The 10.2B release of OpenEdge Architect (renamed as Progress Developer Studio for OpenEdge in Release 11.0) included new and revised features in the following areas:
The OpenEdge Architect 10.2B release includes Eclipse 3.4.2. (The 10.2A release of OpenEdge Architect was shipped with Eclipse 3.4.) The upgrade to Eclipse 3.4.2 includes a new Welcome page that is more easily integrated with third-party plug-ins.
In addition, OpenEdge Architect 10.2B is certified to run on Eclipse 3.5.
File layout changes
In order to more fully support the Eclipse Equinox/p2 provisioning system for managing updates and installing new features, the file layout of OpenEdge Architect has been changed in Release 10.2B.
Briefly stated, the change involves the addition of several new directories that act as repositories to provision OpenEdge Architect and third-party plug-ins. The directory structure of OpenEdge-install-dir/oeide now looks similar to the following:
Notice that the ../oeide/architect folder, which contained the installed OpenEdge Architect plugins in prior releases, no longer exists. OpenEdge Architect and all other installed plugins are now installed in ../oeide/eclipse/plugins.
Also note that, in addition to the Architect_repo folder for OpenEdge Architect, there are two repository folders to provision third-party plugins. One is for third-party tools that have Eclipse 3.4.2 dependencies and the other is for third-party tools that have Eclipse 3.5.0 dependencies. OpenEdge Architect 10.2B supports both of these Eclipse platforms.
New video demos
Now there are a variety of demos, hosted on the Progress Communities Web site, that illustrate the features of OpenEdge and OpenEdge Architect.
In addition, there are direct links to appropriate demos from various topics in the OpenEdge Architect online help.
Upgrade of OpenEdge Ultra Controls for .NET
Customers who license OpenEdge Ultra Controls for .NET receive version 9.2 of the controls with OpenEdge 10.2B. In that respect, OpenEdge 10.2B differs from OpenEdge 10.2A, which includes OpenEdge Ultra Controls version 8.1.
Update Assembly References tool
OpenEdge 10.2B includes a new Update Assembly References tool that helps users synchronize assembly references in existing projects with new versions of those assemblies. Each time a new version of a control set is installed, it is necessary to update these references. For example, the change from version 8.1 to version 9.2 of the OpenEdge Ultra Controls necessitates such an update.
You can invoke the Update Assembly References tool either from the OpenEdge > Tools > Migration menu or from a command prompt.
Support for ABL language improvements
OpenEdge 10.2B introduces ABL support for:
Abstract classes and data members
Strongly typed events
Accessing .NET generics (definition of new generics in ABL is not supported)
In OpenEdge Architect, code-generation wizards, code assistance, the Outline view, Quick Outline, and the Debugger have been extended to support these language improvements.
ABL Editor context-filtered code assistance
By default, code-completion assistance now initially offers only those proposals that are relevant in the context of the current source file. Users can press CTRL+SPACE to toggle the list between context-filtered suggestions and all suggestions. A preference setting is available to disable filtering of assistance proposals according to context.
Improved ProBindingSource Designer
In the Visual Designer, usability improvements have been made to the tool that helps users define the schema displayed by a data-bound control. Enhancements to the ProBindingSource Designer include support for drag-and-drop operations, streamlined support for importing a schema from a file or from a database, and an updated user interface.
Global Toolbox option
The Visual Designer now offers the option of sharing a common Toolbox among multiple projects. The option to use a dedicated Toolbox for a project remains available. A new project property setting controls this behavior for each project.
Shared AVM
In prior releases of OpenEdge Architect, each project in a workspace had its own instance of an ABL Virtual Machine (AVM). Basically, the AVM is a platform for compiling and running ABL code.
Release 10.2B of OpenEdge Architect introduces a shared AVM, which is a single AVM that can be used by any or all projects in a workspace. The shared AVM is useful if multiple projects require the same database connection, PROPATH, AppBuilder, assemblies, and AVM startup properties. The shared AVM is advantageous because it uses fewer memory and CPU resources.
To configure a shared AVM, select Window > Preferences from the main menu bar. Then open OpenEdge Architect > Shared AVM in the tree view of the Preferences dialog. You can set the AVM startup parameters on the Shared OpenEdge AVM preference page. In the child nodes, you can set the other properties that affect all the projects that use the shared AVM.
In the New OpenEdge Project wizard (File > New > OpenEdge Project), you can now choose whether you want to use an individual, project-specific AVM or a shared AVM. For existing projects in the workspace, you can go to the OpenEdge property page for the project and select the Use shared AVM option.
Performance improvements
The performance of OpenEdge Architect has been improved in the following areas:
Updating the Outline view when changes occur
Expanding include files
Opening files
Responding to user input
Adding code sections (functions, methods, etc.) using the various source-editing wizards
AppServer support
New in Release 10.2B is support for the OpenEdge AppServer in OpenEdge Architect. With this support, you can now do the following:
Manage AppServers from within OpenEdge Architect by defining connections to AppServer brokers.
Use one tool-OpenEdge Architect-to perform multiple AppServer functions, such as starting or stopping servers or adding or trimming AppServer agents.
For additional AppServer-related tasks, you can use Progress Explorer, OpenEdge Management (with the required license), or OpenEdge Explorer. You can access OpenEdge Explorer and/or OpenEdge Management from within OpenEdge Architect.
Create and publish an application to an AppServer, which allows you to test the application in an environment outside of the OpenEdge Architect workspace.
Use the Eclipse launch configuration framework to set certain AppServer properties and create and store alternate configurations for each AppServer in your environment.
Monitor AppServer broker and server status details through a server monitor view.
Class Browser enhancements
The Class Browser includes the following enhancements in 10.2B:
The description of a class, method, property, or event now includes ABSTRACT, if applicable.
The Class Browser view now displays .NET generic types.
The Class Browser view recognizes the ABL events declared in an ABL class and populates them in the events section of class.
The ABL Syntax section for an event, as viewed in the Summary pane, now provides sample code that you can use to define a method handler.
The Class Browser uses the PROPATH specified at the project level when processing project classes. For a project using the shared AVM, the Class Browser shows the assemblies and the PROPATH defined for the shared AVM.
Support for AppBuilder shortcut keys
The Keys preference page (Window > Preferences > General > Keys) has a new choice for key bindings. You can select AppBuilder in the Scheme box to implement most of the AppBuilder shortcut keys.
Abstract classes and data members