4D v18 R3 is Here
I’m thrilled to announce that 4D v18 R3 is now available!
4D v18 R3 is one of the most jam-packed feature-releases ever delivered. It also marks the beginning of a very important step in the world of 4D programming with the addition of object-oriented programming.
To whet your appetite, here’s a sneak peek of what’s in store for you:
- The 4D language has taken a giant leap with the introduction of classes which allow you to write modular, reusable, and easily maintainable code.
- ORDA is brimming with new advances as well: for example, you don’t need to restart your database in order to have an up-to-date datastore when the structure is updated. Additionally, a single line of code is all you need to select rows for an entity selection.
- 4D Server’s monitoring set has been enhanced with an additional feature so you can get all operations executing beyond a specified time and other useful information.
- The development possibilities have been expanded even further with additional standard actions for the 4D Write Pro interface.
- 4D for iOS provides you 40+ ready-to-use templates. You only need a single click to download them directly from the project editor and get started making the perfect custom app for your needs.
- Run multiple web servers in a single 4D instance, take advantage of new method and components documentation, use an offscreen web area on a headless server, explore the advances we’ve brought to XPath, more options to customize 4D View Pro worksheets, this is all just a glimpse of what’s available in 4D v18 R3 for you.
Project Databases: Build your own documentation for components
In a previous blog post, we showed you that documentation for methods has returned in the Explorer. Want to take things even further and use them as documentation for your components? In this blog post, we’ll show you how!
Use an offscreen web area
Do you need to load web pages, extract metadata, or generate pictures from the contents of pages on a headless server? If you answered “yes”, then you’re in luck because 4D v18 R3 makes it possible! Now you can create an offscreen web area with the WA Run offscreen area command.
Download your emails in MIME format with POP3
Do you need to store all business emails, for example, for legal or fiscal purposes? These documents must be stored as they are. That is, how they were received … in their original, unconverted formats. 4D v18 R3 answers this need by providing you with a new method allowing you to get emails in their original MIME format.
ORDA: an up-to-date datastore without restarting
We’re thrilled to announce that 4D v18 R3 includes an enhancement that will have a huge impact on the developer’s experience. A feature many of you have requested, and 4D delivers!
When you work in 4D standalone mode during the development phase (writing and testing your code), you’re no longer required to restart your database in order to have an up-to-date datastore (ds) when the structure is updated!
Now you don’t need to restart the database each time you need a new attribute or a new table in your code! It’s all automatic!
When you call the ds command, you get an up-to-date datastore object. This means that several versions of this datastore object are handled at the same time … depending on when you updated your structure … without breaking running processes.
If you work in client / server mode, this works fine for code running on the 4D Server.
For remote clients, you simply need to restart the client requiring the structure’s update.
Use 4D Write Pro documents as input forms
Do you want to avoid users accidentally modifying a particular 4D Write Pro document (fully or partially)? Are you interested in keeping some parts of a document untouched (e.g., giving users the ability to fill in fields in a non-disclosure agreement while ensuring that none of the information in the document is altered or changed in any way)? If you’re nodding your head, then keep reading! 4D v18 R3 lets you keep parts of your documents protected, or in other words: “non-editable“.
Project Databases: Method documentation is back
When developing an application, it can be very useful to have quick access to the details of a method (e.g., an explanation of what it does, its syntax, and a definition of the parameters passed to it). This becomes even more important when using a compiled component. You can’t look at the content of the method, so you can only rely on its documentation to understand how to use it.
The Explorer’s dialog has been enhanced and documentation is now available in 4D v18 R3 for project databases.
Monitor 4D Server activity with this new tool
4D View Pro: More options to customize your worksheets
To create user-friendly documents, you often need to hide a gridline or header, protect certain cells, or simply change the line color to respect the corporate identity. With 4D v18 R3, you can do all this and more with the new VP SET SHEET OPTIONS command.
Multiple web servers in a single 4D instance
Have you ever needed to use multiple web servers in order to, for example, split your web application code into several business units, or separate the administrator’s web server from the user’s or run an old part, not preemptive-ready yet, in a separate instance, allowing the main part to run preemptive?
If you’re nodding your head yes, then keep reading because 4D v18 R3 allows you to do so … with ease.
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