Wednesday, March 16, 2022, 12:00 noon, CDT (UTC−5:00)
Special Topic:
js.component: Part 2 – Aparajita Fishman
In the previous 4DMethod meeting on March 2, Aparajita Fishman gave us a look at js.component, a pure 4D component comprising 30 classes with over 400 functions. However we had one problem… there was so much functionality packed into the component that we didn’t have time enough in the meeting to cover some important features. So… he is coming back.
Continue readingWednesday, March 2, 2022, 12:00 noon, CST (UTC−5:00)
Special Topic:
js.component: Taking 4D to the next level – Aparajita Fishman
4D has taken a lot of steps towards modernizing the language with v19, but there is other functionality that is taken for granted in the JavaScript world but missing in 4D — until now.
js.component a pure 4D component comprising 30 classes with over 400 functions that:
Wednesday, January 19, 2022, 12:00 noon, CST (UTC−5:00)
Special Topic:
Keeping Up With 4D’s Latest Technologies — A Worthwhile Endeavor – Chris Belanger
Since 4D version 17, 4D has provided many new features that facilitate simplification and clarity in data structures and code. We have new Data Structures such as Objects and Collections. We have new Language Features such as Dot Notation and Formulas to say the least. We now have ORDA (Object Relational Data Access) where the database is itself an object! And we now have ORDA classes and custom made classes.
Phew! That is a lot to learn in just a few versions of 4D. We are all exploring how to take advantage of the many new features and finding out how to integrate the new language into older applications. It can be hard to keep up sometimes, but it is a worthwhile endeavor. So come for a run with us, and see where the 4D road is heading!
Continue reading
Wednesday, November 17, 2021, 12:00 noon, CST (UTC−5:00)
Special Topic:
Avec classe: UI with Class – Vincent de Lachaux
For this final 4DMethod meeting of 2021, you are going to need imagination. Think of how in the finale of classic kung fu movies, you would often see a Shaolin master off to the side with their arms crossed waiting to engage the battle and unleash the fury of the ages with their veritable martial arts skills. Now instead imagine that scene, except it is a 4DMethod meeting on Zoom with a kind-hearted Frenchman, Vincent de Lachaux, ready to release his 4D mastery in the form of a set of classes to manage form objects in a 4D application interface.
Yes… epic indeed!
Continue readingWednesday, August 25, 2021, 12:00 noon, CDT (UTC−5:00)
Special Topic:
Enrich UX and UI with Unicode Special Characters – Add Komoncharoensiri
Unicode support allows 4D to handle a wider range of character set in an application. The basic range of Unicode includes several letters, flat drawings, and symbols. As part of the extension, Unicode also includes special HTML-symbol characters like rich icons and emojis. These special characters can be efficiently used in text expression in a way that words sometimes cannot. They can also be used as icons to enhance the User Interface.
In this meeting, we will explore a few ways on how to take advantage of these special Unicode characters to enrich the application user experience and user interface.
A 4D Project on Github with some code examples will be made available.
Continue readingWednesday, May 12, 2021, 12:00 noon, CDT (UTC−5:00)
Special Topic:
Different ways to access and display 4D data – Christophe Flament – Ponga Consulting, Inc.
4D is constantly evolving adding new concepts and features. As 4D developers, we have to keep up. Here is an opportunity to learn some of those new concepts.
In this demo, Christophe Flament will demonstrate how to access 4D data via HTTP requests, displaying it using ORDA: collection / object. He will also explain some of the code techniques we can now use with 4D v18 R6.
Using a project database (Library-Demo) adapted from a v17 demo, Christophe will explain how you can display data into a form with a listbox loading it via an HTTP request. This concept is useful, for example, if you want to create a Volume Desktop application that will run independently with no local data/ getting it from the 4D Server via HTTP request calls instead. The same concept is also applicable to PHP code loading the 4D data into a web interface or using the Postman application for testing.
Continue readingWednesday, March 31, 2021, 12:00 noon, CDT (UTC−5:00) (updated from March 24)
Special Topic:
Argus Development Environment Shell & Tools for 4D – Jody Bevan
Let Jody Bevan take you on a tour of the Argus Development Environment (ADE). Jody has been a big name in 4D development since his days with JonokeMed, what used to be one of the widest used medical applications of its type in Canada. He has rolled that momentum and experience forward into his latest project, Argus ADE. Continue reading
Wednesday, February 3, 2021, 12:00 noon, CST (UTC−5:00)
Special Topic:
Building developer.4d.com, a Markdown-based Documentation Site – Arnaud Schmitt
Some of us live by the mantra “When all else fails, read the manual.” However I think that applies better to Ikea than 4D application development! We all rely heavily on 4D documentation and are often even obliged to create documentation for our own applications (see… developers favorite task).
This meeting will offer us all a rare peek behind the scenes of how 4D documentation is maintained and how the approach is changing to keep pace with the evolving platform.
Continue readingWednesday, November 18, 2020, 12:00 noon, CST (UTC−5:00)
Special Topic:
Quickly Open Things in 4D Development Environment and Sync Code Between Projects – Cannon Smith
Project mode in 4D opens some interesting development tool possibilities that we didn’t have before, especially now with the new FORM EDIT command added in v18 R5. In this meeting, we’ll explore two such tools that have been made available publicly on GitHub… DevQuickOpen and DevSync.
Wednesday, October 7, 2020, 12:00 noon, CDT (UTC−5:00)
Special Topic:
Building your own Classes in 4D: Examples and sample code – Tim Nevels
4D v18 R3 introduced another new feature to the 4D programming language which will be sure to transform application architectures for years to come: Classes. In short, this is a pretty big deal.
But Object-oriented programming (OOP) concepts may be unfamiliar to some of us, and the functionality in 4D is certainly new. So let’s all start exploring and digging into the new concepts together!
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