Elsp
asked on
Upgrade applications from powerbuilder 6.5 to powerbuilder 8.0
I have a couple of Applications that were built in Powerbuilder 6.5. Recently we have purchased powerbuilder 8.0 for the development of an application. I was wondering is it possible to upgrade the applications built in powerbuilder 6.5 to powerbuilder 8.0. If so how do I do this? Is there instructions on how to carry this out or what I need to be careful of?
Would be very grateful for any help.
Cheers
Elspeth
Would be very grateful for any help.
Cheers
Elspeth
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Rich:
If someone will try to open a last version pbls in any new version, PB ask for migration and started the migration assistant.
If someone will try to open a last version pbls in any new version, PB ask for migration and started the migration assistant.
Make sure that you back up your existing pbl files. There is an article on Sybase.com web site called "Migrating to PowerBuilder 8" which I have cut and paste for you.
This document describes how to migrate applications to Powerbuilder 8, using the Migrations Assistant.
Migrating to Powerbuilder 8
When migrating to PB 8.0 there is a new concept of a workspace and a target. A workspace is a type of container that can hold a number of targets. Each target can be its own PowerBuilder application, a list of PowerBuilder objects, or a web site. When migrating to PB8 you will need to create a new workspace first. To do this, select File>New from the menu and on the Workspace tab select Workspace. After you create a workspace, select File>New from the menu and on the Target tab select 'Existing Application'. Browse to your existing application and select the PBL to migrate. When prompted, add the necessary libraries to the library list for the previously selected PBL. After the migration is complete you should see your PBL listed as a new target in the Workspace view. From here you can open objects, add them, and remove them just as you always could in previous versions.
To migrate an application from PowerBuilder 7.x or PowerBuilder 6.x, select Existing Application from the New dialog box and follow the instructions in the wizard. The Migrate Application dialog box displays when you have completed the wizard.
For existing targets, select the target you want to migrate in the Library painter and then select Entry>Target>Migrate from the menu bar.
Migrate Application Dialog Box:
Description: Migrates the selected application libraries to the current version of PowerBuilder.
Dialog options
Browse
Click to search for additional libraries that you want to migrate. You can select and delete libraries from the list of those to be migrated. Libraries that aren't in the application search path will not appear in the list of libraries to be migrated. You can open the Application painter and select an application with a search path that contains the libraries you want to migrate or modify the library search path of the current application.
Messages
If any errors or warnings messages are generated, they are displayed. You can choose to display informational and obsolete messages.
Information
Check if you want to see informational messages about the migration. You can save this information to a file or send it directly to a printer.
Obsolete
Check if you want to see messages about obsolete code in your application. Obsolete code uses constructs that will not be available in a future release of PowerBuilder.
Using the Migration Assistant:
The Migration Assistant scans PowerBuilder libraries (PBLs) and highlights usage of obsolete syntax, such as obsolete functions and events. Functions and events that become obsolete in a specific version of PowerBuilder still work in that version but may not work in future versions. If you plan to maintain an application in the future, it's best to use current syntax and events. You can use the Migration Assistant to scan PBLs that were created and saved in any version of PowerBuilder.
You choose the type of syntax to search for and the Migration Assistant generates a report that shows where the obsolete syntax is used and, if appropriate, suggests replacement syntax. You can print the report or save it to a file.
You can check for PFC, FUNCky, or PowerScript syntax that became obsolete in PowerBuilder 6, 7, or 8. If you select PowerScript and Version 8, the Migration Assistant also checks for usage of reserved words that have been added in PowerBuilder 8.
You can also perform a custom search by specifying the strings you want to search for in a text file. Each string you want to search for must be on a new line. You can specify a replacement string on the same line, separated from the search string by a tab character.
The Migration Assistant is available on the Tool page of the New dialog box.
(To use the Migration Assistant:
1. Select File>New to open the New dialog box, then select Migration Assistant on the Tool page.
2. On the Search for Syntax of Type page, specify the type of syntax to be verified and click Next.
3. If you selected PFC, FUNCky, or PowerScript syntax, the Migration Assistant can check for syntax that became obsolete in PowerBuilder Versions 6, 7, and/or 8. On the Select Versions page, specify which versions you want to check and click Next.
