Ubercode News Archive (2008)

 


Festive Greetings (22 December 2008)

  • Happy Christmas everyone - here's a festive tree (thanks to a free clip-art site) with a link to the latest Ubercode purchase page :)

    Christmas Tree (thanks to www.clker.com)

  • Also I have added 3 new articles to the Technical Support area. They cover:
  • How to set up a timer control
  • How to capture the output of a command line program
  • How to make a dialog window store its settings

Update (15 December 2008)

  • The Trial Pack had a problem with one of the templates, and as a result the File - New Program command was not working. This has been fixed with a new update - go to downloads to get the new improved version.
  • For those interested, the technical details are as follows. The Developer Environment's ini file (ide.ini) has templates for [NewNonMainClass], [NewMainClass], [NewDialog], [FunctionBody], [DataViewDialog] and [DatabaseDialog]. The [NewMainClass] and [NewDialog] templates are required when creating a new program. As a result of the changes done to allow templates to be added for Basic, part of the [NewMainClass] template was accidentally removed. This has now been fixed.
  • All these templates will eventually be qualified by the language type, for example [NewMainClass.cls], [NewMainClass.vba] etc. This will allow the Developer Environment to be usable with Ubercode and with Basic.

Compiler Improvements (7 December 2008)

  • It's now cold and wintery in Jersey so here is a picture of somewhere nice and sunny on the other side of the world (Perth). I was lucky enough to go there for my holidays about a year ago:

    Faster compiler!

  • Apart from dreaming of sunshine, I have improved the Ubercode compiler so it runs a lot faster (about twice as fast). This was done by improving the way the compiler sends information to the developer environment when multiple classes are being compiled. Previously it was using multiple FindWindowHandle() calls and cross-process message handling to update controls in a separate process, but now there is a simplified message system.
  • I delivered a talk on Ubercode Basic at the ESWC 2008 conference. This was well received and thank you to everyone who helped by giving feedback. It will take a while to get the beta of the Basic compiler ready - my current plan is for the long awaited v1.2 release early next year to coincide with the first Basic beta. I'm finding it difficult to choose what to put in and what to leave out.
  • There's an improved Ubercode Trial Pack which includes the faster compiler. Also I made a few minor tweaks to the support for Windows Vista. So download now and get coding...

Go Vista! (2 November 2008)

  • I recently upgraded my main desktop computer to a Dell with a dual core 2GHz processor and 2GB of RAM, running Windows Vista Business Edition. Following all the gloomy talk about Vista I was expecting a disaster. Instead Vista worked a treat, it's simple to use, runs fast and looks really nice. I had no compatibility problems and I'm really impressed with all aspects of this computer. The new computer enabled me to port the latest Ubercode beta to Windows Vista, which was mostly painless (just don't talk to me about default fonts under Windows!). Here's a picture of Ubercode running on Vista:

    Runs on Vista!

    Another nice thing about Vista is the message boxes look better. Here is a normal style message box:

    Vista message box

    You can have message boxes with custom icons:

    Vista message box

    Also you can have a help button. Pressing the help button calls up a topic of your choice from a help file:

    Vista message box

    If you use a help file, it can be a CHM file (compiled HTML) or a plain HTML file. Vista doesn't work with the old-stlye HLP files.
  • Download the latest Ubercode Trial Pack and get coding under Vista right away! Note that Ubercode still supports all earlier versions of Windows prior to Vista - Ubercode is unique in allowing the exact same program to run on any version of Windows with the correct look and feel in all cases.
  • Other changes - the IIf function (Immediate If) has been added to Ubercode. The observant will note that some recent language changes are to support Ubercode Basic without affecting the core Ubercode product.
  • Type system - I have made some changes and added type casting functions to the language. This means if you declare a type Tsometype, the compiler automatically generates a casting function with the same name. This makes it possible to convert other structurally compatible types to values of Tsometype. This will eventually support generic array, list and table types which will greatly simplify some tasks and will help Ubercode Basic. These changes should have no effect on existing code.
  • Minor changes - as a result of the auto generated casting functions, the maximum number of symbols supported by the compiler has been increased to 3000.
  • Finally do not forget the ESWC 2008 conference coming up in Berlin. This promises to be one of the best conferences yet (OK I'm biased because I'm giving a talk!). See you there...

