COM Express is the ultimate tool for rapidly building robust N(3)-tier applications

COM Express

Introduction

How many times have you wondered if there is an easier way to building 3-tier and N-tier VB database applications? Business object is so cool but unfortunately, you have to do all this enormous amount of coding to get it actually working... COM Express can slash your development time dramatically, dont' look elsewhere, COM Express is the ultimate tool for rapidly building robust N(3)-tier applications.

What's new?

SQL Server 2000 XML SQL support.
All GUI templates are redesigned. Three new UI templates added: videosoft flexgrid 7, Devexpress QuantumGrid, Infragistics UltraGrid.
MS SOAP Toolkit support.
SQL Server Stored Produre Support.
Serialize your business object with XML...
Generates Robust Business Objects with hierarchical support to N-level deep.
Generates Ready-to-run 3 tier and N-tier solution with serious GUI application(not a toy, guarantee).
Full MTS/COM+ Support, hierarchical dataset loads and saves in one round trip.
Supports for the industry's most popular UI component when building GUI application. You can choose from MSHFlexgrid to True DBGrid(6/7) to Janus GridEx 2000...
Six full sample applications with full source codes are provided.

Who are using COM Express? Join them if you are...

Developing the latest database software
Building an industrial strength website
Transforming an ebusiness enterprise
Using the net to turn an industry upside down

Understand COM Express Application Framework

COM Express is a VB/ASP database application code generator. It provides a jumpstart for your application development. The business objects generated by COM Express are coded in a most common fashion adopted by the industry. The GUI application framework is pretty much from our own shop. Many users have quoted "very impressive" and we continue to make it more readable and extensible.

COM Express business object

Data Access Method: ADO

Properties: automatically map database fields to class properties

Methods: implements standard functions like "Load", "Save", "Delete", "LoadList", "CopyMe", etc..

Relation hierarchy: automatically link parent/child classes to unlimited level

Other: implements an abstract class "COMEXDatasource" to facilitate GUI application (only required if you are using COM Express GUI design)

COM Express GUI Design

Grid population: Use "unbound" mode, use "virtual loading" if the grid supports it
Form Control population: Use "unbound" mode, loaded by code
Toolbar: use a "cToolbar" class to let all data forms share a toolbar sits in the main MDI form
Relation hierarchy: Build Master/Detail (support N detail grids using tab control) automatically

The ultimate VB database tool, which builds N(3)-Tier application (with unlimited hierarchical support, COM+ and GUI) in minutes. The product is quite remarkable and easy to learn and use whether you are a new programmer or a veteran.

General

Generate ready-to-run N(3)-tier VB COM Objects, GUI applications (UI layer)

Full supports for COM/COM+

Full support for Microsoft SQL-Server, Jet and Oracle database

Wizard powered, Drag and drop, point and click User Interface, Context-sentive help

Customization

Code generation is 100% customizable with VBScript-powered templates (you can build new templates from scratch or use your own coding style). Template scripting is set in a way very identical to ASP coding. This is to cut the learning curve for the end user.

Includes 2 types of Standard templates:Object Template and UI Template.

2 Object Templates: 3-tier template and N-tier template (builds Data-Centric objects and UI-Centric objects).

6 UI Templates: allows you to choose building your GUI application based on one of these five grid components: MSHFlexgrid, True DBGrid 6, True DBGrid 7, Janus GridEx 2000, Beegrid. Or build an ASP application.

Provides a professional template editor to facilitate the templates building and editing. Introduce a COM-based Project Object Model(POM) to let you customize templates. POM is also the foundation of our template-driven mechnism and has very rich interfaces which covers all database and user-defined information for object building.

A template-scripting manual (chm file format) is provided.

Features for Generated Application

N-level Hierarchical Support

Full support for relational hierarchies to n-level (add as many children/grandchildren as you like, no limits at all). This promises applies to business objects generated by COM Express as well as GUI applications generated. You can do one method call to your component to load a object with hierarchical data.

Ensure hierarchical data transfer in one round trip for COM+ components. That is, if you loads a order(include order header info and a number of order lineitems) from a remote database server via COM+ components generated by COM Express, you only need to do one method call and the data transfer occurs once to minimize the network traffic and boost performances.

GUI application handles Master/Child forms gracefully. It handles automatic drill-down to a unlimited level. Even if a master has more than one child, it handle the situation with no problem.

Serious GUI Application

GUI application generates forms and controls dinamically based on your project settings. COM Express creates 4 different controls for your form based on your settings: TextBox, CheckBox, Mask Edit and DateTimePicker. This promises also applies to Grid editing. All controls will be correctly aligned and captioned(based on your setting). Master/Child forms are created automatically if they are hierarchial objects, if a master has more than one child, it handle the situation with no problem.

GUI application has a merge toolbar mechnism. That is, all forms shares a single toolbar which sits on the Main MDI form, as you switch between forms or load/unload forms, the toolbar can adjusts its status automatically. This gives the generated application a IE-styled look.

Business Objects

Optionally you can implement a class called "Broken Rules" to enforce data validation.

Optionally you can implements a "Loadby" and "Deleteby" method for each of your database fields.

Optionally you can implements a "CopyMe" method to make a clone of your object (and the Hierarchy promise doesn't break either)

You can add lookup fields from other table to your current object (based on a database table) and a method to get lookup field valuelist will be added automatically.

Auto generation of MS SQL Server Stored Procedures

Creates a SQL script file for insert/delete/update/Load store procedures.

Support for MS SOAP Toolkit

You make the presentation tier a SOAP client to call data objects across the corporate firewall.

XML Support

You can serialize/deserialize your business object into XML format. Even your binary data like pictures.

Optimized ADO Code

No recordset to do insert/update, use Parameterized ADO Command.

Support binary field, i.e., byte(), you can now load a image from/to database.

Support for BLOB field, use appendchunk/getchunk to read data.

Use Stored Procedure whenever possible (MS SQL Server only).

Turn on "Track Individual Property Changes" option will enable you to keep your database defaults working and write to database with minimum traffic.

Full support for MS SQL Server 2000 XML SQL

Builds business objects on top of SQL2000 XML stored procedures (or embeded SQL)

XML/XSLT support for ASP application

Cool features includes columnclick sort(client side), dynamic view( list view or card view), etc.

Samples

Six Sample COM Express generated applications are provided with full source codes.

Northwind Trader: Sample 1 (based on MSHFlexgrid), Sample 2 (based on True DBGrid 7.0), Sample 3 (based on Janus Grid Ex 2000)

Time Billing System (an application to track project time and billing): Sample 1 (based on MSHFlexgrid), Sample 2 (based on True DBGrid 7.0), Sample 3 (based on Janus Grid Ex 2000)