November 5--Toni Feltman--An introduction to SQL Server Reporting Services (Part 1)

Our next meeting is next Tuesday, November 10. Note that we will meet in Room 125.

Toni Feltman’s postponed September session has been divided into two parts. This month is part 1.

Title: An introduction to SQL Server Reporting Services (Part 1)

Abstract:

SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) is the Microsoft answer to reporting tools like Crystal Reports. The really nice thing about SSRS is that a version is now included with SQL Server Express which is FREE. Free is good, right? SQL Server Reporting Services is a quick and inexpensive way for developers to create and deploy reports when using SQL Server as the database engine. It is not difficult to use and is similar to other reporting tools that may already be in your toolbox. There are benefits to having a language-agnostic reporting tool such as the ability to share reports between different applications and platforms. It also makes really good sense to have a reporting tool tightly coupled with the data used for reporting.

Desktop applications need reporting. These applications are being extended through other technologies such as the web and mobile. Even if your development environment has its own reporting engine, SQL Server Reporting Services is a great way to get query and reporting capabilities that are available on the desktop, web and mobile device all from one code base.

In this Part I session we will talk about:

•         Where to find and how to install SQL Server Express and SQL Server Reporting Services

•         The basics of the Report Builder and Visual Studio Data Tools

•         Different Ways to tie data to reports

•         The native Report Output Options

•         How to accomplish some simple reporting tasks.

Mark December 8^th for Part 2.

Tuesday, October 13: Christof Wollenhaupt presents "Computer Sensors in Business Applications"--note change of room

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, October 13 at 7:00 PM in room 127, DeVry University, 1140 Virginia Drive, Fort Washington, PA. Note the change of room; this new room is a computer lab and no food or drinks are permitted. You can still plan to come as early as 6:30 and bring some dinner, but you’ll have to eat in the commons area (where the vending machines are located) before coming to the meeting room.

This month, Christof Wollenhaupt returns to do a Southwest Fox preview on his way to Phoenix. He’ll present “Computer Sensors in Business Applications.”

Abstract: Most notebooks have a variety of sensors that were uncommon when Visual FoxPro 9 was released. In this session we cover a variety of modern sensors and devices and how to access them from Visual FoxPro by using some .NET helper code. These devices include the camera to take pictures and the microphone for audio recording, the touch screen to respond to finger input and multi-touch gestures, the GPS receiver to determine the current location, the compass to obtain directions, and the accelerometer to measure device movements.

Sensors are useful in many mobile business applications. For instance, you can automatically track time and route of mobile workers. The camera takes pictures that are directly added to the VFP application when entering orders at a client site.

Bio: Christof Wollenhaupt, head of Foxpert, offers FoxPro and .NET development and consulting services to customers who benefit from his nearly 20 years of experience. Christof is a regular speaker at conferences and user groups around the world, organizes the Hamburger Stammtisch für Microsoft Datenbankentwickler (Hamburg user group for Microsoft database developers), has written for various magazines including a regular column in FoxPro Advisor for more than 10 years, and was a Visual FoxPro MVP from 1997 to 2010.

September 8: Toni Feltman on SQL Server Reporting Services plus pizza!

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, September 8. We'll be providing a pizza dinner (or bring your own). Please email Tamar Granor or Jim Connolly if you plan to eat pizza, so we can make sure there’s enough.

Toni Feltman will do a Southwest Fox preview of her session “SQL Server Reporting Services.” The session will be a three-hour precon at the conference; this meeting features a shortened version.

Abstract: SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) is the Microsoft answer to reporting tools like Crystal Reports. The really nice thing about SSRS is that a version is now included with SQL Server Express which is FREE. Free is good, right? SQL Server Reporting Services is a quick and inexpensive way for developers to create and deploy reports when using SQL Server as the database engine. It is not difficult to use and is similar to other reporting tools that may already be in your toolbox. There are benefits to having a language-agnostic reporting tool such as the ability to share reports between different applications and platforms. It also makes really good sense to have a reporting tool tightly coupled with the data used for reporting.

Desktop applications need reporting. These applications are being extended through other technologies such as the web and mobile. Even if your development environment has its own reporting engine, SQL Server Reporting Services is a great way to get query and reporting capabilities that are available on the desktop, web and mobile device all from one code base.

You will learn:

•             Where to find and how to install SQL Server Express and SQL Server Reporting Services

•             How to use Report Designer

•             Ways to tie data to reports

•             About the native Report Output Options

•             Differences between SSRS "express" and paid versions

•             Ways to "centralize" reporting services to be used by more than one type of client

•             Ways to render SSRS reports in Visual FoxPro

•             Methods for integrating existing report technology with SSRS reporting to create a common look and feel between reports

Also, be sure to mark your calendar for the return of Christof Wollenhaupt on October 13.