Run Time Library Improvements (30 September 2008)

  • Ubercode at European Software Conference 2008! I will be speaking again at the ESWC 2008 conference which is in Berlin. The topic is on style versus substance in computer languages. So I hope you can make it.
  • Here is a map showing where the conference is (thanks to Google maps):

    ESWC 2008 Conference

  • Language tidying up I have also been tidying up elements of the language in preparation for the Ubercode Basic release. This consists of improved documentation, extra run time library functions and the occasional change to existing functions. The main changes are as follows.
  • Filelist is improved to work with readonly, hidden and system files, and the file attribute constants have been introduced and renamed to begin with FILEATTR.
  • Environ can get all the environment strings, in addition to getting the value of a single environment variable.
  • RegDeleteSetting, RegGetSetting, RegGetAllSettings, RegSaveSetting These registry functions have been added and are in the documentation and the run time library.
  • Errorhandler This function had a bug which allowed it to be called directly. This has been fixed, since the error handler is not intended for calling from user code.
  • New Download includes all the latest fixes and improvements. If you have any requests please email me (link on the bottom of the page).

More Developer Environment Improvements (31 August 2008)

  • I have started work on the Ubercode Basic help file (a version of Basic that is compatible with Microsoft Visual Basic versions 5 and 6). When this is complete there will be a beta version of Ubercode Basic ready for download. Here's a snapshot:

    Basic Help Screen

  • Other changes...
  • The Developer Environment now saves its position when it exits, and restores itself to this position when it next starts. There is also safety code that detects if the position is off the screen, and resets the position to the default if this happens.
  • The Arguments constant has been changed into the Arguments function for consistency (it was the only auto-declared constant in the run time library). Any code using Arguments should append round brackets to make it call the function.
  • There is a new Ubercode download available including these fixes and the latest changes.

False positives (31 July 2008)

  • Since the last update, a lot of time has been spent handling a false alarm from the Trend Micro anti virus scanner, which was incorrectly warning about some code in the compiler. The false alarm also happened with the Fortinet firewall, which I believe uses the same scanning engine as Trend anti-virus. This has been a frustrating problem as I would prefer to spend the time on the v1.2 release. Both companies have checked the compiler and confirmed it is safe.
  • Trend Micro: "I have now received an update from our virus team. They have verified that the file being detected by Trend is non malicious. They are now going to create an exemption pattern for this file." Fortinet: We have received the file you have sent and have verified that it is a clean file.
  • As a result of this, I am adding extra security measures to Ubercode to make it easier to handle false alarms in the future. One improvement is the build process includes the CRC-32 in the list of files, and the Developer Environment includes a new menu command to validate key files against the expected CRC values. I am still working on the latter task.
  • As an interim step, there is a new CRC calculator which calculates the CRC of a string or a file:

    CRC calculator

    Here are some sample CRCs:
        CRC("") = 0x0
        CRC("ABC") = 0xA3830348
        CRC("abc") = 0x352441C2
        CRC("This is a string") = 0x0876633F
    
  • The CRC calculator is included in the latest Ubercode trial pack! Feel free to use the download and try out the CRC calculator.
  • Also there are some changes to Loadfile and Savefile. These commands are documented as returning an empty value if the filename string is an empty string, or if the filename string names a non-existant file, or if the file has a size of zero. In a few cases (zero-byte files) the returned loaded variable was not being initialized and an error was occurring. This has been fixed.
  • Also the Loadfile and Savefile code that loads and saves XML to and from multi-dimensional arrays has been improved. These commands now work with resizable arrays in addition to arrays of fixed maximum size.

Ubercode does RS-232 (15 June 2008)

  • The main development this month is support for RS-232 (Serial Communications). This connects a computer to electrical devices such as PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers), test and measurement equipment. This month's project is to get serial communications working over an RS-232 cable. To make things easier I'm using two computers and connecting their serial ports via the cable, so you don't need any special equipment. The latest Ubercode download includes a serial comms program for testing the link.
  • The first step is to make or buy a serial cable:

