dBASE Questions and Answers - Installing on a Network

Author

Installing on a Network

Stuart Tobin

2005-11-08, 4:11 pm

Is there a step by step how-to explaining how to install an application on a server for LAN use? What I have in mind is the .EXE file, tables, indexes, all on the server and the client workstation will run the application thru a mapped network drive.

What I also don't know is whether each client workstation must have Runtime installed on it. I'm using version 2.6.

Thanks for any help.

Stuart Tobin

Ken Mayer [dBVIPS]

2005-11-08, 4:11 pm

Stuart Tobin wrote:
> Is there a step by step how-to explaining how to install an application on a server for LAN use? What I have in mind is the .EXE file, tables, indexes, all on the server and the client workstation will run the application thru a mapped network drive.
>
> What I also don't know is whether each client workstation must have Runtime installed on it. I'm using version 2.6.
>
> Thanks for any help.

Check the knowledgebase articles on deployment ... or my book:

http://www.goldenstag.net/dbase/dBASEBook.htm

Each client *must* have the runtime, and most likely the BDE, but I
suggest you look at DEO for the installation ...

Ken

--
/(Opinions expressed are purely my own, not those of dataBased
Intelligence, Inc.)/

*Ken Mayer* [dBVIPS]
/Golden Stag Productions/
dBASE at goldenstag dot net
http://www.goldenstag.net/dbase/dBASEBook.htm
http://www.goldenstag.net/GSP
http://www.goldenstag.net/dbase

Stuart Tobin

2005-11-08, 4:11 pm

Ken,

I did look at DEO, but did not find it that clear. From your suggestion,
I will look at it again.

Does your boook have specific instructions and examples as to procedure to set up dBase Plus in a LAN environment? If it does, I will order it immediately.

Stuart,

Ken Mayer [dBVIPS] Wrote:

> Stuart Tobin wrote:
[color=darkred]
>
> Check the knowledgebase articles on deployment ... or my book:
>
> http://www.goldenstag.net/dbase/dBASEBook.htm
>
> Each client *must* have the runtime, and most likely the BDE, but I
> suggest you look at DEO for the installation ...
>
> Ken
>
> --
> /(Opinions expressed are purely my own, not those of dataBased
> Intelligence, Inc.)/
>
> *Ken Mayer* [dBVIPS]
> /Golden Stag Productions/
> dBASE at goldenstag dot net
> http://www.goldenstag.net/dbase/dBASEBook.htm
> http://www.goldenstag.net/GSP
> http://www.goldenstag.net/dbase

Rick Gearardo

2005-11-08, 4:11 pm

If you are using mapped drives the app doesn't know the difference between
them and a C: drive. Make sure all your references to files have no paths.
Put them all on the network drive and install the BDE at each workstation

Rick
> Is there a step by step how-to explaining how to install an application on
> a server for LAN use? What I have in mind is the .EXE file, tables,
> indexes, all on the server and the client workstation will run the
> application thru a mapped network drive.
>
> What I also don't know is whether each client workstation must have
> Runtime installed on it. I'm using version 2.6.

Ken Mayer [dBVIPS]

2005-11-08, 4:11 pm

Stuart Tobin wrote:
> Ken,
>
> I did look at DEO, but did not find it that clear. From your suggestion,
> I will look at it again.
>
> Does your boook have specific instructions and examples as to procedure to set up dBase Plus in a LAN environment? If it does, I will order it immediately.

There's some detail, as it's not that different from deploying to a
single machine.

The basics include that the application, runtime and BDE need to be on
the local machine.

DEO isn't that bad, the only thing is setting the correct information
(where the files are) in the .ini file for the application.

Ken

--
/(Opinions expressed are purely my own, not those of dataBased
Intelligence, Inc.)/

*Ken Mayer* [dBVIPS]
/Golden Stag Productions/
dBASE at goldenstag dot net
http://www.goldenstag.net/dbase/dBASEBook.htm
http://www.goldenstag.net/GSP
http://www.goldenstag.net/dbase

Rick Gearardo

2005-11-08, 4:11 pm

The application does not need to be on the client. Having it there does
speed up the initial load time but maintenance issues outweigh the speed
gain.

If you put the application with the data files on the server you also do not
have to worry about an .ini file using DEO and you do not need a BDE alias.

Rick
>
> There's some detail, as it's not that different from deploying to a single
> machine.
>
> The basics include that the application, runtime and BDE need to be on the
> local machine.
>
> DEO isn't that bad, the only thing is setting the correct information
> (where the files are) in the .ini file for the application.
>
> Ken
>
> --
> /(Opinions expressed are purely my own, not those of dataBased
> Intelligence, Inc.)/
>
> *Ken Mayer* [dBVIPS]
> /Golden Stag Productions/
> dBASE at goldenstag dot net
> http://www.goldenstag.net/dbase/dBASEBook.htm
> http://www.goldenstag.net/GSP
> http://www.goldenstag.net/dbase

Ken Mayer [dBVIPS]

2005-11-08, 4:11 pm

Rick Gearardo wrote:
> The application does not need to be on the client. Having it there does
> speed up the initial load time but maintenance issues outweigh the speed
> gain.
>
> If you put the application with the data files on the server you also do not
> have to worry about an .ini file using DEO and you do not need a BDE alias.

