.</p> Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-41274975405115392752012-10-17T22:13:00.000-06:002012-10-24T15:13:37.421-06:00SAP TechEd Day 3<p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-0UoySmEBgYk/UIhZ-EYlkmI/AAAAAAAAESY/7QzLih_7O88/s1600-h/TE12LV_17OCT_121%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="SAP Teched 2012 - Las Vegas, USA" border="0" alt="SAP Teched 2012 - Las Vegas, USA" align="right" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-uLwEw4jihy0/UIhZ-oihqgI/AAAAAAAAESg/I4VUe-vV5a0/TE12LV_17OCT_121_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="164" height="244" /></a>For day 3 of TechEd I was working at the Ecosystems & Channels booth in the Clubhouse area of the show floor. It is always interesting to work in a booth at a tradeshow. You get to meet all kinds of people with all sorts of different backgrounds, which makes for some great conversations. </p> <p>The Clubhouse area had a lot of traffic with people visiting the <a href="http://scn.sap.com/">SAP Community Network</a> booth, the slot car racing and the classic games area. There was also a coffee bar setup right next to our booth which was almost always crowded.</p> <p>The best thing about working in the clubhouse was our proximity to the Clubhouse Theater. This area was set aside for quick 30 minute presentations which went on all day long. Since we were so close I got to listen in on several of these presentations as well as attend a couple.</p> <p>One of the sessions I attended was on Visual Intelligence which is a new product that was discussed in the opening <a href="http://blog.advantageevangelist.com/2012/10/sap-teched-day-2.html">keynote</a>. It is a really interesting tool that allows for creating quick visualizations of data. It requires no programming or SQL knowledge so it can be used by almost anyone.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-z8A-TakaVQk/UIhZ_f__9OI/AAAAAAAAESo/j34sJH9Cok4/s1600-h/p1201444946-2%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: left; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="p1201444946-2" border="0" alt="p1201444946-2" align="left" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-DIaiqpedec0/UIhaAPR4JxI/AAAAAAAAESw/6oAX-gX2t6U/p1201444946-2_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="164" /></a>Another cool session that I listened in on was by a group of middle school students from Roberto Clemente Middle School developed a mobile app using SAP tools. Their application called Food Agent can be used for scanning bar codes in supermarkets that check food origins and possible food contamination. They did a demonstration of their application during Demo Jam, you can view their six minute demo <a href="http://www.sapvirtualevents.com/teched/sessiondetails.aspx?sId=3460" target="_blank">here</a>. Their application came in second place overall in a field of experienced developers.</p> <p>If you didn’t attend TechEd this year and you develop using Sybase or SAP products you should consider attending. There are literally hundreds of sessions and many hands-on sessions available. Definitely a worth while investment. </p> Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-73245720184511466582012-10-16T10:33:00.000-06:002012-10-23T15:08:07.689-06:00SAP TechEd Day 2<p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-pE8NoaYDVHs/UIcHLFWt0MI/AAAAAAAAERc/E2Sn2niRMBA/s1600-h/p1198329942-33.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="p1198329942-3" border="0" alt="p1198329942-3" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-G0FO5Hs1-jA/UIcHMIy71fI/AAAAAAAAERk/GBtiV1tWUek/p1198329942-3_thumb1.jpg?imgmax=800" width="584" height="390" /></a></p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-HmBHPdLnZ_4/UIcHMw7XL9I/AAAAAAAAERs/t8IKi-VZct8/s1600-h/VishalSikka2.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="VishalSikka" border="0" alt="VishalSikka" align="right" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-HMgqIUUU-QA/UIcHNmTYNPI/AAAAAAAAER0/1X46dH3uBic/VishalSikka_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="226" height="244" /></a>Day 2 of SAP TechEd began with a keynote by executive board member Dr. Vishal Sikka. Dr. Sikka heads up technology and innovation for the company and has responsibility for <a href="http://www.experiencesaphana.com">SAP HANA</a>, analytics, mobile application platform and middleware. Vishal began his keynote discussing HANA and the many amazing performance it has achieved.</p> <p>HANA is normally sold as an all-in-one solution with our hardware partners ensuring the best hardware and software configuration. Now HANA is available in the Amazon cloud which makes getting a HANA instance up and running very quickly. This solution is excellent for businesses that want to use the power of HANA for development and testing. It can even be used in production for smaller data sets ( up to 30GB ).</p> <p>After the HANA discussion Vishal introduced Sam Yen, global head of user interface and design. Sam demonstrated a new project they are working on called AppDesigner. This is a visual template based solution for building applications on the fly. It generates HTML5, CSS and Java script that will run on your device.