WinDev
| File:Windev22.jpg | |
| Developer(s) | PC SOFT |
|---|---|
| Initial release | October 1, 1993 |
| Stable release | 25
/ December 10, 2019 |
| Engine | |
| Operating system | |
| Available in | English, French, Chinese |
| Type | Programming |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | windev-us |
Search WinDev on Amazon.WinDev is an Integrated Development Environment published by the French company PC Soft and designed to develop business applications. It is part of CASE type software.
This development environment uses a proprietary language: WLanguage.
Presentation
PC Soft company was founded in 1984. WinDev was first published in 1993, the current version is WinDev 25 released in December 2019.
The development environment is available in English, French, Chinese.
Main Use
It's a development environment that is optimized for creating business applications. The most popular types of applications developed with WinDev are : business management.[1], billing, cash registers, stock management, payroll calculation, bank account management, accounting software… Any data-oriented applications can be considered[2].
Windev incorporates all the standard tools usually found in IDEs like Code Editor and graphic interface Builder.
Key benefits
WinDev takes advantage of its optimization to make business software[3], the consequences are :
- The rapidity of development is extremely great, even for large-scale projects.
- It is very simple to design complex printing reports[4] without any programming. You can insert images, graphs, curves.
- Barcodes 1D and 2D management (UPC, ean13, ean 128, QR code, Datamatrix, PDF 417,MaxiCode, CODABAR, MSI ... ). You can easily generate Barcodes, display them on the screen or print them in reports.
- A label editor : everything is planned for margins, number of labels in width or height, The best-selling label sheet models are even predefined.
- All data entry controls in fields can be done in a very simple way without a line of code (There are special fields of : date, time, money ...) .
- Communication functions with most databases and the Microsoft Office Pack.
- Possibility to create multilingual projects.
- PC Soft does not claim any royalties on your programs.
Limitations
- It is not a generalist programming environment, such as Microsoft Visual Studio or Qt.
- It is not really possible, for example, to program games, 3D, video processing software...
- WinDev will not be suitable for heavy scientific calculations relating to pure mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy (Prefer widely the languages C, C++, Python, Fortran, matlab ).
- It is also not suitable for the creation of programs that require artificial intelligence (The python language is free and much better in this case[5] ...) .
- The use of WinDev is subject to the payment of a license, there are open source alternatives like OpenXava[6]
WLanguage
General principles
WLanguage is a programming language that appeared in 1992 with WinDev. Used by the development tools WinDev, WebDev and WinDev Mobile, it is of the proprietary type: the programs can only be handled with the PC SOFT tools. Even if there is an explicit first early compilation phase, the WLanguage bytecode is executed by a virtual machine.
WinDev proposes a language which classically includes variables of several types, operators and instructions which offer the possibility of writing procedures and functions. It has several families of standard functions to facilitate the task of the developer. Among them, ftp functions, HTTP functions, the management functions of schedules, windows, LDAP, etc...
It's a procedural programming language that allows imperative programming and object oriented programming. It has more than 3400 functions.
WLanguage allows the use of classes and includes among others:
- Encapsulation (public, protected, private);
- Composition of classes;
- Class association;
- Multiple inheritance;
- Abstraction and polymorphism.
Instance management
The allocation of instances is always dynamic. A variable or an object member actually manipulates a reference to the instance.
Instances are managed by counting references, that is to say that each instance has a counter for the number of variables or members that handle it. In the case of circular references between instances, it is necessary to force the release of an instance of the cycle by the release command (delete if we code in English) to release the other instances of the cycle.
Typing variable
Variables must be typed, but formal procedural parameters or loop iterators may not be. It is thus possible in the same project to combine procedures with strict typing to take advantage of the rigor of static typing and procedures without typing to take advantage of the flexibility of dynamic typing and duck typing.
Trilingual programming language
Instructions and functions can be written in French, English or even Chinese. Each function name has its equivalent, examples :
- In english :
sChaine is string
sChaine = DateToString(Today())
Info("Today is " + sChaine)
- In french :
sChaine est une chaîne
sChaine = DateVersChaine(DateDuJour())
Info("Nous sommes le " + sChaine)
- In chinese ( But only in chinese version of WinDev ) :
定义sChaine为字符串型变量
sChaine＝日期转换为字符串（今天（））
信息（"今天是 :"+sChaine）
Several principles are to be retained concerning this software suite :
- The software in the pcsoft suite[7] (WinDev, WebDev, WinDevMobile ) all uses the same language (wlangage).
- They can however interface with projects developed with other tools. For example, a WinDev mobile application can communicate with a php site using web services or will upload its content later directly into a mysql database (using a WinDev desktop application).
Databases
Types of databases managed
The database integrated with this development environment is HyperFileSQL. WinDev also comes with free database connectors: Sqlite, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, Mysql, Microsoft Access (accdb and mdb extensions). By purchasing additional modules it is possible to connect natively to these databases: Microsoft SQL Server[8], Sybase, DB2, Progress, Informix, AS/400 and Oracle.
HyperFile SQL (Free RDBMS)
WinDev includes Database management system (HyperFile SQL) : A feature of HFSQL is its free and unlimited deployment. There is no cost invoiced, neither according to the number of processors or number of cores of the server, nor according to the number of client workstations, nor annually, neither according to the volume, nor according to the type of application. HFSQL is delivered in a complete edition, with all the functionalities.
- HyperFile Classic : A Relational Database Management System file. Access to the data is managed by the client application. The database can be placed in a shared folder of a Windows server. A Linux Nas running with Samba can also be used as a server. Obviously this version is only suitable for small working groups.
- HyperFile Server : Access to the data is done by server software. This server software ( compatible with Windows and Linux) is unlimited in number of processors used, and in memory . This server software exists for Windows and GNU/Linux. The first version was in 2006.
- HyperFile Cluster.
- HyperFile Cloud.
Data Model Editor
- Analysis editor (data description) : Any program can easily access to an HFSQL database or other database ( Mysql, SqlServer ...) . In any case, all you have to do is describe the database structure in the analysis. Possibility to directly generate an application from the analysis editor using in particular the RAD mode.
- UML editor.
Optimized database tools
- SQL query editor : SQL query editor in text or graphic mode
- WDMAP : a tool used to view and handle a data file while developing an application.
Database abstraction layer[9].
Development is done by Wlanguage which includes layers abstractions to databases. But the modules integrated into Windev also natively manage this abstraction and all the work does not have to be started again when migrating from one database to another.
External Links
- Universal Data Access diagram.
- Multi-platform development diagram
- 29 wlanguage code samples.
- The limits of Windev
References
- ↑ Guy De Smet. "Windev development : Why and for what purposes". itplace.com. Retrieved 2020-03-25. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Pourquoi certaines entreprises choisissent WinDev ? | SUPINFO, École Supérieure d'Informatique". www.supinfo.com. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
- ↑ "PcSoft Software Development Products (IDE + ALM) version 19 has just been released". ITWeb. 2014-05-29. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
- ↑ "Report editor: Available types of reports". PC SOFT on-line documentation. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
- ↑ Fabisiak, Radoslaw (2019-12-05). "The best programming language for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning". Medium. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
- ↑ "Open Source Low-Code Platform for Rapid Web Application Development - OpenXava". www.openxava.org. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
- ↑ "A quick look at Windev, Windev Mobile and Webdev | Reamde". Retrieved 2020-04-30.
- ↑ "SHELL: WinDev fuelling development!". pdfslide.net. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
- ↑ "Database abstraction layer", Wikipedia, 2019-12-05, retrieved 2020-04-30
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