If your application is designed properly, you don't really need to put
it up on the server -- and the load time issues go away. For a
networked/DEO app, the core executable should be really basic, load the
menu, whatever, and that's it. The menu file itself can be DEO, just
create a startup program that does the very basics.

Ken

--
/(Opinions expressed are purely my own, not those of dataBased
Intelligence, Inc.)/

*Ken Mayer* [dBVIPS]
/Golden Stag Productions/
dBASE at goldenstag dot net
http://www.goldenstag.net/dbase/dBASEBook.htm
http://www.goldenstag.net/GSP
http://www.goldenstag.net/dbase

Les Shewchuk

2005-11-08, 4:11 pm

Heck, the Launch program can be as simple as

do startmyapp.prg

The environment settings (DEO locations, tool bar status etc etc) gets
stored in the .ini file. This is a good reason to have it on each terminal.
The path to the DEO library may NOT be the same from each terminal.

A good launch program will have some error checking and reporting in case
the server is not available, rather then the default "file not found" error.

The launch program can be fairly sophisticated in what it does (mine checks
for BDE aliases, data availability and DEO locations and then allows you to
set/correct these settings if there is an error or abort cleanly if the
error is fatal). But the application itself is fairly static and shouldn't
need much maintenance. The majority of updates go in the DEO folders.

Les Shewchuk

"Ken Mayer [dBVIPS]" < dbase@_nospam_golden
stag.net> wrote in message
news:2hPHktG5FHA.1352@news-server...
> Rick Gearardo wrote:
not[color=darkred]
alias.[color=darkred]
>
> If your application is designed properly, you don't really need to put
> it up on the server -- and the load time issues go away. For a
> networked/DEO app, the core executable should be really basic, load the
> menu, whatever, and that's it. The menu file itself can be DEO, just
> create a startup program that does the very basics.
>
> Ken
>
> --
> /(Opinions expressed are purely my own, not those of dataBased
> Intelligence, Inc.)/
>
> *Ken Mayer* [dBVIPS]
> /Golden Stag Productions/
> dBASE at goldenstag dot net
> http://www.goldenstag.net/dbase/dBASEBook.htm
> http://www.goldenstag.net/GSP
> http://www.goldenstag.net/dbase

Maurizio Salzano

2005-11-09, 8:24 pm

Les,

would you be kind enough to share your launch program approach checking errors

my exe is placed on each pc client and it is just a compiled exe with "do mystart.prg"
so far, mystart.PRo is on server thru DEO

and how can I trap errors that might appear once the compiled PRo cannot go in execution,
I get "file not found" and all is it

a) server unavailable
b) BDE error
c) quite different error, on and on and on...

TIA
maurizio

"Les Shewchuk" <les@tritonmarine.com> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:XP9wcyI5FHA.1840@news-server...
> Heck, the Launch program can be as simple as
>

> A good launch program will have some error checking and reporting in case
> the server is not available, rather then the default "file not found" error.
> Les Shewchuk
>
>

Les Shewchuk

2005-11-10, 8:24 pm

"Maurizio Salzano" < mausoftware@NOSPAMti
scali.it> wrote in message
news:549zccX5FHA.1244@news-server...
> Les,
>
> would you be kind enough to share your launch program approach checking
errors

Sure. I'll post it in the Binaries.

It has it's drawbacks. the CREATEALIAS() is a little slow (part of XP
security) so I only use it if I have to.

You will notice that I am checking for specific conditions to be met, rather
than using the Try..Catch. I add more conditions as I encounter different
errors.

Also, you will notice that I am not checking for the availability of DEO
files. This is because my tables are stored in a sub-folder of the
application (Department\AppDeo and Department\AppDeo\Ap
pData). If I can get
to the tables, I can get to the DEO.

Les Shewchuk

Les Shewchuk

2005-11-10, 8:24 pm

"Les Shewchuk" <les@tritonmarine.com> wrote in message
news:6bT5F5i5FHA.348@news-server...
> "Maurizio Salzano" < mausoftware@NOSPAMti
scali.it> wrote in message
> news:549zccX5FHA.1244@news-server...
> errors
>
> Sure. I'll post it in the Binaries.

Let me know if these showed up.

For some reason, I can't see my posts when I start a thread
I can see my posts when I reply, and I can see other reply's to my
posts...but I can't see my originals..

Go figure.

Les

Rich Assaf

2005-11-12, 3:23 am

"Les Shewchuk" <les@tritonmarine.com> wrote in message
news:rAS1IAj5FHA.348@news-server...

>
>
> Let me know if these showed up.
>
> For some reason, I can't see my posts when I start a thread
> I can see my posts when I reply, and I can see other reply's to my
> posts...but I can't see my originals..

I see your post in the binaries, but only 1 file appears to have
successfully attached - Launchpad.prg is greyed out and I can't save it from
within Outlook Express, but Datapath.wfm appears to be O.K.