</p> <p>Also announced was SAP NetWeaver Cloud which allows developers to create cloud applications that can access SAP systems. It also allows development of cross-platform mobile web sites. You can get more information about NetWeaver cloud <a href="http://www.sap.com/netweavercloud">here</a>.</p> <p>There was also a discussion of our Business Intelligence offerings. One of the latest is SAP <a href="http://www.experiencesaphana.com/community/solutions/explorer/visual-intelligence">Visual Intelligence</a> which is a tool for quickly analyzing data. It includes charts, graphs and even geospatial representations of your data. You can join the <a href="http://scn.sap.com/docs/DOC-31008">Data Geek Challenge</a> by using your own data and creating a visualization. </p> <p>The keynote also included some discussion of Mobility and Database platforms. These included Afaria, ASE and SQL Anywhere from Sybase. You can view the entire keynote <a href="http://www.sapvirtualevents.com/teched/sessiondetails.aspx?sId=3426">here</a>.</p> Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-56592718685347220562012-10-15T23:05:00.000-06:002012-10-17T11:05:47.752-06:00SAP TechEd Day 1<p><a href="http://www.sapteched.com/12/usa/home.htm"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="TechEd_Banner" border="0" alt="TechEd_Banner" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-WZ5J8WREnnI/UH7lYObZ8ZI/AAAAAAAAEQg/8W60GnLy3Bs/TechEd_Banner%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="604" height="306" /></a></p> <p>SAP TechEd has begun in Las Vegas. This is the premier technical conference for SAP technologies. There are literally hundreds of sessions, labs, Q&A sessions and two great keynotes scheduled for the week. If you develop with any SAP solution this is the place to be.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-KqKz89Im71M/UH7lYiiQ1hI/AAAAAAAAEQo/YskyCtogJqE/s1600-h/p1196869518-3%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="p1196869518-3" border="0" alt="p1196869518-3" align="right" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-k5l8aqU0OXI/UH7laslrFAI/AAAAAAAAEQw/V8DydbWhuVU/p1196869518-3_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="163" height="244" /></a>The opening keynote was presented by Clay Shirky who is an expert on Social Media and how it affects business. He has written two books, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143114948/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0143114948&linkCode=as2&tag=viewfromanadv-20">Here Comes Everybody</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594202532/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1594202532&linkCode=as2&tag=viewfromanadv-20">Cognitive Surplus</a>. Mr. Shirky provided many examples on how social media has changed how businesses respond to their customers. </p> <p>He opened his keynote taking about HSBC bank which offered a checking account for college students that did not charge overdraft fees. As you might expect HSBC gained thousands of new customers because of this new program. In the summer after the semester ended HSBC announced that graduates would begin being charged overdraft fees of up to £1500 the first 12 months after leaving college. You can read about the change on <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1561176/HSBC-breaks-interest-free-graduate-promise.html">The Telegraph</a>. </p> <p>This plan backfired because a student named Wes Streeting started a Facebook page called “Stop the Great HSBC Graduate Rip-Off”. Because he started this page all his friends found out about the problem and started liking the page. In turn all their friends could also see the page and like it once again alerting their friends. The social media backlash had worked itself up to the point where plans were being made for a series of demonstrations when school started again in the fall. However, HSBC changed their policies before this happened.</p> <p>This is a powerful story about how much influence social media has over how businesses make decisions. It is very difficult to keep details, especially ones that adversely affect people, out of the public eye. Word of mouth now has a global voice.</p> <p>One other particularly interesting example was Amazon.com. I had never thought of Amazon as a social media site, however, the ability to write reviews provides a way for customers to interact with each other. I often read reviews when I am looking to purchase a particular product and I tend to read the latest ones. But, if you really think about it has a book that was written years ago gotten better over time?</p> <p>Amazon reviews provide a way for customers to share their experience of the book, video or other product. It gives them a way to express their love or hate of the item. This is a powerful forum for people to collaborate and be heard. The idea that a book or movie only needs to be reviewed shortly after it has come out has been thrown out the window.</p> <p>I really enjoyed the keynote and I am looking forward to the rest of the conference. If you want to hear more you can view Clay Shirky’s keynote <a href="http://www.sapvirtualevents.com/teched/sessiondetails.aspx?sId=3424">here</a>.