SYNERGY-E-NEWS
News and Updates for Synergy/DE Developers

July 13, 2012

 

Create better applications and be more productive with Synergy/DE version 10--and win prizes

Download Synergy/DE 10 Beta 1 and win big

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Synergy/DE Tech Tip

Invaluable tools to help you troubleshoot Synergy .NET assemblies

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Platform News

Read a selection of recent articles

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The dreaded record lock: it appears without warning, leaves no trace, and instills rage in the innocent users who encounter it

Tame the record lock beast with Synergy/DE 9.5.3

Read More


Quiz

Synergy/DE pros, see if you can answer this question!

Take Quiz


twitter.com/synergyde
 

Create better applications and be more productive with Synergy/DE version 10--and win prizes

Download Synergy/DE 10 Beta 1 and win big

The release of Synergy/DE 10 Beta 1 provides an exciting opportunity for you. You get to check out some of the new features that will be delivered with Synergy/DE 10 later this year; you can verify that your existing code will work with the updated v10 file system; and you’ll get rewarded for your efforts!

Beta 1 Features
Synergy/DE 10 Beta 1 includes many v10 features, including

  • Change tracking. Enables you to track the changes made to your ISAM files, and then save and restore snapshots.
  • New ISAM revision. Provides you with new file system features, including datetime and auto-incrementing sequence key types.
  • Support for Windows 8 Release Preview. Enables you to prepare for Windows 8—before your users need it. Beta 1 also has support for Visual Studio 2012 Release Candidate and alpha support for developing Metro applications.
  • New Synergy .NET features. Gives you more capabilities when developing Synergy .NET applications, including asynchronous processing, a new YIELD statement, and new syntax in the C# to Synergy Code Converter.
  • And more...

File System Changes
The implementation of “change tracking” and other ISAM features required significant changes to the Synergy DBMS file system in v10. We strongly encourage you to run your existing applications with Beta 1 to verify that your specific code will work with the updated system. Now is the time to do this validation! If there are any issues, we’ll have time to address them before v10 is released.

Beta Rewards
We appreciate you taking time to make Synergy/DE 10 better, and we want to reward you for your efforts. Every beta tester who finds at least one bug during the beta test will receive a reward. The more bugs you find, the more chances you’ll have for our bigger rewards, including a $500 pre-loaded credit card!

Learn more about Synergy/DE 10 Beta 1 features and rewards.

Download Synergy/DE 10 Beta 1 now to get started!




The dreaded record lock: it appears without warning, leaves no trace, and instills rage in the innocent users who encounter it

Tame the record lock beast with Synergy/DE 9.5.3

With every advancing version of Synergy/DE we are better armed to tame the beast! For me one of the biggest beasts in a commercial application is a record lock. This beast will appear without warning, leave no trace of its being, and always instill rage in the innocent users of the system who encounter it.

Read more at http://blogs.synergex.com/psg_blog/.



Synergy/DE Tech Tip

Invaluable tools to help you troubleshoot Synergy .NET assemblies

If a Synergy .NET assembly is causing a runtime error and no issues were reported when it was compiled, you can use Microsoft’s PEVerify tool (peverify.exe) to help determine if there's a problem with the code and metadata generated by the Synergy Language .NET compiler. The dblnet compiler generates Common Intermediate Language (CIL) code and associated metadata from your Synergy Language code, and PEVerify helps make sure this CIL code and metadata meet type safety requirements for the .NET Framework.

PEVerify is installed with Visual Studio and with Windows SDK. To use it, open a Visual Studio or Windows SDK command prompt, and use the following syntax:

   peverify <filename> /ignore 0x801318F5 [<other_options>]
 
where <filename> is the filename of a Synergy .NET assembly (.exe or .dll) and <other_options> are options listed in the MSDN documentation for PEVerify (see links below). For example:

   peverify.exe mysynergyexe.exe /ignore 0x801318F5
  
or

   peverify.exe mysynergylib.dll /ignore 0x801318F5

NOTE: Always use the "/ignore 0x801318F5" option with Synergy .NET assemblies. This prevents PEVerify from reporting conditions that aren't problems.

