Jun 8, 2012

Linx version 4.0.132.2025

Please note that Linx version 4.0.132.2025 is available for download.  This is the second beta release of Linx 4 and contains a lot of new features and bug fixes, some of which are highlighted below.  Since we have made some changes to the program file structure, it is recommended that you uninstall any previous versions of Linx 4 and do a clean installation of the new version (Linx 2 installations will not be affected). Also, if you run Linx 4 on the same machine as Linx 2, please ensure that you specify valid port values (configurable during the installation) that are not already in use by Linx 2.

Designer:

We've built and improved on the new features added during the previous beta release to increase the usability and aesthetics of the designer.

Changes include:
  • Solution validation.  Solutions that are opened in the designer will continuously be monitored for warnings and errors which are displayed in an easy to read list format.  The user can go to the relevant warning or error and rectify it by double-clicking on the applicable message.
  •  Debugging in the main window.  When the user selects a process to debug, the designer will modify all the relevant toolbars, menus and output windows to enable debugging in the same environment that was used to design the process.
  • Visible (public) and invisible (private) processes.  When designing a process, the user can change the "Visible" property to define the scope of a process.  Visible processes can be executed via the Linx web service, the RunRemoteProcess component or directly from the server administration web site, while invisible processes are limited in scope to items in the same project (e.g. timer service event handlers or a RunProcess component in the same project).  For new processes, the "Visible" value will be set to false, while processes in legacy solutions will have a "Visible" value of true.  The user can determine the scope of a process by either looking at the process icon or by checking the "Visible" property value.
  • The RunProcess component can now execute a process in another project (in the same solution).  Note that if you want to execute a process in another project, the process that you want to call has to be visible (see explanation above).
  • The size and location of all editor windows are persisted.
  • All entities (where relevant) will support cut, copy & paste (via a context menu and the standard shortcut keys).

Server:

The server has been extended with the following functionality:

  • Display and edit of configuration values.  If you upload a solution with a configuration file, you will be able to see (and edit) the configuration values from the server administration web site.  Note that you have to be an administrator or have solution management rights to access this functionality.
  •  Rollback of solutions.  Every time that you update a solution on the server, Linx will create a new version that you can keep track of in the "Update History" tab.  If you are an administrator or have solution management rights, you will also have the option to roll back the current version of the solution to the previous version.  This functionality gives the user an easy and predictable way to revert a solution should something go wrong.
  •  Display service information.  If any of the registered solutions on the server makes use of services (e.g. timer services), a link will be displayed on the "General" tab that provides the user with detailed information regarding these services.  This centralised view can be useful for planning future service execution times or for troubleshooting common performance problems (e.g. too many services running at the same time, service not active, etc.).
  • Server unavailable warning.  If, while the user is connected to the server via the web site, the server goes down for some or other reason, a warning will be displayed to alert the user of the problem.  The web site will attempt to reconnect to the server until a successful connection can be established.

As you can see, there are quite a lot of new features to try out, so please install the latest version and let us know what you think.