runtime versus smart client

Classic Servoy
1

I’d like some advice from the forum, as I am completely new to Servoy.

I want to migrate my current billing product from FMP to Servoy. There will be 2 flavours - a served multi-user version and a standalone, single-user version. The software and some data tables are updated 4 times a year. The single user version will only access data on the local machine.

For the single-user version, what are the pros and cons of distributing runtimes, versus smart clients (or other deployments).
I’d be grateful if someone could point me to a discussion of runtime/headless/web client/smart/client.

2

Benefits of runtime:

  • lower runtime cost
    Benefits of smart client with server
  • easier to update to new version (missing columns are created automatically)

With a runtime stand alone version you will have to do this yourself.

3

OK, thanks Jan. My understanding is starting to become clearer. What I am wanting for the single-user is a standalone solution that runs on a single machine, usually without an internet connection, with these characteristics:

  • a front-end that can be easily updated, preferably by automatically checking the application server when online.
  • a local db with tables that only the user accesses (but from time to time I might need to add fields when updating the front-end); these data are never shared, they are confidential data only for the end user.
  • a reference db (a catalog) that I supply and needs to be accessible offline on the users machine, but which a) they don’t edit, and b) I need to update ~ 4 to 6 times a year and push out to the users. (How best to achieve this with Servoy?)

Can this all be achieved with Smart Client? or do I need to be thinking of different schema?

Sounds like Runtime would be good for distributing demos on CDs, but I wouldn’t want to lose the ease of updating.

Tony

4

Hi

Welcome Antonio, another developer from oz! Servoy is starting to catch on here.

I’m also converting a solution with both multi user and single user setups. Personally i think the runtime will be too difficult to administer with new releases that you want everyone to have.

The server and client can reside on the same machine, although this sounds like overkill, will be much easier to manage in the future for you, the tradeoff is more setup and cost over the runtime.

5

Thanks for the ozzie welcome, Rodney. From your experience so far with Servoy, what’s the best way to manage infrequent updates of data tables that won’t be changed by the end user? (such as a catalogue db) At the moment I just email a zip file (or a link to a zipped file) and it’s up to the end user to uncompress and install. SOunds like there might be a better way to do this within Servoy. I sure like the sound of the application managing the updates. End users are mostly offline, so these data can’t (always) be served directly from my end.

6

Hi Antonio

i understand that the user logs in to the servoy server app, browses for the downloaded zip file, and loads it into the server, and activates it. All very easy. All table, field, and form changes done by servoy automatically.
The beauty is that the previous releases are not deleted, and if the new release has issues they can even “roll back” to the previous release. Genius!
I highly recommend a training course called Servoy essentials to get you started. Details in the servoy website. This will save you months of work/frustration and give you a lot of ideas, especially if you are from a filemaker background. Trade off is its only in the good old US of A.

7

Hello “other side of the world” friends…

For disconnected clients have also a look of “servoy offline” flavour:

http://www.servoy.com/generic.jsp?mt=39 … omy_id=430

ciao

8

Servoy Offline sounds like what I need, but I can only find short paragraphs mentioning its existance in the documentation.

Could someone point me to a more detailed explanation?

9

Hi Antonio,

You better ask directly to sales@servoy.com, I’m not sure but I think servoy disconnected licenses are reserved only to SAN members.

Servoy offline edition uses a combination of Servoy Developer or Runtime with iAnywhere Mobilink. The actual synchronisation is done by Mobilink and scripted using mobilink SQL scripts.

Consolidated database is the central Master database that runs on your server and where all offline clients connect to when they are online to synchronize their data. To synchronize you need the following setup:
On the server:
-Servoy Developer (Server when in production) with iAnywhere db (default install includes it)

  • Mobilink synchonization server
    On the client:
    -Servoy Developer (there is a special mode in which it can run as client) OR Servoy runtime edition
  • Mobilink Client

ciao

10

Thanks for the info. I am a SAN member, so I’ll ask the good folks at Servoy for more info.