</p> Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-76580592524761528062012-09-24T08:00:00.000-06:002012-11-30T15:11:49.631-07:00Book Review–Change by Design<p><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061766089/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0061766089&linkCode=as2&tag=viewfromanadv-20"><img style="display: inline; float: right" border="0" align="right" src="http://ws.assoc-amazon.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0061766089&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=viewfromanadv-20" /></a><img style="border-bottom-style: none !important; border-right-style: none !important; margin: 0px; border-top-style: none !important; border-left-style: none !important" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=viewfromanadv-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0061766089" width="1" height="1" /> I recently did some training on Design Thinking and one of the books that was recommended during the class was “Change by Design” by Tim Brown. Since I am a sucker for a good book I decided to get my hands on a copy. Throughout the book Tim Brown describes work that his company, IDEO, has done for various clients. IDEO has been a pioneer in design thinking for several years so the various stories serve as an illustration on how design thinking can solve complex problems.</p> <p>Design thinking is essentially taking multiple disciplines and bringing them together to develop new ways of approaching problems. For example graphic designers that also have business degrees or MBAs. It is basically a methodology that combines traditional business and engineering principals and adds a more creative twist. The thought is to try to get right brain types to start using more of their creative side. However, these principals can also be used by creative types to focus their efforts by using more logical methodologies.</p> <p>The many examples focus on how complex problems were solved using both logical and creative processes in harmony. Many unique and effective solutions can be found by using a multidisciplinary approach.</p> <p>Essentially design thinking is bringing in the principals of design into other activities. Designers use a multitude of creative thinking exercises to help come up with new designs based on requirements. This same principal can apply to other types of problems as well. Designers as well as programmers use prototyping as a way to begin the design for a finished product. This technique can be applied to business challenges as well. </p> <p>Design thinking only works in an ecosystem that encourages experimentation and FAILURE. To get that one brilliant idea or solution you generally have to go through several failures. This process can also take a lot of resources especially in time. More often than not brilliant ideas aren’t the first ideas brought to the table, they tend to require some nurturing.</p> <p>The bottom line: This book gives a very good overview of design thinking. Many concrete examples are discussed that demonstrate the techniques working. However, Tim Brown takes a realistic approach pointing out that although a useful tool it does not solve every problem. If your interested in learning about a different problem solving technique this book provides a balanced description of Design Thinking as a technique.</p> Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-1338494868680251712012-09-21T09:55:00.000-06:002012-09-25T09:56:14.921-06:00Tech Summit Summary<p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-LobfRqBzSOo/UGHUG4VcxkI/AAAAAAAAEQI/fSyNf3e-q3g/s1600-h/hotel_owyhee%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="hotel_owyhee" border="0" alt="hotel_owyhee" align="right" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-4etrnHcVdg8/UGHUHWGNBCI/AAAAAAAAEQQ/UkV6tLdOTVI/hotel_owyhee_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="244" /></a>We had another very successful Advantage Technical Summit this week. I want to thank all the partners who attended the event. We held the event at the Owyhee Plaza Hotel in Downtown Boise. </p> <p>The hotel staff did a nice job setting up the conference rooms and preparing lunch. We were able to walk to dinner each night since there are plenty of restaurants in the downtown area. </p> <p>As far as the technical content goes it was all updated to include the new Advantage 11 features and functionality. This included several classes that discussed accessing Advantage data from a mobile device. </p> <p>With the new Advantage Web Platform data can now be provided using the oData specification to any client that can access an HTTP interface. Your data is still protected by a username and password as well as HTTPS encryption. Using the Advantage Web Platform gives your users access to your data 24 X 7 X 365.</p> <p>Because of the increased focus on cloud computing we added an Advantage in the Enterprise class. One of the highlights of this session was a discussion of using Advantage on an Amazon Web Services (AWS) instance. I am working on a couple of blog posts that will walk you through the process of configuring an instance to use Advantage.