March 10 meeting cancelled

Out of an abundance of caution, we are cancelling the March meeting. Given the unchecked spread of COVID-19 and its presence in eastern PA, we think it’s wiser not to meet this month. We’ll keep watching the news and decide about future meetings when they are closer.

March 10: Jim Connolly presents "My Journey with FoxPro"

It’s that time of year again. The first 2020 meeting of the Philadelphia Visual FoxPro User Group will be next Tuesday, March 10.

Our speaker will be Jim Connolly. His topic is: “My Journey with FoxPro”

Abstract:

I’ll talk about how I started with FoxPro Dos and managed to make a living for it. I will present my first and current commercial software package (The Distributor Package), which has been in use from 1985 to present. I’ll explain how I converted from Dos to Visual FoxPro using ProMatrix interface and how it evolved into a web interface and linked with accounting software (SBT and Quickbooks).

Mark your calendars for our additional 2020 meetings:  May 12, July 14, September 8, November 10. If you’d like to present at any of them, let Jim Connolly know: jconnolly@jtca.com.

November 12: Craig Benson: "Keeping Up Appearances in VFP"

Our final meeting for 2019 is Tuesday, November 12. Craig Benson will present "Keeping Up Appearances in VFP"

Abstract: TIW released a FoxPro based Manufacturing Product called "WorkShop" in June of 1990. Over the past 30 years, the product has evolved to become a complete modern ERP solution known today as ALERE. This session will focus on methods of upgrading and expanding the standard VFP user interface to create a modern look and feel. Some of the topics discussed will include Themed Title Bars, Ribbon Menus, Drop-Down Edit Boxes, Document Management, OLE Drag and Drop, Signature Boxes and Mobile VFP Applications using RDS.

September 10: Bob Pierce on "Going Offline"

Our next meeting is Tuesday, September 10. Bob Pierce will present “Going Offline.”

Abstract: Ideally all data presented to the user would be generated in real time, but there are times that it makes sense to process some information offline, I will look at some of these cases where you might consider doing this and some of the reasons why.  Additionally I will show some techniques I use to manage these processes.

July 9: Tamar E. Granor presents "Getting Started with PHP"

Our next meeting is Tuesday, July 9. Tamar E. Granor will present a Southwest Fox preview, “Getting Started with PHP”:

PHP is one of the most commonly used languages for adding code to websites. It allows you to pre-process information and generate HTML, and it has extensions for working with a variety of databases, including SQL Server and MySQL. In this session, we'll look at the basics of PHP as well as how to use it to add data to websites at runtime.

May 14: Menachem Bazian presents Creating efficient data enabled web pages with PHP, Codeigniter, Javascript, jQuery and Ajax

Our next meeting is next Tuesday, May 14. Menachem Bazian returns for “Creating efficient data enabled web pages with PHP, Codeigniter, Javascript, jQuery and Ajax.”

Abstract: This session will discuss how to make websites and web applications data aware with greater efficiency using Asynchronous Javascript and XML (AJAX). The session will show how to build web pages that seamlessly retrieve and save data. The session will discuss:

1. What Ajax is
2. Creating a PHP module to service ajax data communications from the WebSite
3. Using Javascript Object Notation (JSON).
4. Creating Ajax requests and processing results in the web page.

March 12 meeting: VFP in the trucking industry

User group season is back! Our next meeting is Tuesday, March 12. We’ll be focusing on the use of VFP in the trucking industry with a trifecta of speakers:

• Samuel Katzovicz of TMX Intermodal Inc. will present what his company is doing with VFP today.
• Jim Connolly will focus on getting data to the web from a spreadsheet.
• Steven McCann will present VFP programs on the web using West Wind interface.

Mark the following dates for the rest of this year’s meetings: May 14, July 9, September 10, November 12.

November 13: Leveraging your product's website to expedite product development and stability

Our next meeting is Tuesday, November 13. Scott P. Malinowski will present “Leveraging your product's website to expedite product development and stability.”

Scott works for NEMRC (New England Municipal Resource Center). He has been a VFP Developer for 26 years from FoxPro Base upward, with some Quicksilver and Xbase 3.

Abstract: Most vertical market applications have a corresponding website to market the sales of their application.  The purpose of this session is to show you how easy it can be to use the same website to serve updates, collect and report error information, collect and report other system information, validate active clients and keep your customer databases up to date with current information.  The session will show the use five technologies, Visual FoxPro, HTML, perl and FTP and Windows Scheduled Tasks.