NO meeting August 11

We're taking August off. Be sure to mark your calendar now for our upcoming meetings:

September 9--Toni Feltman
October 13--Christof Wollenhaupt

Also, consider coming to Southwest Fox, October 15-18, in Gilbert, AZ. Check it out at http://swfox.net/.

July 14: Tamar E. Granor: “Can’t this application go any faster?”

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, July 14. Tamar E. Granor will do a Southwest Fox preview of her session “Can’t this application go any faster?”

Abstract: What do you do when your customer says that your application is too slow? How can you figure out what's slowing things down? How can you make it faster?

Optimization of a VFP application is more than just applying Rushmore correctly, though that's an important step. In this session, we'll explore techniques for measuring performance of a VFP application and look at things you can do to speed it up.

Tuesday, June 9--Bob Pierce on “Manufacturing Automation powered by VFP – Part 1.”

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, June 9. Bob Pierce will present “Manufacturing Automation powered by VFP – Part 1.”

Smooth-On Inc., with $50 Million annual production recently moved into a much larger facility to accommodate our growth.  It was decided that we take the opportunity to modernize the operation using automation controlled by Visual FoxPro.  In our process we use 600 chemicals to produce 1400 formulas that go into 6000 finished goods that are sold globally through our distributer network, and ecommerce.  I will explain why VFP was selected for this project, some of the pitfalls of that choice, and the complexities of interaction with pumps/valves/ mixers/sensors in the real world.  There was quite a bit of planning and advanced preparation. But not unexpectedly a lot of nuance we didn’t anticipate and a number of things we missed altogether.  Although the process is not complete, we are well on our way; In Part 2 I will discuss further developments including full formula automation and automation of the pack out process.

May 12--Rick Schummer: "Inspiring Everyday Practical IntelliSense"

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, May 12. Rick Schummer will present the “director’s cut” of his Southwest Fox 2014 session “Inspiring Everyday Practical IntelliSense”

Abstract: Microsoft introduced Visual FoxPro's highly extensible IntelliSense capability 14 years ago with the release of Visual FoxPro 7.0. I remember seeing the first live demo of IntelliSense at DevCon and recall the chills it sent up my spine because I knew this new feature would instantly make me more productive. This single VFP feature has been heralded as "the greatest thing since sliced bread" and is, at least in my mind, the single biggest productivity boost to developers. Yet to this day I feel I under-use it and wish I would take the time to make things better for myself.

This session reveals how IntelliSense works using scripts and settings, and how it can be implemented, using real world examples authored by numerous Visual FoxPro developers. The implementation will be demonstrated and analyzed with the number one goal of inspiring you to boost your own productivity in the VFP IDE, and later to share those items that might help other developers in the FoxPro community.

Discover the details needed to take advantage of Quick Info, Member Lists, Command and Keyword expansion, Types, and MRU Lists. Techniques include leveraging the FoxCode object, text merge, and more. If time allows, we will explore other IntelliSense implementations and extensions like MY, IntellisenseX, ISX, and FoxCodePlus.

Bio: Rick Schummer is the president and lead geek at White Light Computing, Inc., headquartered in southeast Michigan, USA where the team guides the customer's Information Technology investment toward success. He enjoys working with top-notch developers, thrives on the mode of continuous learning, has a passion for developing software using best practices, strives to surpass customer expectations, and shares his knowledge with others whenever he can. After hours you might find him creating developer tools that improve developer productivity, or writing articles for his favorite technology journals and his blog.

Rick is a co-author of VFPX: Open Source Treasure for the VFP Developer, Making Sense of Sedna and SP2, Visual FoxPro Best Practices for the Next Ten Years, What's New In Nine: Visual FoxPro's Latest Hits, Deploying Visual FoxPro Solutions, MegaFox: 1002 Things You Wanted To Know About Extending Visual FoxPro, and 1001 Things You Always Wanted to Know About Visual FoxPro. He is a regular presenter at user groups across North America and is founding member and Secretary of the Detroit Area Fox User Group (DAFUG). Rick is the lead organizer of the Southwest Fox Conference, and is a regular presenter at other conferences in North America, Europe, and Australia. He is an administrator of VFPX, and a Microsoft Visual FoxPro MVP from 2002 to 2011. Rick was awarded the FoxPro Lifetime Achievement Award in October 2010.