</p> <p>Once again thanks to everyone who attended the Technical Summit. I am already looking forward to our next summit.</p> Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-55132412965751997482012-09-04T07:00:00.000-06:002012-09-05T16:17:43.735-06:00One Week until the Advantage Technical Summit<p>Our Advantage Technical Summit begins in one week. We have been working diligently updating all of the content to reflect the new features available in Advantage Version 11. There is also a bunch of sessions on how to get your Advantage data onto mobile devices. This can be done without any changes to your current application.</p> <p>I am looking forward to working directly with our partners for a couple of days. If you haven't registered yet you can contact your sales representative or <a href="http://response.sybase.com/forms/2012ADSTechSummit">click here</a>.</p> Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-87910639362486058892012-08-01T11:38:00.001-06:002012-08-01T11:38:36.333-06:00Advantage Technical Summit<p><a href="http://www.sybase.com/adssummit"><img style="border-right-width: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 5px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px" title="SummitLogoWebMed" border="0" alt="SummitLogoWebMed" align="right" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_pJ4HkzTKiOA/SpMN94J6zKI/AAAAAAAAD1Q/ofwGbLOVEUk/SummitLogoWebMed%5B5%5D.gif?imgmax=800" width="256" height="70" /></a> Our next <a href="http://www.sybase.com/detail?id=1093766">Advantage Technical Summit</a> has been scheduled for 18 – 19 September in lovely Boise Idaho. Boise is where most of the Advantage team is located including engineering, support, sales, and product management. As a result, attending the training gives you the unique opportunity to have access to the entire technical team, with plenty of time for one on one interaction. </p> <p>The summit will be held at the <a href="http://www.owyheeplaza.com/">Owyhee Plaza Hotel</a> located in downtown Boise. We are still finalizing the schedule but you can be sure there will be lots of information about Version 11 and our Web Platform.</p> <p>The Technical Summit is offered free to Advantage partners and is only $500 for non-partners. You can contact your sales representative or <a title="Register for the Advantage Technical Summit" href="http://response.sybase.com/forms/2012ADSTechSummit">click here</a> to register.</p> Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-77395444142298790602012-07-16T11:27:00.001-06:002012-07-16T11:27:23.611-06:00Advantage 11 Now Available<p><a href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/content.aspx?key=20&Release=18"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="ADS_11_206x175" border="0" alt="ADS_11_206x175" align="right" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-2BaFXzzuop4/UARO-jMm3QI/AAAAAAAAEPg/hesiBBGhRdk/ADS_11_206x175%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="210" height="179" /></a>Advantage Database Server version 11 is now officially available for download. There are some really great new features available including Online Table Maintenance and the new Web Platform. There are two screencasts available <a href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/Screencasts/V11Overview/v11overview.html">Advantage 11 Overview</a> and <a href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/screencasts/AdvantageWebPlatform/AdvantageWebPlatform.html">Advantage Web Platform Overview</a>.</p> <p>You can download all of the version 11 servers and components on the <a href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com" target="_blank">DevZone</a> or click the graphic for a direct link to all the downloads.</p> <p>There are also a series of screencasts that highlight various features in version 11. Visit the <a href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/content.aspx?key=45">screencasts</a> page on the DevZone for a complete list. You can also review the What's New in Version 11 <a href="http://www.sybase.com/files/White_Papers/Sybase_Whats_New_in_Advantage_11.pdf">whitepaper</a>.</p> Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-23133829580496379482012-07-13T07:00:00.000-06:002012-08-01T12:17:23.138-06:00Advantage Mobile Device Support<p><a href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/screencasts/v11_demos/mobiledevicesupport/mobiledevicesupport.html"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Mobile Device Support" border="0" alt="MD_Slide01" align="right" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-jIt06TWZsC4/UBlystK4qPI/AAAAAAAAEPs/CSODi3X3BKs/MD_Slide01%25255B5%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="242" height="182" /></a>The Advantage Web Platform provides a mechanism for accessing data from a multitude of mobile devices. In this short ( ~ 7 minute ) demonstration we discuss the basic principals of creating native device applications.</p> <p>For more details about developing mobile applications visit our <a href="http://www.sybase.com/detail?id=1093451">Mobile Development and Videos</a> page.