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CodeCharge Studio
Version 1.0.7.0
…A
hard look at saving time…
Review by
Introduction - This is the first of several
potential reviews at different stages of use of CodeCharge Studio. I’ll be presenting a perspective that
reflects my perceptions about the needs of many newer developers, small
business owners, and developers for
those owners. This review presents
CodeCharge Studio in a way that reflects how it serves these development
requirements.
Small Business
Background - I
am a small business owner of a realty company, a mortgage company and a
billboard company (non CodeCharge Studio websites below for those interested)
in a sleepy OKIE town one hundred miles from
I am not an expert, nor am I certified in any computer
related disciplines. My entire knowledge
comes from self teaching, hard knocks, as well as expensive trial and
error. I did take one very helpful class
from Rick Dobson who has provided a nice venue for folks such as me. All of our current software/hardware
networking configuration is Microsoft Windows 2000 technology using our
in-house IIS 5.0 web server over an enhanced DSL connection. I hope this review will help those needing
some added insight.
Development Goals - I am like a lot of business
people, who have all too much to do and not enough time to do it. Families, relationships, and business focus
have all suffered since the main stream acceptance of computers. My only goal
for computing was initially to make things faster, smoother, and add
value. It was 15 years ago that I set
this goal for the use of computers in my business. I can honestly say that until recently, this
goal has been lofty and unattainable. I
don’t want to spend loads of time with the code, as the end results are what
benefits customers and thus my business.
In the end, happy customers translate to growing sales and greater
profitability. Some businesses have
benefited easily and quickly from computers, others are so detailed and
diversified from region to region, that main stream standards could not be
reached. Fast computers, connections and
large hard drives and user friendly development software have bridged much of this
gap. As a business person, I want a
solution that speaks in my language instead of computer-speak. I don’t want to spend an eternity learning a
new language, and I’d like to build directly on what I have already digested. I want to use Microsoft products because they
have worked collectively the best for us (bugs, security holes and all) and
they always have key help when needed, albeit at a healthy cost. I have learned FrontPage, MS Access (with its
properties and events) and the ASP 3.0 technology to deliver data to the
internet. Each has its own quirks and
learning curves. I had seen CodeCharge
Studio over the past year as a combined single solution, and I gave it a quick
look, but drifted away. Later, I was
offered an opportunity to review CodeCharge Studio (CCS) for the Database Developers
Group (DDG). What follows are my initial
impressions of CCS. I offer these at the
ProgrammingMSAccess.com site in the hope that it will help other DDG members
and general ProgrammingMSAccess.com site visitors.
CodeCharge Studio
Installation - CCS installs in a snap with nothing special
needed. If you want CCS usable from
within FrontPage, go to the CCS help to get the details of adding the CCS menu
to FrontPage. I like this as I am most
familiar with FrontPage html editing.
Choosing an Environment - CCS supports a wide variety of
languages, data structures and styles, but I have chosen to review the Active
Server Pages (ASP 3.0), MS Access 2000 and Internet Information Services (IIS
5.0) on Windows 2000 workstations and servers.
In my opinion, MS Access is the easiest database manager for most small
operations, and it works well with FrontPage and ASP code based on IIS
5.0. Although there are enough samples
in the databases that ship with MS Access to solve many of the data needs of a
small business, I found myself purchasing and studying from 20-30 books to
finally figure out the collective solution that worked most successfully for my
businesses..
The largest struggle will be to get a web server running for
the public (local host is fine, but it gets you nothing to add to
profitability), followed by getting the permissions correct on the network file
structure housing the web and MS Access database(s). I won’t go into great detail on these; although
these are the areas that I feel many will have difficulty. I know that I did. In a nutshell, if you don’t house the website
you’ll probably upload via FTP or publish via FrontPage to the web host server
and you’ll need to call them to get any permission/security setting issues
straight before launching CCS. If you
will host your own webs, you should have them up already and tested with
Internet Explorer so that the DNS WWW routings (a whole other discussion)
function correctly for the name of the web you’ve chosen. Consult the IIS 5.0 help with Windows
Standard 2000 Server or similar material to get this done. This installs automatically with W2K Server,
but it will need some permission tweaking for the IWAM and IUSR users on the
web server as well as some anonymous user settings and script
read/write/execute permissions to get ASPs running. If you have a question or two about overall
setup, email me and I’ll try to shed a bit of light.
