Dimensional Data

Connecting and Read/Write to Microsoft Excel becomes a common need among many Applications. How to do with ADO connection in your C++ Builder Application? This Post guide will you to do that and its very simple steps. Assume you need to create a application, Read data from excel and populate into a Grid, and need to write data to the excel. To do this four components required, TADOConnection: TADOConnection encapsulates the ADO connection object. Use TADOConnection for connecting to ADO data stores(e.g Excel). The connection provided by a single TADOConnection component can be shared by multiple ADO command and dataset components through their Connection properties. TADOConnection allows you to control the attributes and conditions of a connection to a data store. TADOQuery: To access one or more tables( In Excel, it is sheet) in a data store using SQL statements. Retrieve data from tables in an ADO data store using SELECT statements. Perform actions on tables and other metadata objects in an ADO data store with statements like INSERT, DELETE, UPDATE, ALTER TABLE, and CREATE TABLE. Execute stored procedures.   TDataSource: To provide a conduit between a dataset and data-aware controls on a form that enable display, navigation, and editing of the data underlying the dataset.  TDBGrid: Displays and manipulates records from a dataset in a tabular grid. Applications can use the data grid to insert, delete, or edit data in the database, or simply to display it. Steps to connect to Excel using ADO Connection: Create a new Windows VCL C++ Application. Add these components TADOconnection, TADOQuery, TDataSource, TDBGrid, TCombox, and TButton. Set the ADOquery and DBGrid Datasource property with TDatasource instance. Assign the TADOConnection.Connectionstring with “Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=C:YourExcel.xls;Extended Properties=”Excel 8.0”; Populate the tables(sheet list) into the combobox from TADOconnection.GetTableNames(StringList). On Button click set TADOQuery SQL string with “select * from ” and open the TADOQuery. Check the video for demonstration.

Connecting to Multiple Enterprise Databases is no more a time consuming task in making connections and login to databases. FireDAC is a Universal Data Access library for developing applications for multiple devices, connected to enterprise databases. With its powerful universal architecture, FireDAC enables native high-speed direct access from Delphi and C++Builder to InterBase, SQLite, MySQL, SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, DB2, SQL Anywhere, Advantage DB, Firebird, Access, Informix, DataSnap, and more, including the NoSQL Database MongoDB. How To Connect With Microsoft SQL Server using FireDAC. Prerequisites : Ensure Native Microsoft SQL server latest driver is installed and a Microsoft SQL Server installed machine (local or Remote) to connect database. Open RAD Studio 10.4.1 -> Navigate to Data Explorer -> Expand FireDAC -> Select Microsoft SQL Server. Right Click Add New Connection. Enter the name of the Connection e.g) NorthWind. FireDac Conenction editor is opened with DriverID ‘MSSQL’ Provide the Server, Database, Username, Password to connect. Click the Test Button to check the connection. FireDAC login window with details will be shown. Click Ok. Connection Successful message will be popped up. Lot of other options available for your connection establisment. Check out the documentation here. Once Successful connection is made, Expand the database which is connected e.g Northwind, you can Expand Tables, Views. Create a new Windows VCL Application. Drag and Drop the Table e.g Employee. Select the Table and in Object Inspector set the property Active to true. Right Click Bind Visually, Which opens the LiveBindings Designer with the TableName. Select * in the Table Row. RightClick Link to new Control… Select TStringGrid. That’s all, Table data is populated to String Grid in the Form. These 10 Simple steps is enough to make your connection with Microsoft SQL Server. Check out the Demonstration here. Universal FireDAC Connectivity Architecture: FireDAC Architecture. FireDAC Features : Data Access Engine : Lightweight, effective and flexible engine can be used directly in applications and serves as a powerful foundation to the datasets API.  Unified API : FireDAC provides a range of features that help abstract the differences between database systems, making it easy to write code that does not have to be concerned about different DBMS dialects or other subtle differences between DBMSs. High- Performance Data Access : Database access is optimized using many different techniques often found only in database-specific components, which let you get faster data access out of the box. To get started with FireDAC and benefits it offers for developers Check here.

In this CodeRage session, we’ll create a simple real-time multi-platform chat application in RAD Studio using the Devart SecureBridge component called TScHubConnection, which implements the functionality of a SignalR client. What can you do with SignalR? While chat is often used as an example, you can do a whole lot more. Any time a user refreshes a web page to see new data, or the page implements Ajax long polling to retrieve new data, it’s a nominee for using SignalR. SignalR also enables completely new types of applications that require high-frequency updates from the server, such as real-time gaming. SignalR library has been implemented in many languages already and the solution by Devart is a great option.  Be sure to watch the CodeRage session where you can learn how you can implement such functionalities in your Delphi applications.  Here you can learn more about the SecureBridge component at Devart.