    Ubercode Null Modem Cable

    Technically speaking this is a Null Modem Cable. The cable crosses over the transmit and receive wires internally, so everything transmitted from the first computer is sent to the receive line on the second computer and vice versa.
  • If you want to buy a cable you will need one that plugs into the serial ports on the back of the two computers. In most cases these are 9-pin connectors so you need a null modem cable with DB-9 sockets (female connectors) on both ends.
  • If you want to make up a cable you need DB-9 sockets, shells, and 4 core serial cable, preferably screened. You can use telecoms cable with two or more pairs but ideally the wires should be stranded so the cable is flexible. Here are the pinouts of the null modem cable:
      DB9 connector on DTE     DB9 connector on DCE
      --------------------     --------------------
          2 (RxD) <--------------> 3 (TxD)
          3 (TxD) <--------------> 2 (RxD)
          7 (RTS) <--------------> 8 (CTS)
          8 (CTS) <--------------> 7 (RTS)
          5 (GND) <--------------> 5 (GND)
      
    
  • DB9 This is the 9-pin socketed (female) serial connector which plugs into the back of each computer. Serial ports on a PC are normally 9-pin (male) connector on the back.
    DTE Data Terminal Equipment. This is comms-speak for the computer that runs the communications with the connected device. In our case the DTE is the first computer.
    DCE Data Communications Equipment. This is the connected device and in our case is the second computer.
    RxD The received data line. As you can see the receive line of each connector is joined to the transmit line on the other end. This connection is essential to make serial comms work.
    TxD The transmit data line, sends data to the other end to be received.
    RTS Ready to send, this is set by the first computer (DTE) when it is ready to receive data. The DCE detects this signal and starts transmitting.
    CTS Clear to send, this is set by the second computer (DCE) when it is ready to receive data from the DTE. The DTE detects this signal and starts transmitting. Normally RTS and CTS are handled automatically so you don't need to worry about these.
    GND Ground connection, this links the ground pins of both comms ports. If your cable is screened you can use the screen as the ground.
  • In practice the only essential pins are pins 2 and 3 crossed over, and pin 5 as the ground. You can get the parts for making up cables from RS components:
      Part number  Description
      --------------------------------------------------
      375 2215     D connector 9-way solderable plug
      375 2265     D connector 9-way solderable socket
      375 2237     D connector 25-way solderable plug
      375 2287     D connector 25-way solderable socket
      484 789      Hood for 9-way plugs and sockets
      484 802      Hood for 25-way plugs and sockets
      111 8950     2-pair 30m reel of screened serial cable
      
    
    These parts allow you to make up most kinds of serial cables as they include both 9 and 25 pin plugs and sockets.
  • Once you have the cable, find two computers, install Ubercode on both and connect them up. It's straightforward to program the serial port, and there is a demo program Comms1 you can use for testing.
  • General procedure is first use CommOpen to open the port, passing in the port "COM1" etc and the port settings such as the baud rate. The settings must be the same at both ends of the link. CommOpen returns a port handle which is used when reading and writing the port.
  • Use CommWriteString to send text to the comms port, or CommWriteByte to send control characters to the comms port.
  • The receiving end periodically checks for received data - if there is any it uses CommReadString or CommReadByte to read the data. The easiest way of checking for received data is setting up a timer and calling CommReadString in the timer event. This is simple to program and provides good performance for most applications.
  • Both ends can transmit and receive data. The comms programs at each end open the port (connected by the null modem cable), and when one is transmitting the other is receiving the data.
  • You can see this by running the Sample program (Comms1). Take a look at the main window:

    Serial communications with Ubercode

  • The comms program defaults to COM1, 9600 baud, no parity, 8 data bits and 1 stop bit. Leave these settings at the defaults unless you need to change the comms port (eg to COM3 needed by some laptops).
  • Open the ports on both computers. Type some text in the "Data to Transmit" area near the top and click "Transmit Data". This sends the text over the serial cable to the second computer. The second computer can send text back to the first computer in the same way.
  • If you click "Repeat Transmit Data" this allows you to specify some text and a repeat interval. This will repeatedly send text over the link.
  • You can use the comms program with other serial devices such as microcontrollers, PLCs and test equipment. Devices may have different serial connections, so check what kind of cable they need. Generally the device will include its own cable.
  • I am interested to know how you go with the comms program. If you have any questions or suggestions please get in touch!