The Program Layout
and Features –
The overall CCS design environment is similar to that for VBA in MS Access. In addition, the CCS package has a look and
feel similar to MS FrontPage. For these
reasons, those familiar with Access and FrontPage will feel right at home. The tabs, menus, toolbox and windows are
intuitive and easy to navigate. Here’s a
quick summary of what I love about the program (see the What I Love section at
the end of the review):
I love the recordset builder wizards in the toolbox. I have highlighted some of them later in this
review.
I love the Code tab in the main
window It
has the coloring, shading and NUMBERING
of the code – easy!
I love the Properties window for
databases
It has format and events for the data cells built on the pages.
I love the LIVE tab in the main
window You
can test the output from the web server WITHOUT
leaving CCS!!
I love the Styles available I haven’t used Cascading Style
Sheets due to a few quirks, but it’s easy now.
Basic Application
Builder – Once
CCS was installed, I wanted to see if I could use it WITHOUT ANY prior reading. This
would prove quite a lot to me in meeting my goals.
I selected File | New
| Project from the main menu bar, and then selected the Application Builder
Icon from the program interface which loaded the following screen. I chose the code language to be ASP 3.0, and
used a mapped drive to the web location from my workstation for the Server Path
(See critical mistakes below). I knew
the Server URL, as it was already a functioning Web site. I simply added another directory for some
investment research that I wanted to access from the web (this CCS project is
actually an inserted portion into a functioning website – AND it worked without
other adverse effects meaning no total rebuilds required to begin using, but
probably better to get max benefits).
The Next window (below) prompted to select a database
connection, and if you’ve never done one, by all means choose NEW as
shown. It’s not that complicated once
you understand the nuances of DSNs, but I remember this was one of the most
frustrating hurdles getting started with serving data on the web. CCS calls the data link properties once the
Connection Name is entered (any will do, I chose ChrisInvest), the Database
type is selected (MS Access), the connection string toggle is selected
(suggested as the easiest/most versatile to use with ASPs) and then clicking
the “Build…” button. In the Data Link
Properties Dialog, choose Jet 4.0 for OLE DB Provider as this provider is what
drives MS Access databases.
Now click the Connection Tab and select the network location
of the database, then OK. If you don’t
have a database structured, choose a sample from within the MS Access
installation folder such as Northwind.
Once the database name shows with the server path (see
critical errors below), click the “Test Connection” button and prove that the
connection works. Viola it does! (or so
it seems, see critical errors below.)
Now, click the Design Tab again and then OK.
Then, click Next (shown behind and below the Add New
Connection Dialog box above) to get the next window. I left the three defaults checked as shown
below and clicked Next…..
The Access Authentication window displayed, and I opted not
to use authentication on the database level for this review. You can add login to the website to protect
the web pages, and this is a nice feature in a broader environment. Select Next to go further….
The window below appears so that database tables and queries
can be selected and will depend on which database you selected. My choices are below, then chose Next….
The next window allows more choices for searching and
updating…after using it, choose Next….
The following error message appeared….? I noted the message said that X CRB…. Table
was referenced and that the record had no primary key…. This was a bit
confusing. The message was precise, but
it offered no direction on what to do next.
This area could be improved by saying what I then did. Please read on…
I clicked OK. Then, I
guessed about clicking the hyperlink of the referenced table X CRB which
displayed the window below. I clicked on
the Record Tab Then tried to click OK to receive the Incomplete Data Error
Box. Here I could see I must then choose
a Primary Key. (I now suspect and know
that the original database was older and had no primary keys assigned within
the database design. I haven’t tested
this feature fully, but I would assume that IF the primary key were assigned in
the table design, CCS would pick it up.)
Easily, the drop down list shows all the fields and the Primary key
error is resolved quickly.
Once the Primary Key is selected, the fields for the record
are chosen and I selected them all then clicked OK.
