Summary

Runtime Explorer (or simply Rex) allows you to investigate and manipulate live objects in runtime, thus saving you effort in design mode.

In practical terms, you can understand the window structure and, for each control, locate the PBL and the container object, explore and change properties, take notes, move and resize. Changes are written to a detailed report file so that the original source code can be altered quickly and easily. You can even open and modify DataWindow buffers.

Looking beyond development work, Runtime Explorer can be distributed royalty-free together with your live applications, in order to expedite technical support activities. Access to the tool in these circumstances is under developer control, of course, since it is too powerful for most end users.

Runtime Explorer has a plug-in architecture which allows for third-party add-ons, including such tools as: impact analysis, bug-tracking and testing systems, source code analysis and document authoring.

Request a trial version, click here

More about Rex

Enable Runtime Explorer is a runtime component that helps developers with their development, debugging and technical support work.
Rex was originally implemented for Enable, the tool that makes PowerBuilder applications multilingual, in order to allow translation work to be performed on-the-fly, rather than off-line. The current plug-in architecture means that Rex is now a flexible and easily-expandable general tool for all developers.

Rex for developers
During the development and testing of an application, it is often desirable to merge design time and runtime activities. Rex helps developers considerably during this phase by:

• showing the current architecture of the window, including all dynamic objects;
• displaying the values for every property (controls and DWOs);
• allowing properties to be changed, to see the effect;
• allowing notes to be taken on selected objects, and automatically providing all the details needed to make rapid changes in design time;
• allowing changes to be made to the size and positioning of controls and DataWindows, and automatically providing all the details needed to make rapid changes in design time;
• allowing analysis of and changes to the DataWindow buffers, bypassing the client-side business rules for simulation and testing purposes.

Rex for technical support
When users raise a technical issue, it is often useful to “open the box” to find out what is really going on. If the production software is distributed with Rex embedded (hidden, of course), then technical support personnel can activate it in order to:

• display the values for every property and the contents of the buffers;
• make changes to understand the circumstances in which errors arise;
• take notes directly on the objects concerned, in order to generate a bug report.

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Rex - a graphic example

You’re working on your application and, inevitably, you find something that doesn’t ring true. Is it a bug? Maybe the data? Wouldn’t it be good to find out what is going on immediately, without having to exit and return to design mode? Now you can!

Take this example: your graph looks odd and you want to understand the data behind it. You need BufferX…

Graph with Rex already activated

BufferX takes a look inside the primary buffer

The changes made to the primary buffer are highlighted

Updated graph and summary of BufferX activity

That’s better! But just imagine the process you would have gone through to make and check this simple change without using BufferX… Rex offers many opportunities of this kind to save you time and effort.

See a demo of Runtime Explorer (Flash movie), click here

Test Runtime Explorer!
Answer the PowerBuilder Worldwide survey 2006 and receive a Technology Preview (CTP) version of Runtime Explorer

Until now, Runtime Explorer has been embedded within Enable, the framework-level tool that makes PowerBuilder applications multilingual. From Q4 2006, Runtime Explorer has been engineered as a stand-alone tool for general use, even when multilingual capabilities are not required.

To mark the introduction of this new technology, a CTP has been announced in collaboration with Novalys, allowing all PowerBuilder developers to test-drive the new tool and submit their ideas for improvements and additional features.

The CTP process is essentially as follows:

• Registration to participate in the CTP from the PowerBuilder survey, obtaining a link by email to download the new CTP software which expires on February 28, 2007
• CTP registrants via the PB Survey will be entitled to a 10% discount on all orders for Runtime Explorer 1.6 GA received prior to February 28, 2007.

This is a great opportunity to become familiar with a rare innovation for PowerBuilder developers.

Answer the survey and download the CTP version ...click here

Contact us

is a product of Best In srl Best In is a software house managed by professionals with more than two decades of experience in the software engineering and translation/ localisation sectors. In particular, the Best In team has performed significant work in the pharmaceutical, medical, financial, optical and food sectors covering IT and management systems, process control, sales force automation and logistics.

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