glad you ask what it is used for, below a quick list of stuff I could think of.
Please keep in mind that all of this list is used by applications running smart-client, but also on NG-client for example, most of the functions are still needed.
Maybe the list below is only 5% of the plugin, but it’s the most important 5% of stuff that can not be done otherwise.
Also it’s not just a list of usecases I made up, but is actually used in active code.
Would be more than happy to see if there’s another solution, or explain usecases in more detail.
You do have my contact details for this.
Deprecating the plugin would definitely mean loss of functionality to the user, but also for developers in order to automate deployment.
SERVER
Get / Set properties file value (default servoy properties as well as custom properties) > Servoy can’t do this at all
Get batchprocessor settings > Servoy can’t do this at all
Get DbConnections > Servoy can’t do this at all
Get Servoy install directory > Servoy can’t do this at all
Access serverfiles / copy serverfiles > Big advantage is the freedom to access any folder on the server, Servoy can’t do this unless launching a HC.
CLIENT
Generate overview all connected users > Servoy can do this, but can only retrieve very limited info
Send messages to clients > Servoy can’t do this, unless you access the admin page using http requests
Get client details (ip-address, mac-address, memory settings, system user name, etc.) > Servoy can’t do this, at least not from the perspective of the server or 1 client retrieving data from other clients;
Kill clients (cleanup after x hours idle time) > Servoy can’t do this
Get / Set additional info (custom data objects using JSON) > Servoy’s addClientInfo is no where near a replacement for this. First of all, that’s all readable on the admin page, 2nd: you can not get a value from what has been set
Execute client side function > Servoy can’t do this at all
Get / Set properties file value (default servoy properties as well as custom properties) > Servoy can’t do this at all
true, and why is that needed?
Get batchprocessor settings > Servoy can’t do this at all
also true, but what is your use case of retrieving this in any client?
Get DbConnections > Servoy can’t do this at all
Why needed?
Access serverfiles / copy serverfiles
That big advantage of having the freedom to access any file is also a huge security hole. I wonder if a feature request that would allow to register a number of directories and access those would help here?
Generate overview all connected users > Servoy can do this, but can only retrieve very limited info
What info are you missing? And you could add basically any info to the client info…
Send messages to clients > Servoy can’t do this, unless you access the admin page using http requests
False! The clientmanager plugin can do that.
Kill clients (cleanup after x hours idle time) > Servoy can’t do this
Also false, see above (except for the automatic part, that would need a headless client).
Get / Set additional info (custom data objects using JSON) > Servoy’s addClientInfo is no where near a replacement for this. First of all, that’s all readable on the admin page, 2nd: you can not get a value from what has been set
You can add anything (also JSON) to the client info. Don’t see what you are missing then. Why is it a problem that this kind of info is viewable on servoy-admin?
Execute client side function > Servoy can’t do this at all
With the UserManager this only works for smart clients. I have been (mis-)using some internal API for that which is simply not implemented for other client types. You could file a feature request for that to be added to the clientmanager plugin. That could be a useful addition.
I use it for streaming files to and from Servoy, and the reason I still use it is that until now, it has worked perfectly on all my solutions, so there was never a reason to remove it. Since removing it and replacing it with Servoy functionality takes time and effort, and I have very little time, I simply carried on using it.
Also, since it works on at least 5 installations out there, it was very unexpected that it would suddenly stop working on a fresh install now. I had no choice but to go and install my solution, and tell the (new) customer that this functionality (streaming images to the application) is not currently working, and that I don’t know when it will be working because it will take me time to find the solution to the current issue OR to rebuild and test the Servoy built in streaming function.
Is there a solution to this problem or do I have to rebuild this functionality directly in Servoy? (Rebuild for the third time, since it was moved to Usermanager plugin from the IT2BE streaming plugin when that caused problems).