Shedding Some Light

I know several people have been blogging about this today, but the long awaited beta is released and you can get it here. I wanted to comment on one thing on the fix list I did not think was going to make the cut:

VFP9: Debugger: ToolTip for character variable in the TRACE window no longer has quotes around the value. Did in previous VFP versions.

I know this might feel like one of the small things in the life of a developer, but it still throws me each time I see the quote-less string. Thanks Fox Team! This one has “bugged” me for a long time! The entire list is extensive and impressive. Looks like we are going to have some fun over the next couple months.

I am a big fan of XFRX and today I got notification from Martin Haluza that the newest version was released. There are a number of speed improvements in the PDF generation and a few bug fixes which should directly benefit my customers, but the big news is the release of a new output type of XPS.

XPS is the new XML Paper Specification by Microsoft. This has been touted as a “PDF-killer” by some people, but I really don’t think PDFs are going anywhere at the moment. I just like my VFP solutions to offer integration with new technologies and Martin has done all the work that will make me look like a hero to my clients. I downloaded the Microsoft XML Paper Specification Essentials Pack since I don’t have the .NET 3.0 framework loaded on my development machine yet. The process was surprisingly painless. It installed the Microsoft XPS Document Writer (printer) so I can print from any application to a XPS file (not required by XFRX), and the XPS Viewer to look at and print XPS files (just like Acrobat Reader for PDFs). Slick.

Thanks Martin, and keep up the good work with XFRX!

Last night Tamar Granor was in Detroit and stopped by the DAFUG meeting to present her excellent session “Using the VFP Debugger Effectively.”

I have done sessions on the VFP debugger and think I have a good handle on debugging, but as usual for me in any session there were some points Tamar made that I was able to “relearn”, and one particular point I did learn and wanted to share with you.

During the session Tamar mentioned the “Fix” feature of the Trace Window is available when you run in the Debug Frame, but is not available in the Trace window when running in the Fox Frame. The Fix feature directs the VFP debugger to cancel the execution and open up the current source code in the appropriate designer and code editor. This feature saves you the time of closing the debugger, getting to the project, opening up the source, and finding the line of code you want to fix. This took me by surprise as I thought I used the Fix feature, and I normally run the debugger in the Fox Frame.

Now anyone who knows me knows I have been very wrong about some VFP stuff in the past and this could be another one of those moments where I am imagining the behavior. So I open a simple PRG I was working with recently and ran the program in the debugger. Sure enough, when I right-click on the Trace window the Fix option is disabled. Hmm, I should not be shocked that Tamar is right and I am wrong, but I really thought this should work. I could just have easily been running with the Debug Frame when I use the Fix because I do switch to the Debug Frame when I want to load a debugger configuration from time-to-time (wish the Fox Team had time to add this to the Fox Frame too).

I have the program run a form (SCX). In the form’s Init method I SET STEP ON. When the code stops I right-click to bring up the shortcut menu. Sure enough the Fix option is enabled and the form opens when I ask VFP to Fix it. I did the same thing in a class and the Fix option is enabled. Interesting – programs get the short end of the stick with the Fix feature. More importantly, if you are using PRG-based classes you are getting the short end of the stick with respect to this powerful time-saver.

The reason I was so sure it was available is I use Visual Fox Express for many of the projects I develop, and the code is almost entirely included in VCX classes. So the option is almost always available to me when I am using the debugger.

So do you think this is a bug in the debugger? Tamar is under the impression there might be some internal limitation the Fox Team cannot work around to get it the source code open when running in the Fox Frame. I am thinking if they can get it to open forms and classes, they probably should be able to get it to open the less complex PRG file. Unfortunately I also think this is a minor problem and I would rather they work on more complex issues before shipping VFP 9 SP2.

I see Igor Vit has the session schedule posted for the Prague DevCon. This conference is the most attended conference year after year and there is no doubt why, great sessions and inexpensive registration fees. If you are in Europe (or anywhere else for that matter) and you have room in your schedule next week (June 19th to 21st), head on over and get registered for this great conference.

The biggest questions I got about the Southwest Fox speaker list was:

1. Where is Craig Boyd’s name?
2. How could we freeze out Craig Boyd from speaking at your conference since he is one of the more popular speakers in the community?
3. Do you and Craig have a problem since you replaced him at OzFox?

(OK, I made up the last one, but heck, there is not enough turmoil and friction in the Fox Community at the moment {g})

I was considering creating a FAQ page on the site just so I could point people to it. If I had a dime for every time I had to say: we would have loved to pick Craig Boyd, but he did not submit sessions, I think I could be closing in on fully funding two kids in college.