If PEVerify…

-- doesn't detect any problems, it reports "All Classes and Methods in <filename> Verified."

-- reports an "Unable to resolve token" error, use the following, where <filename> is the name of a Synergy .NET assembly (see "What is Ngen.exe" below for more information):

   ngen -install <filename>
  
   Once you've run Ngen.exe, report this issue and the Ngen.exe results to Synergy/DE Developer Support.
  
-- finds any other issue with a Synergy .NET assembly, create a small test case that causes the issue and report it to Synergy/DE Developer Support.

For more information on PEVerify, use the /help option, which displays PEVerify's options, command syntax, and version number. And see the MSDN documentation for this tool:

-- For .NET Framework 2.0: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/62bwd2yd%28v=vs.80%29.aspx

-- For .NET Framework 4.0: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/62bwd2yd.aspx

What is Ngen.exe?
-----------------------

Ngen.exe (Native Image Generator) is a Microsoft utility that creates and installs native images, which are files that contain compiled processor-specific machine code. Ngen.exe installs these images into the native image cache on the local computer and checks for problems. If a file or assembly could not be loaded, Ngen.exe will report the problem.

For more information, see the MSDN documentation:

-- For .NET 2.0, http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/6t9t5wcf(v=vs.80).aspx

-- For .NET 4.0, http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/6t9t5wcf(v=vs.100).aspx


Quiz

Synergy/DE pros, see if you can answer this question!

If a subroutine defines an argument as having type n, and the calling routine passes a literal value of 1 for that argument, what will ^SIZE return for that argument when called within the subroutine?

a. 1
b. 4
c. 4 if prototyped, 1 if not prototyped
d. 4 on 32-bit systems, 8 on 64-bit systems

Click to read answer


Platform News

Read a selection of recent article

Windows

Microsoft details its Windows 8 upgrade plans
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/microsoft-details-its-windows-8-upgrade-plans/13051

FAQ: What you need to know about Microsoft's cheapest-ever Windows upgrade
http://www.infoworld.com/d/microsoft-windows/faq-what-you-need-know-about-microsofts-cheapest-ever-windows-upgrade-197039

Microsoft reveals versions, licensing for Windows Server
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57467015-75/microsoft-reveals-versions-licensing-for-windows-server/?tag=mncol

Windows 7 to pass XP in usage share this month
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9228723/Windows_7_to_pass_XP_in_usage_share_this_month?taxonomyId=89

Microsoft announces Surface x86 and ARM tablets, with kickstand and fold-out keyboard combo http://www.extremetech.com/computing/131302-microsoft-announces-surface-x86-and-arm-tablets-with-kickstand-and-fold-out-keyboard

Windows desktop destined for long slide to oblivion, says Gartner
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9228597/Windows_desktop_destined_for_long_slide_to_oblivion_says_Gartner?taxonomyId=89

UNIX/Linux

Red Hat's RHEL 6.3 aims at large-scale cloud deployments
http://www.infoworld.com/d/open-source-software/red-hats-rhel-63-aims-large-scale-cloud-deployments-196098

Red Hat details next Linux and storage platforms for cloud, big data era
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/red-hat-details-next-linux-and-storage-platforms-for-cloud-big-data-era/11439

The Linux desktop, thanks to Chromebooks, goes retail
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/the-linux-desktop-thanks-to-chromebooks-goes-retail/11392

HP Moving from Unix Itanium to x86 Odyssey on Linux
http://www.linuxtoday.com/high_performance/hp-moving-from-unix-itanium-to-x86-odyssey-on-linux.html

Heck yeah I'd buy a Google Glass prototype
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/heck-yeah-id-buy-a-google-glass-prototype/11401

OpenVMS

OpenVMS V8.4 Update 700 now available
http://www.openvms.org/stories.php?story=12/07/03/8932857

HP without Itanium: A three-pronged strategy
http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/unix_linux/240002572