Ken Howe

AZs the title suggests, this article is about the error-logging feature within Jaguar CTS. Although this is a simple feature with simple commands, I'll show you how you can enhance it and add a level of control to the logging facility. I'll also show how to access the Jaguar repository from within your own components and applications. You'd think with such a cool remote debugging feature that the days of writing text entries to a log would be numbered. However, the more I work with Jaguar and PowerBuilder, the more I rely on the logging facility, especially when you want to plot complex situations with multiple components that are combined within one transaction. Plus, when your components are in production, the remote debugging feature will probably be switched off. The log is all you've got. The log function was the first function we added to our Jaguar ancestor ... (more)

High-Color Images in PowerBuilder

I recently completed a new major upgrade to PBDelta, which included updating all the icons to a Windows XP look and feel. This article explains some of the gotchas involved in using high-color icons with PowerBuilder and how to avoid or work around them. At the end I'll explain how I created the icons for PBDelta v5 and provide a few links to some important articles explaining the Windows XP look and feel. Windows XP Icons Table 1 shows examples that compares the old style icons with the new Windows XP icons. As you can see from the examples, the new icons are a little easier on t... (more)

PBDJ Feature: High Color Images in PowerBuilderRevisited

In a previous article (PBDJ, vol. 12, issue 5) I wrote about the best file formats for using Windows XP icons in PowerBuilder. In the summary of that article I mentioned how to create your own XP style icons. A number of people have since contacted me asking for more detail on how to create such icons and a second article on how to go about creating icons for their own applications. I can't commend too strongly the impact a professional icon library can have on your applications. I think it's money well worth investing. At my current employer we've purchased a library of icons f... (more)

Controlled Error Logging with Jaguar CTS

AZs the title suggests, this article is about the error-logging feature within Jaguar CTS. Although this is a simple feature with simple commands, I'll show you how you can enhance it and add a level of control to the logging facility. I'll also show how to access the Jaguar repository from within your own components and applications. You'd think with such a cool remote debugging feature that the days of writing text entries to a log would be numbered. However, the more I work with Jaguar and PowerBuilder, the more I rely on the logging facility, especially when you want to plot... (more)