Older Valence file maintenance apps created through Nitro AutoCode can sometimes exhibit a display problem upon migration to Valence 5.1.  This can also be true for AutoCode-based file maintenance apps created in 5.1 builds prior to 5.1.20171202.0.  The most common symptom is that a portion of the edit/add window displays outside of the portal boundary, as shown here.

When working with dates on IBM i you will often need to deal with null date values of 0001-01-01.  Depending on the display format you’ve chosen, in a Valence UI designed with Ext JS a null date field will be rendered like this: When the user clicks on the date selector trigger here, a calendar pops up based on the year and month specified in the field.

The VVOUT spreadsheet procedures were enhanced in Valence 4.2 to support the generation of Excel spreadsheets in .xlsx format.  You can see a practical example of these procedures in action by clicking on the download button on any of the entities in the Portal Admin app (the corresponding backend RPG code is located in various VVADM*** source members). The procedure for applying styling to cells in these .xlsx-based spreadsheets is a bit different from the old .xls formatting used in prior versions of Valence.  

The 2015 SenchaCon conference took place last week in Silicon Valley, with a host of exciting announcements about what's in the pipeline for web and mobile app development.  As assessed by the CNX staff in attendance, here are the top five most interesting tid-bits for the Valence community to come out of the show:

Features native portal app for iOS devices and updated user interface components CHICAGO, IL. CNX announced today the general availability of version 4.1 of the Valence Framework for IBM i. Valence 4.1 introduces new options for developing and running IBM i applications on iOS devices (iPad/iPhone), as well as support for a new set of front-end components for regular desktop apps. Back-end support for IBM i OS 7.2 is also included with this release.

We're happy to report that the latest build of Valence Framework 4.0 includes a fully functional Beta version of the much-anticipated Nitro AutoCode app.  This latest addition to the Nitro family allows developers to quickly generate Valence apps using a wizard-like interface.  You can literally produce a completely functional app -- including both the RPG and the user interface -- from scratch in less than a minute!  You can then call up the resulting app in Sencha Architect to quickly make additional adjustments to the user interface.  

New tool allows IBM i developers to create inquiry and file maintenance apps in seconds

May 6, 2014 ORLANDO, FL. CNX announced today at the COMMON User Group Annual Meeting and Exposition the Beta release of Nitro AutoCode, a web application generation tool included now as part of Valence Framework 4.0 for IBM i. This new tool allows developers to create high-quality inquiry and file maintenance apps on IBM i in a matter of seconds using a simple wizard-like interface.

Features Reengineered Portal and New Tools for Rapid App Development CHICAGO, IL. CNX announced today the general availability of version 4.0 of the Valence Framework for IBM i. Valence Framework 4.0 features a completely reengineered desktop browser portal as well as new tools for rapid web and mobile app development on IBM i. “This is without a doubt the biggest release of Valence Framework since version 1.0 was first announced nearly six years ago,” said Richard Milone, CNX Chief Technical Officer.

We're just two weeks away from the official release of Valence 4.0 and we're super excited to introduce this new framework to the IBM i community!  Many thanks to the handful of Beta testers we've been working with over the past month to help ensure the installation and operation of Valence 4.0 is as smooth as it can possibly be. With the sizeable investment we've made in streamlining the user interface for this release, we believe you'll find Valence 4.0 to be a huge hit with your IBM i users as you roll it out.

Take Sencha Architect for an early test drive on Valence 4.0! CNX will be presenting two brand new IBM i educational sessions at the WMCPA Confererence  in Delavan, Wisconsin, on March 12. Attendees will not only get a sneak peek of Valence 4.0 a week before its official release, but they'll also see how Sencha Architect can be used to create an IBM i-based web app from scratch in a matter of minutes.