This took me back to the Window below and I had to repeat
the same process with each table. Once
completed, I clicked Next.
A layout selection page appeared and I selected as shown
below, and clicked Next.
The theme and styles selection window appeared. It was wild….! There was so much to choose from! After selecting from the long list, I chose
Next…..
This caused a summary to appear. Then, I selected Finish for
a complete generated CCS project.
The project can be opened to display similar to the window
shown below. (The details in this window
differ from the selections made above due to a critical error (see below). It took just one simple change to work around
the error.
CRITICAL
ERRORS_
ONE - I had made a selection early on regarding the Server Path
and the Test Connection button actually worked.
I entered network mapped path so the test actually does work. However, a notice for novices or non-network
savvy developer/users should be inserted to advise them to be sure to choose a
path that a WEB SERVER will
recognize from a public inquiry as well a work station on a network (although
in fairness the Help areas might address it, but I like many rarely go there
first). After some trial and error, I
tried a computer-name style server path.
The computer geeks reading this review may recognize the approach as an
implementation of a UNC name.
SOLUTION:
Instead of the network mapping
on the workstation O:\ChrisInvest\InvestData.mdb
I used the Server NAME, WEB NAME,
path \\okie\fastranz\ChrisInvest\InvestData.mdb
TWO - I had placed (copied) the database to the path shown
above, and neglected to set the proper permissions on the directories. They must be done on the actual server, in my
case OKIE. I remember dealing with this
setup issue a year or two ago, and frankly couldn’t remember the fix. So instead of spending oodles of time
resurrecting the dead, I moved the database to a directory that I knew already
worked. The standard directory automatically
configured with FrontPage was/is fpdb. The project files
can be different from the database file, so don’t worry. Now the server path is further corrected as
follows: (See picture below)
SOLUTION:
Server NAME, WEB NAME, path \\okie\fastranz\fpdb\InvestData.mdb
(NOTE: To edit the connection string, click on the
name of the connection (ChrisInvest) under Connections in the Project Explorer,
then on Connection String in the Properties section (bottom right) to re-popup
Database Connection interface and Build (rebuild) using the “Use Connection
String” toggle and build button…shown behind in the picture directly below.)
What I Love_
These are the areas that I love about the program so
far. I think with regular use, they will
save an enormous amount of time.
I love the recordset builder wizards in the toolbox.
I have highlighted some of them earlier in this review.
(see Toolbox icons, Top Right)
I love the LIVE tab in the main window
You can test the output from the web server WITHOUT leaving CCS!!
(see Main Window | Live Tab, Top Middle)
I love the Code tab in the main window It has the coloring, shading
and NUMBERING of
the code – it made the application easy and fun to create!
(see Main Window | Code Tab, Middle Top)
I love the Properties window for databases It has format and events for the
data cells built on the pages.
(see Properties | Events tab, Bottom Right)
Summary
I hope this introduction to CCS has been helpful and not
over simplified. My assessment of the
program is that it has been well crafted.
It is the closest software package known to me to combine all the
functions of creating and displaying data in a format useable on the web in an
environment familiar to me and in a fashion that is extremely user friendly and
wizard driven. I will continue to
develop my use of this product and anticipate preparing additional reviews for
publication via the ProgrammingMSAccess.com site that highlight other CCS
features. Feel free to comment, correct
or contact me at my email address listed above.
Please note there may be some lag time in my response to you on this
email account.
Reviewer Biography
Chris Cowlbert is an active partner at the
ProgrammingMSAccess.com, but this represents his first review. Chris is a smart business person, a loving
father and husband, and a man who walks with God. His initial encounter with the site was
through the Access/SQL Server/FrontPage Seminar marketed through the
ProgrammingMSAccess.com site. In
addition, he was one of the first three members to join the Database Developers
Group.
Active Non-CCS Websites developed over the past
several years and candidates for commingling with CCS:
www.LOOKbillboards.com
(Billboard operation in
www.MaureenRealty.com
(Leading Realty Operation 30+ years in
www.LowRateANDLowFeeLoans.com
(Mortgages at or beneath Internet Rates and Fees!)
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