Hi Roberto,
Roberto Lopez wrote:
I'm planning a project that I will start coding in a couple of weeks.
I want to use HMG.4, but I'm not certain about the current project status.
Good !
So, my question is which is the status of the project in these aspects:
- Stability / Reliability
- Completeness
- HMG 2/3 general compatibility
- .fmg level compatibility
.fmg level compatibility
I will start from the last item.
I implemented some code for .fmg compatibility. There are several issues: in .fmg code all parameters all listed, also parameters that have NIL values. This needs that each parameter must be translated in hmg.ch. Testing some .fmg from Malek I discovered that some were missing and added to hmg3.ch but not always they have real code behind them.
I also implemented a hmg.ch trick to handle the loading of .fmg forms and later activation. This trick worked at the time (august) but I don't know if it needs to be updated.
HMG 2/3 general compatibility
I think we are at 70/80% compatibility. Well, it also depends on which widgets you use ! About data-binded components, Luigi commited today the combobox (well, I don't know if there are other data-binded components in hmg3....)
A lot of features may be added to simplify hmg4 core code and use Qt internal code. For example in grids, Qt can handle internally different colors for cell background colors so that we don't need to use callbacks.
Grids vs VGrids... in hmg3 the grid area was filled with cells, also when there were no rows to show. In hmg4 no rows to show -> no rows in the grid. It's not possible to doubleclick on an empty row just because there are no empty rows... you have to programmatically add empty rows to the grid...
So, there are incompatibilities...
Completeness
Well, as I said it depends on which widgets you use !
Stability / Reliability
I don't have full programs developed. I know that Maurizio uses hbide a lot. Ricci has his orchid program and I think he is using it a lot. So hbQt is quite ok. I just have problems when cut/paste is used, exiting the program sometimes gives error.
hmg4 Reliability is quite ok... Stability: what do you mean ? there may be changes in hmg4 core code so that you need to change your source code ? Yes, there may be ! We are not at alpha stage yet !
Ricci started porting his program and found some problems. When he found a problem/incompatibility at first he asked me and Luigi to have a look, but then he started to supply patches directly.
He also did some interesting stuff, like a graph that appears hovering on a label... and he intelligently solved the problem of missing rows in a grid adding empty records..
So I say:
1)
how many days do you have for delivering the program ?
how many days do you think you will need using hmg3 ?
If the difference is more than 40% you may start to use hmg4
2)
is it possible for you to work with svn harbour and update it when required ? This means update all the pc you use
is it ok for you if some incompatible commit to hmg4 makes your program stops working and you need to update its source code or mantain your hmg4 fork ?
3)
do you know that some command parameters are not implemented ? There is no code in the methods...
are you willing to eventually implement some parameters present in .fmg files that are not yet present in hmg.ch file ? Simply as placeholder to compile the code or if really used in the code, implemnt the method ?
4)
do you use PICTUREs on textboxes ? they are not fully implemented
do you depend on onLostFocus to act as a VALID and not leave the textbox ? it doesn't work corerctly yet
5)
do you use EDIT EXTENDED ? not ready yet
Roberto, as you may understand, hmg4 is in a usable state, it is growing and improving but it is not a 100% clone of hmg3 !
If you have some time in excess it can be a good occasion to check hmg4 completeness and reliability.
If you are on a tight schedule, use hmg3 (except if hbQt gives you some other advantage, like working on mac/linux)
The last item is specially important to me, because I always use IDE for my projects. If I start using HMG.4 for real, I must to be sure that, at least, I'll be able to use the IDE 3.x for form editing.
Design and maintain forms 'by hand' is unacceptably time-consuming for medium/big size projects.
It can be the occasion to port the IDE to hmg4. Which was the status of ide code present in svn ? I was trying to adapt it hmg4...
Obviously, I will be happy to support you in your hmg4 use (time permitting) and I also think that Luigi and Ricci will help.
Francesco