With the all-new FireUI Multi-Device Designer, design user interfaces across multiple devices using a master form to share all user interface code, then optimize derived views for each target platform and device. The existing native Desktop styles have been extended to cover the same UI elements as mobile styles, providing a 1:1 match with universal styling support across all platforms, giving the native look and feel on each supported platform. FireUI Multi-Device Designer provides a set of predefined views, including Windows Desktop, Surface Pro Tablet, Mac Desktop, iPhone, iPad, Android Tablets, and Smart Phones, and wearables like Smart Watches. FireUI: Revolutionary Multi-Device Development Devices are everywhere and users’ expectations are higher than they have ever been. Customers expect to be able to use an application on their smartphone while on the go and then switch to their tablet or Desktop computer while in their office or at home. Optimizing user interfaces for each of these device form factors can be challenging and costly, efficiently building multiple separate form views for each device. Multi-Device development is radically simplified with the FireUI design paradigm, tools, and components, delivering more productivity than ever before.

Though RAD Studio IDE supports a lot of features to boost productivity sometimes as a Delphi/C++ Builder Developer and as an end-user we may think to modify/extend the IDE capabilities for our own custom needs. Don’t know where to start with? Don’t worry! Delphi/C++ Builder has the Flexibility to extend the IDE capabilities using the Open Tools API. Using this Developers can extend some text, graphics, and installs to the IDE. Open Tools API (OTA) The Open Tools API (OTA) is a set of interfaces that allow developers to add features to the BDS, Delphi, and C++Builder IDEs. These additions are called wizards or experts. Wizards can use the OTA interfaces to modify the IDE, obtain information about the IDE’s state, and receive notification of important events. Check some useful FAQs here How to decorate your Editor using OTA: e.g) Need to do visualization of code coverage in the Delphi Source editor with some Text and Graphics representation. How to decorate your IDE with symbols and graphics to the Source editor? How to make sure that these decorations are in sync when editing the content? In ToolsAPI.pas, a lot of interfaces available to Modify IDE, information about IDE’s state, etc. For Visualizing code coverage in the Source editor, use the INTAEditViewNotifier interface PaintLine procedure. Create the Canvas state and draw the graphics required in the implementation of the procedure. procedure PaintLine(const View: IOTAEditView; LineNumber: Integer; const LineText: PAnsiChar; const TextWidth: Word; const LineAttributes: TOTAAttributeArray; const Canvas: TCanvas; const TextRect: TRect; const LineRect: TRect; const CellSize: TSize); procedure PaintLine(const View: IOTAEditView; LineNumber: Integer; const LineText: PAnsiChar; const TextWidth: Word; const LineAttributes: TOTAAttributeArray; const Canvas: TCanvas; const TextRect: TRect; const LineRect: TRect; const CellSize: TSize); BeginPaint is called before the code editor is repainted, and use the EndPaint procedure to clean up any data structures that have been maintained over the course ofpainting lines. Check the below Video Demonstration for decorating the Source Editor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlH4IVrhqRQ