So now that Craig has officially let the cat out of the bag on the real reason he was not on the initial list of speakers (and why his blog has been quiet – leading to a huge drop of VFP on the Tiobe index), it is my great pleasure to announce he is speaking at Southwest Fox 2007! Even if you don’t want to read the details of the real reason, you have to check out the cute picture of Scarlett Elizabeth Boyd.

I will keep you in suspense a little longer about the sessions (Doug will get the Web site updated with the new sessions when he gets a moment on Monday or Tuesday) to help get some traffic to the SWF Web site, but I can guarantee you will find them very Boyd-esk.

I cannot wait until October!

Space shuttle Atlantis is a little over four hours from launch. This is going to be an exciting mission to the international space station where the crew is going to add a couple more trusses and another solar array to “balance out” the space station. Currently the orbiting lab looks unbalanced (although there really is no balance in zero-g) with only one solar array “wing.”

I am looking forward to watching the launch scheduled for 7:38 EDT and a new desktop wallpaper shot of the station after this assembly mission is complete.

I am very excited to announce SweetPotato Software Inc. (owned by VFP MVP and Fox Guru Craig Boyd), and Cully Technologies, LLC (owned by Kevin Cully who runs the FoxForward conference) are Bronze sponsors added today for Southwest Fox 2007!

Craig has been helping the organizers by hosting the Southwest Fox Web site and handing administrative details concerning the email accounts we have. This has been a huge help behind the scenes here at SWF, and is one of those things we flat out have not had to worry about.

Both of these gentlemen are huge supporters of the Fox Community and we are very excited to have them aboard as sponsors. You can check out the complete list of sponsors on the Southwest Fox 2007 sponsors page. Please help us show appreciation for their support of the conference and Fox Community by visiting their pages, and checking out their offerings.

Thanks again guys.

I recently had a frustrating conversation with my Workers Compensation insurance vendor. I don’t really need WC insurance for myself, but I do for my son’s wages, and on occasion my customers will ask if I have it. A few clients have requested I provide a certificate of insurance for a project. Last week I learned why this is so important.

It all centers around the definition of the word employee. I am an employee of White Light Computing, in addition to my ownership in the company. As the company president I get paid a modest salary. For each US$1000 of salary I get paid, the company pays US$0.80 in premium for the insurance in case I get hurt on the job and cannot perform my duties as a software developer. Just in case you are wondering, roofers are one of the most expensive jobs to insure: approximately US13.00+ per US$1000 salary. So we have it cheap.

The annual audit arrives and the paperwork I fill out asks me the usual questions about the business, how many employees, and how much I pay them. This year I also had to provide details about subcontractors and how much I paid them. Previous years asked if I had subcontractors, but never the amount of money involved.

This triggered a long discussion with the auditing department. They asked me to get certificates of insurance from each of the subcontractors. Several of them are just moonlighting at night and won’t have the coverage, but I do business with a couple of companies. So I spent an enormous amount of time documenting my subcontractors, the work they did, the time periods when they worked, and tracked down as many of the certificates as I could. I hate wasting time on this administrivia. Frankly it would have been better financially to pay the extra premium and spent all this time billing on projects that are way more fun to work on, but the principle of the matter is this: I dislike insurance companies and certainly don’t want them double-dipping on me and the companies I have hired.

The reason I had to do all this work is to not get charged the extra premium because the insurance company was going to consider each subcontractor as an employee. They did not care if my contract states they are not employees of my company and responsible for their own taxes, insurance, etc. They did not care that I do not have them on my payroll and that my payroll service has never paid them a dime. They only care that they *can* charge me a premium and it is my responsibility to prove otherwise. Guilty until proven innocent. Their definition of employee is anyone I pay and cannot prove they have their own Workers Compensation policy.

I asked them a simple question: if one of my subcontractors was hurt while working on their site (not mine), would I be able to make a claim? The answer really was not unexpected, but really seems unbalanced. “Sir, it does not matter where they were hurt, they are subcontractors, not employees, and thus we would fight to the death to not pay the claim.” I thanked them for the clarification and double-talk. They were also kind enough to inform me that I would find all their competitors do the exact same thing. Having written software for the WC industry I know how bad employers get the short end of the stick.

Let’s review the rules of the insurance game: business owners always lose and there is absolutely no way to play the game where you can win, or have it even fair. Thanks for the clarification, not!

So for all the employees out there who read my humble writings – be thankful for your job and all the little things your employer does on your behalf that lowers the profitability of the company you work for, and ultimately lowers the wages you can get paid. For all the business owners and independent folk: I know, nothing new here. Just me having another stressful business moment.