Thanks for sharing! Rich

Les Shewchuk

2005-11-14, 8:24 pm

Outlook Express, go fig...

Here launchpad.prg in annotated and in plain text.
Copy and Paste, Watch for Wordwrap.
Looks bad here, but in the source editor the * and && comments stand out a
little better.

Les

*
* BDEAlias.cc is in the duflp. Include it in the EXE when you build
* Create a BDE object and a FILE object for checking.
*

Set Procedure to BDEALIAS.cc
BDE= new BDEALIAS()
fl = new file()

*
* Get the current system temp folder. This changes from User to user on XP
* Only create the TEMP alias if you have to.
*
* Check if there is a TEMP alias.
* If there is a TEMP alias, check to see if it matches the current user's
temp path
* If the paths do not match, destroy the alias, and re-create it at the
current users location
* If there is no TEMP alias, create it with the system temp folder
* If there is a TEMP alias, and it is pointed at the system path...do
nothing.
*

tmp = ltrim(rtrim(getenv("Temp")))
if BDE.DATABASEFOUND("TEMP") = true
if ltrim(rtrim(BDE.DatabaseDir("TEMP"))) <> tmp
BDE.DELETEALIAS("TEMP")
BDE.CREATEALIAS("TEMP", tmp)
endif
else
BDE.CREATEALIAS("TEMP", tmp)
endif

*
* Start by setting the start flag to true.
* Any failure can stop it. Almost all failures are a result of not finding
the data files.
*

StartProg = true

*
* Is there a "DataPath.ini" file in the same folder as the launch program?
* If not, FAIL.
* I keep the data ini seperate from the application ini, as sometimes I have
to reset the dbase setting by erasing the application ini.
*

if fl.exists("dataPath.ini") = true
*
* The DataPath.ini exists. Open it and read the contents.
* In this case, the file only contains 1 line.
* ChartsData=\\server4
\marser\Charts\Data
* More checking is needed if you need more aliases.
*

fl.open("DataPath.ini", "R") && Open the DataPath File
dp = fl.gets() && Read the line
Split = at("=", dp) && Locate the "="
&& Is there information in the ini file and does it contain an "="
if .not.( (isblank(dp).or.empty(dp)) .or. split = 0)
&& break the line into ALAIS and PATH
Alias = left(dp,split-1)
DataAt = stuff(dp,1,split,"")
&& Make sure there IS an alias and path
if
..not.(isblank(alias).or.empty(alias).or.isblank(DataAt).or.empty(dataAt))
&& Does the alias NOT exists, if so, create it.
if BDE. DataBaseFound(Alias)
= false
BDE.CreateAlias(Alias, DataAt)
else
&& Check that the path of the database is the same as in the ini
file.
if upper(ltrim(rtrim(BD
E. DataBaseDir(Alias)))
) ==
upper(ltrim(rtrim(Da
taAt)))
* the path is expected. Do nothing.
else
&& Otherwise, destroy the Alias and re-create it with the ini
information.
BDE.DeleteAlias(Alias)
BDE.CreateAlias(Alias, DataAt)
endif
*
* The ALAIS is ok and pointed where the ini file said it is.
* Look for the "Settings.dbf" table. This is the User
Controlled Application settings.
* Since most of my apps are billing applications, this file
contains tax rates, invoice numbers etc.
* Almost every app I have uses a setting file in some way.
*
aTables = BDE.ListTables(Alias)
if aTables.Scan("settings.dbf") = false
*
* If the ubiquitous file is not found, Abort.
*
StartProg = False
endif
endif
else
*
* If the ini file contains a "=" but is missing
* Either the Alias name or the path, Abort
*
StartProg = false
endif
else
*
* if the ini file is empty; abort
*
StartProg = false
endif
else
*
* if the ini file doesn't exist; Abort
*
StartProg = False
endif

If StartProg = False
*
* If the application is to be aborted, most of the time it is
* due to the inability to find the key files.
* Datapath.wfm just asks for the settings to store in the datapath.ini
file
* I set this the first time I run the application. If it shows up in day
to day
* use, I get the users to contact me.
*
* Include Datapath.wfm in the EXE when you build the application.
*
do DataPath.wfm with true
else
* Start the Application
* Set the Display
_app.frameWin.text := " Charts and Publications"
_app.speedbar := false
_app.Statusbar := true

* Set the Environment variables
* I don't keep these in the myapp.ini...
* Old habits and more control of the application from station to station
*
set century on
set epoch to 2000
set confirm on
set cuaenter off
set decimals to 2
set deleted off
SET ENCRYPTION off
set exact off
set exclusive off
set fullpath on
set talk off

*
* Start the application Shell
*

set procedure to MainMenu.mnu additive
do MainMenu.mnu with _app.framewin
Shell(false, true)
endif

"Rich Assaf" <nomail@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:sap5Ccz5FHA.1232@news-server...
>
> I see your post in the binaries, but only 1 file appears to have
> successfully attached - Launchpad.prg is greyed out and I can't save it
from
> within Outlook Express, but Datapath.wfm appears to be O.K.
>
> Thanks for sharing! Rich
>
>

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