</p> <p>You can view the demonstration by clicking on the image or you can download a Windows Media version <a href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/screencasts/v11_demos/mobiledevicesupport/MobileDeviceSupport.wmv">here</a>. You can find all the Version 11 demonstrations on the <a href="http://Devzone.AdvantageDatabase.com">DevZone</a> under <a href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/content.aspx?key=45">screencasts</a>.</p> Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-56025250477887820112012-07-06T07:00:00.000-06:002012-07-06T11:08:37.599-06:00Advantage Web Platform Configuration<p><a title="Advantage Web Platform Configuration" href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/screencasts/v11_demos/webconfig/webconfigdemo.html"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="WPConfig_Slide1" border="0" alt="WPConfig_Slide1" align="right" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-SBSvZUZzV6w/T_cblLR7AxI/AAAAAAAAEPU/_uJwAhBpj9Y/WPConfig_Slide1%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="242" height="182" /></a>The Advantage Web Platform is a web service that allows for client-less data access from any client that can make standard HTTP requests. In this 10 minute screencast we will discuss the various configuration settings for the web platform and demonstrate how to configure data access.</p> <p>The demonstration also includes a discussion of the two standard data formats that can be retrieved from the web platform.</p> <p>You can view the demonstration by clicking on the image or you can download a Windows Media version <a href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/screencasts/v11_demos/webconfig/WebConfig.wmv">here</a>. You can find all the Version 11 demonstrations on the <a href="http://Devzone.AdvantageDatabase.com">DevZone</a> under <a href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/content.aspx?key=45">screencasts</a>.</p> Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-62706546570205809312012-06-22T07:00:00.000-06:002012-06-22T07:00:16.349-06:00System Variables and System Procedures<p><a href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/screencasts/v11_demos/systemprocedures/SysProcDemo.html"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="SP_Title" border="0" alt="SP_Title" align="right" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Xg6-pRTEwzA/T-Mrd7WSo-I/AAAAAAAAEPI/2cuV4Y_Qpzc/SP_Title%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="244" height="184" /></a>Advantage version 11 includes many new System Variables and System Procedures which can be used from SQL statements and scripts. The system procedures fall into three categories; functional, metadata and management. In this screencast we demonstrate the use of the new system variables and the new metadata and management system procedures.</p> <p>The functional system procedures which pertain to replication and online table maintenance have been demonstrated in previous screencasts.  The demonstration runs approximately 10.5 minutes.</p> <p>You can view the demonstration by clicking on the image or you can download a Windows Media version <a href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/Screencasts/V11_Demos/SystemProcedures/SysProcDemo.wmv">here</a>. You can find all the Version 11 demonstrations on the <a href="http://Devzone.AdvantageDatabase.com">DevZone</a> under <a href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/content.aspx?key=45">screencasts</a>.</p> Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-3981583047828725932012-06-13T07:00:00.000-06:002012-06-13T16:30:24.171-06:00Advantage Web Platform Screencast<p><a title="Advantage Web Platform" href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/screencasts/AdvantageWebPlatform/AdvantageWebPlatform.html"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Slide1" border="0" alt="Slide1" align="right" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-pBV4ZeJsjIo/T9kUf8DZdwI/AAAAAAAAEO4/wc16O95ux_0/Slide1%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="242" height="182" /></a>A new screencast providing an overview of the Advantage Web Platform is now available. This is second screencast covering the new features of Advantage Version 11. You can get more information on the first screencast <a title="Advantage 11 Overview Screencast" href="http://blog.advantageevangelist.com/2012/05/advantage-11-overview-screencast.html">here</a>.</p> <p>Find out how the Advantage Web Platform provides client-less access to Advantage data from mobile phones, tablets, or any platform with any  development environment.  Additionally you will see the new Advantage Web Administrator, which allows you to monitor the server status and make changes to configuration. This utility was built on the Advantage Web Platform allowing for secure administration of Advantage from anywhere.</p> <p>The screencast is approximately 32 minutes long and you can view it online by clicking the image. You can also download the screencast as <a href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/screencasts/AdvantageWebPlatform/AdvantageWebPlatform.wmv">Windows Media</a>, <a href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/screencasts/AdvantageWebPlatform/AdvantageWebPlatform_iPad.mp4">iPad</a> or <a href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/screencasts/AdvantageWebPlatform/AdvantageWebPlatform_iPod.m4v">iPhone</a> versions. For more Advantage screencasts visit the <a href="http://Devzone.AdvantageDatabase.com">DevZone</a> and choose the <a href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/content.aspx?key=45">screencasts</a> menu item.