object MasterDetailForm: TMasterDetailForm   Left = 0   Top = 0   Caption = ‘Customer and Orders Master Detail Using Live Bindings (C++ VCL)’   ClientHeight = 509   ClientWidth = 736   Color = clBtnFace   Font.Charset = DEFAULT_CHARSET   Font.Color = clWindowText   Font.Height = –11   Font.Name = ‘Tahoma’   Font.Style = []   OldCreateOrder = False   OnShow = FormShow   PixelsPerInch = 96   TextHeight = 13   object Splitter1: TSplitter     Left = 0     Top = 161     Width = 736     Height = 3     Cursor = crVSplit     Align = alTop     ExplicitLeft = 24     ExplicitTop = 210     ExplicitWidth = 159   end   object Panel1: TPanel     Left = 0     Top = 0     Width = 736     Height = 33     Align = alTop     TabOrder = 0     object DBNavigator1: TDBNavigator       Left = 159       Top = 4       Width = 225       Height = 23       DataSource = CustomerDataSource       VisibleButtons = [nbFirst, nbPrior, nbNext, nbLast, nbRefresh]       TabOrder = 0     end     object DatabaseActiveCheckBox: TCheckBox       Left = 24       Top = 9       Width = 97       Height = 17       Caption = ‘Database Active’       TabOrder = 1     end   end   object CustomerDBGrid: TDBGrid     Left = 0     Top = 33     Width = 736     Height = 128     Align = alTop     DataSource = CustomerDataSource     TabOrder = 1     TitleFont.Charset = DEFAULT_CHARSET     TitleFont.Color = clWindowText     TitleFont.Height = –11     TitleFont.Name = ‘Tahoma’     TitleFont.Style = []   end   object Panel2: TPanel     Left = 0     Top = 164     Width = 736     Height = 345     Align = alClient     TabOrder = 2     object Splitter2: TSplitter       Left = 305       Top = 1       Height = 343       ExplicitLeft = 208       ExplicitTop = 120       ExplicitHeight = 100     end     object SalesDBGrid: TDBGrid       Left = 1       Top = 1       Width = 304       Height = 343       Align = alLeft       DataSource = SalesDataSource       TabOrder = 0       TitleFont.Charset = DEFAULT_CHARSET       TitleFont.Color = clWindowText       TitleFont.Height = –11       TitleFont.Name = ‘Tahoma’       TitleFont.Style = []     end     object DBChart1: TDBChart       Left = 308       Top = 1       Width = 427       Height = 343       Title.Text.Strings = (         ‘Sales by Item Type for Customer’)       View3DOptions.Elevation = 315       View3DOptions.Orthogonal = False       View3DOptions.Perspective = 0       View3DOptions.Rotation = 360       Align = alClient       TabOrder = 1       DefaultCanvas = ‘TGDIPlusCanvas’       ColorPaletteIndex = 13       object Series1: TPieSeries         DataSource = SalesByItemTypeForCustomerQuery         XLabelsSource = ‘ITEM_TYPE’         XValues.Order = loAscending         YValues.Name = ‘Pie’         YValues.Order = loNone         YValues.ValueSource = ‘SUM’         Frame.InnerBrush.BackColor = clRed         Frame.InnerBrush.Gradient.EndColor = clGray         Frame.InnerBrush.Gradient.MidColor = clWhite         Frame.InnerBrush.Gradient.StartColor = 4210752         Frame.InnerBrush.Gradient.Visible = True         Frame.MiddleBrush.BackColor = clYellow         Frame.MiddleBrush.Gradient.EndColor = 8553090         Frame.MiddleBrush.Gradient.MidColor = clWhite         Frame.MiddleBrush.Gradient.StartColor = clGray         Frame.MiddleBrush.Gradient.Visible = True         Frame.OuterBrush.BackColor = clGreen         Frame.OuterBrush.Gradient.EndColor = 4210752         Frame.OuterBrush.Gradient.MidColor = clWhite         Frame.OuterBrush.Gradient.StartColor = clSilver         Frame.OuterBrush.Gradient.Visible = True         Frame.Width = 4         OtherSlice.Legend.Visible = False       end     end   end   object DatabaseConnection: TFDConnection     Params.Strings = (                ‘Database=C:UsersPublicDocumentsEmbarcaderoStudio21.0Sampl’ +         ‘esDataEMPLOYEE.GDB’       ‘ConnectionDef=EMPLOYEE’)     Connected = True     LoginPrompt = False     Left = 104     Top = 64   end   object CustomerQuery: TFDQuery     AfterScroll = CustomerQueryAfterScroll     Connection = DatabaseConnection     SQL.Strings = (       ‘select * from customer’)     Left = 240     Top = 72     object CustomerQueryCUST_NO: TFDAutoIncField       FieldName = ‘CUST_NO’       Origin = ‘CUST_NO’       ProviderFlags = [pfInUpdate, pfInWhere, pfInKey]       IdentityInsert = True     end     object CustomerQueryCUSTOMER: TStringField       FieldName = ‘CUSTOMER’       Origin = ‘CUSTOMER’       Required = True       Size = 25     end     object CustomerQueryCITY: TStringField       FieldName = ‘CITY’       Origin = ‘CITY’       Size = 25     end     object CustomerQuerySTATE_PROVINCE: TStringField       FieldName = ‘STATE_PROVINCE’       Origin = ‘STATE_PROVINCE’       Size = 15     end     object CustomerQueryCOUNTRY: TStringField       FieldName = ‘COUNTRY’       Origin = ‘COUNTRY’       Size = 15     end     object CustomerQueryPOSTAL_CODE: TStringField       FieldName = ‘POSTAL_CODE’       Origin = ‘POSTAL_CODE’       Size = 12     end     object CustomerQueryON_HOLD: TStringField       AutoGenerateValue = arDefault       FieldName = ‘ON_HOLD’       Origin […]