Developer Environment Improvements (30 April 2008)

  • Added syntax highlighting for Ubercode, Basic VBA and VBS, Batch files, RC files, T-SQL and Inno Setup Scripts (ISS). Here's a picture of a standard Basic program being highlighted:

    Highlighted Basic Code

  • Fixed a bug in the code that created the Learning To Program PDF file. The file previously had some confusing text in it (macros that had not been expanded).
  • Added a new Program - Add Dialog Window command to the Developer Environment. This makes it possible to import individual dialogs from RC (Resource Compiler) files and helps re-engineer older style C/C++ applications.
  • If a pushbutton had the default status, and disabled itself and other pushbuttons in the same dialog, the default status would sometimes be incorrectly applied to one of the other disabled pushbuttons. What happened was the original pushbutton disabled itself, the default status was correctly applied to the next usable pushbutton, but when this next button was disabled, the default status was not then re-applied to another eligible button. This has now been fixed.
  • Fixed a minor bug in the dialog handling code that caused static controls with the SS_SIMPLE style to be incorrectly interpreted as icons. Note the bug was very unlikely to occur, as the SS_SIMPLE style is obscure and seldom used.
  • The Developer Environment command Tools-Test Dialog had a usability problem when testing dialogs with off-screen X,Y coordinates. Although the Developer Environment was working properly, it seemed to be non-responsive because the dialog was not visible. To fix this, the Tools-Test Dialog command automatically centers any dialogs that are off the edge of the screen, and shows a warning message.
  • Fixed a minor bug that happened with external resource files that had icons using the old-style memory options (PRELOAD, LOADONCALL, FIXED, MOVEABLE, DISCARDABLE, PURE, IMPURE). These memory options are obsolete and are now ignored.
  • Tidied up the names of some undocumented library functions (StrRemoveEol should be StrRtrimCrLf etc). These functions will eventually be included in the library and the documentation.

Installer Improvements (26 March 2008)

  • I have redone the Ubercode Installer from the ground up using Inno Setup instead of Installshield express. It now looks a whole lot better:

    New Ubercode installer is a thing of beauty!

  • Also it runs much faster - although I have not done an accurate benckmark, a full installation on an average laptop takes 18 seconds. And that includes the time it takes to click the "Next" button to skip through the dialogs!
  • The Inno Setup installer has much better compression than Installshield, so the setup file is 32% smaller. In practical terms that means the latest download is 14MB instead of 20MB. So don't delay, install the Trial Pack now - what are you waiting for!
  • There is a safely feature that stops you uninstalling or re-installing while the program is running. This is done with an appplication mutex (the AppMutex command in Inno Setup).
  • The logic that handles installs and uninstalls of multiple versions is greatly improved and covers these situations:

    If you repeat the same installation of Ubercode, the installer always puts the repeat installation in the same folder. This has several advantages - you can now repair an installation by reinstalling it, the installations share a single Add/Remove program entry, and you can't install the same version into different folders. This makes sure the uninstall does not leave partial installations on the computer.

    If you install different versions of Ubercode the installer makes sure the different versions go into different folders and have different Add/Remove program entries. This makes sure the uninstall of one version does not remove files belonging to another version, stopping it from working. It also means you can test different versions on the same computer.

    If you want to upgrade to a later version of Ubercode, you can uninstall the existing version (leaving behind any files you created), then install the new version into the same folder.

    The net result of the installer improvements is that it saves time, looks better, and it's now very quick to install and uninstall the Ubercode package.

  • Other changes include...
  • There was a bug in the debugger where if you specified CHM files as the preferred help type, it would still try to display a HLP file. This has now been fixed.
  • Removed ERR_LIST_EMPTY. This error is no longer required as there is no problem in deleting from an empty list.
  • Added extra context identifiers to the main help file allowing the CHM file to be called from the command line. The context identifiers are in the same order as the topics are listed in the project file starting from 1.

Compiler Improvements (8 February 2008)

  • Fixed up LMAKE (command line tool) so it shows an error message if incorrect command line parameters are used.
  • Fixed a compiler bug that occurred if too many list types had the same component type and an iterator function was used.
  • Increased the default maximum number of symbols to 2500, and increased the number that may be inherited from a compiled class to 1000. The compiler has also been changed so the maximum number of symbols may be increased to 5000.
  • There is a new download - this includes all the fixes above.
  • I have also been experimenting with the Microsoft Dot Net framework with a view to eventually producing a dot net code generator for Ubercode. As a first step I have prepared some sample utility code which can be reached here.