Real Impressed w/ PHPR v5.2

I had a client that I did some application development for several years ago contact me this week for some routine maintenance to their solution.  The project was simple enough, just building a dynamic URL w/ {$values_called_in} from the database.  This custom URL would hit their existing search function and return their search results.  Pretty straightforward.  Since there were 4 tables total that this needed to happen with it only took me about 25 minutes to complete.

Since I have been so busy lately launching new projects I haven’t dabbled in very much PHP programming in a while so I welcomed this opportunity to get re-acquainted w/ PHPRunner so I downloaded the newest version 5.2 to check out all of the new functionality my friend Sergey has added since I last upgraded.  I was amazed…

I have listed some of the newest additions in v5.2 below the video.

Since a lot of you might not have had the opportunity to play around w/ the newest version of the IDE I decided to record a screencast of my work on this client project, sans any sensitive data or logon information.  I do realize I get around pretty fast in this IDE because it’s what I have been using for the past 4 years or longer, but hopefully just by glancing at the various screens within the project you can get a good comparison of PHPR versus whatever IDE / Code Generator you might currently be using.

 

Also, as a sidenote, I have already had one person request a “from start to finish” screencast on PHPR’s latest release and I hope to have that ready very soon.  In the meantime, go pop some popcorn and grab yourself a soda and for the next 25 minutes what me upgrade this clients application for them.

Updates to PHPR v5.2 (changelog)

1. Audit  Logon as admin/admin or user/user
All actions like login/logout/record editing/adding/deleting etc are logged to Audit table.

2. Record locking.  Logon as admin/admin or user/user
To test this feature open this project in two different browsers i.e. in Firefox and Chrome. Logon using different credentials and try to edit the same record in one of tables to see how it works. Admin is able to unblock record if it was blocked for too long or take ownership.
http://demo.asprunne…ect41/login.php

3. Column resizing.
Resize any column on the list page by dragging it’s edge.

4. Edit/Add master-details tables on the same page
View master and details (not implemented in this demo, will be available in final version)
multiple detail tables (nested or one master – many details). I.e. you can display customers, orders by customer, order details per order and edit all three tables at the same time without leaving the page. Sounds a bit crazy, huh?

5. New FTP client. SFTP/FTPS support.
To increase upload speed change the number of FTP threads in Project->Settings.

6. Option: Block user account after three unsuccessful login attempts

7. Option: Section 508 compliance
Check keyboard-based navigation through table links on the list page (Arrow Up, Arrow Down, Tab, Shift Tab).

8. Search panel (advanced search on the list page)
Check search panel on the left. You can add new criteria. You can add the same field twice which will produce OR search (username=’admin’ or username=’test’). By default it implements ‘Contains’ search. To change this click ‘Show options’ link. You can use both search panel and simple search box at the same time. It produces AND search in this case. You can show/hide search panel clicking button with double arrows. You can also make search panel floating clicking pin button.

9. Charts update.
Multiple series (unlimited), gauge charts (horizontal, vertical, circular), accumulation charts, scrollable charts, financial charts, bubble charts. Chart auto-refresh by specified time interval.
More info on new chart types:

10. Google maps widget
Large map, ‘View as’ type ‘Map’ on List/View pages (separate map for each record), Clickable markers (point to the View page), javascript API to manage maps: map refresh on demand, center marker on map, add/update/delete markers

11. ‘Insert button’ feature. Add a button in Visual Editor and type in code to be executed after button is pressed. Supports both client-side (Javascript) and server-side (PHP/ASP) events.

12. New databases support: Informix, DB2, SQLite, any ODBC-enabled

13. Add CAPTCHA to any page  (Edit/Add/Login/Password reminder etc)

14. AJAX-based pagination/sorting/search
To turn this feature on proceed to ‘Choose pages’ screen and click ‘…’ button next to ‘List page’ check box.

 

By the way, if you are interested in checking out PHPRunner as a free trial download before you actually spend a couple hundred bucks on development software and generators, you can do so by visiting: http://www.xlinesoft.com/phprunner/?1057 and download your copy today!