</p> Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-36373278892083532432012-06-01T07:00:00.000-06:002012-06-01T07:00:11.280-06:00Replication Enhancements<p><a title="Advantage 11 Replication Enhancements" href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/screencasts/v11_demos/replicationsp/replicationsp.html"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Replication Enhancements" border="0" alt="RP_Slide1" align="right" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-rfFThgYxwV8/T76_Mx7swUI/AAAAAAAAEOg/QNeW0-kTLss/RP_Slide1%25255B4%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="242" height="182" /></a>For this week's Advantage Version 11 demonstration I'll be discussing the many enhancements pertaining to replication. There are several new system procedures that allow for testing, troubleshooting and modifying replication. There is also a new mechanism for replicating from version 11 to a version 9 or 10 server. </p><p>The demonstration runs approximately 8.5 minutes and covers all of the new replication features in version 11.</p><p>You can view the demonstration by clicking on the image or you can download a Windows Media version <a href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/Screencasts/V11_Demos/ReplicationSP/ReplicationSP.wmv">here</a>. You can find all the Version 11 demonstrations on the <a href="http://Devzone.AdvantageDatabase.com">DevZone</a> under <a href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/content.aspx?key=45">screencasts</a>.</p>Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-45832989987128386402012-05-25T07:00:00.000-06:002012-05-25T10:47:38.976-06:00Stored Procedure Enhancements<p><a title="Advatnage 11 Stored Procedures" href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/Screencasts/V11_Demos/StoredProcedures/StoredProc.html"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: right; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Slide4" border="0" alt="Stored Procedure Enhancements" align="right" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-KuS__19Bfdo/T7-3qhXgOkI/AAAAAAAAEOs/KbCEIKfZRTo/Slide4%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="242" height="182" /></a>For this week's Advantage Version 11 demonstration I'll be discussing the many enhancements pertaining to SQL stored procedures. There are two major changes in SQL stored procedures included in version 11. First input parameters are directly accessible within the SQL script, there is no need to open the __input table. Second stored procedures can now return varying output. The output of the stored procedure is defined by the final SELECT or EXECUTE PROCEDURE statement. </p> <p>The demonstration runs approximately 7 minutes and demonstrates the difference between stored procedures written for version 10 and the new version 11 changes. You DO NOT have to rewrite you current stored procedures, version 11 simply adds another method you can use.</p> <p>You can view the demonstration by clicking on the image or you can download a Windows Media version <a href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/Screencasts/V11_Demos/StoredProcedures/StoredProc.wmv">here</a>. You can find all the Version 11 demonstrations on the <a href="http://Devzone.AdvantageDatabase.com">DevZone</a> under <a href="http://devzone.advantagedatabase.com/dz/content.aspx?key=45">screencasts</a>.</p> Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6658257106003248170.post-73891275413885997852012-05-23T07:00:00.000-06:002012-05-24T14:42:50.496-06:00Advantage Web Platform Webcast<p>Just two weeks until our next Advantage version 11 webcast. This time we will be discussing the new Advantage Web Platform which allows you to provide Advantage data to virtually any platform! </p><p>The live webcast is on Wednesday June 6th at 11:00 AM EDT. We will present all the material and be available to answer questions during the webcast. You can register right <a title="Mobile Access with the Advantage Web Platform" href="http://response.sybase.com/forms/WW12Q2ADSWBCSTMobileAccess">here</a>. </p><p>Here is the full description:</p><blockquote><p><strong>Mobile Access with the Advantage Web Platform</strong> </p><p><br />
Need mobile device access to Advantage data? <br />
Join us for part 2 of the Advantage Database 11 webcast series. Find out how the Advantage Web Platform provides client-less access to Advantage data from mobile phones, tablets, or any platform with any  development environment.  Additionally you will see the new Advantage Web Administrator, which allows you to monitor the server status and make changes to configuration. This utility was built on the Advantage Web Platform allowing for secure administration of Advantage from anywhere.</p></blockquote>Chris Franzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09097498077009855123noreply@blogger.com0