Or
If you selected Syntax in Custom File, specify the file on the Specify Custom Search File pageand click Next.
4. On the Specify Libraries to be Searched page, locate the libraries you want to search in the left pane, double-click them or drag them to the right pane, and click Next.
5. On the Ready to Search page, check that the search criteria are what you want and click Finish.
The Migration Assistant Search Results page displays the PBLs, objects, and lines of code where obsolete syntax was found and shows the suggested replacement syntax, if any.
6. Modify your code to use current syntax.
Working with Target and Workspaces:
To Create a new workspace: Select Workspace on the Workspace tab in the New dialog box.
To Open an existing workspace: Select Open Workspace from the File menu or the popup menu for the workspace to browse the file system, or select File>Recent Workspaces and pick a workspace from the list.
To Create a new target: Select the target type from the Target tab in the New dialog box.
To Add an existing target to the workspace: Select Add Target from the popup menu for the workspace. In the Add Target to Workspace dialog box, select the target file (.pbt) you want to add. If the target was built in a previous release, the Migrate Application dialog box opens.
To Migrate an existing PowerScript application and add it to the workspace as a target: Select Existing Application from the Target tab in the New dialog box. In the wizard select the PBL and application you want to migrate. Use the browse button (...) on the Set Library Search Path page to select additional PBLs. If the application was built in a previous release, the Migrate Application dialog box opens.
To Migrate an existing PowerSite 7.1 project to a new Web target and add it to the workspace: Select Migrate PowerSite 7.1 Project from the Target tab in the New dialog box
.
To Remove a target from the workspace: Select Remove Target from the popup menu for the target.
To Add a library to the library list for a PowerScript target: Select Properties from the popup menu for the target and click Browse on the Library List page to locate the library
Good luck.
This document describes how to migrate applications to Powerbuilder 8, using the Migrations Assistant.
Migrating to Powerbuilder 8
When migrating to PB 8.0 there is a new concept of a workspace and a target. A workspace is a type of container that can hold a number of targets. Each target can be its own PowerBuilder application, a list of PowerBuilder objects, or a web site. When migrating to PB8 you will need to create a new workspace first. To do this, select File>New from the menu and on the Workspace tab select Workspace. After you create a workspace, select File>New from the menu and on the Target tab select 'Existing Application'. Browse to your existing application and select the PBL to migrate. When prompted, add the necessary libraries to the library list for the previously selected PBL. After the migration is complete you should see your PBL listed as a new target in the Workspace view. From here you can open objects, add them, and remove them just as you always could in previous versions.
To migrate an application from PowerBuilder 7.x or PowerBuilder 6.x, select Existing Application from the New dialog box and follow the instructions in the wizard. The Migrate Application dialog box displays when you have completed the wizard.
For existing targets, select the target you want to migrate in the Library painter and then select Entry>Target>Migrate from the menu bar.
Migrate Application Dialog Box:
Description: Migrates the selected application libraries to the current version of PowerBuilder.
Dialog options
Browse
Click to search for additional libraries that you want to migrate. You can select and delete libraries from the list of those to be migrated. Libraries that aren't in the application search path will not appear in the list of libraries to be migrated. You can open the Application painter and select an application with a search path that contains the libraries you want to migrate or modify the library search path of the current application.
Messages
If any errors or warnings messages are generated, they are displayed. You can choose to display informational and obsolete messages.
Information
Check if you want to see informational messages about the migration. You can save this information to a file or send it directly to a printer.
Obsolete
Check if you want to see messages about obsolete code in your application. Obsolete code uses constructs that will not be available in a future release of PowerBuilder.
Using the Migration Assistant:
The Migration Assistant scans PowerBuilder libraries (PBLs) and highlights usage of obsolete syntax, such as obsolete functions and events. Functions and events that become obsolete in a specific version of PowerBuilder still work in that version but may not work in future versions. If you plan to maintain an application in the future, it's best to use current syntax and events. You can use the Migration Assistant to scan PBLs that were created and saved in any version of PowerBuilder.
You choose the type of syntax to search for and the Migration Assistant generates a report that shows where the obsolete syntax is used and, if appropriate, suggests replacement syntax. You can print the report or save it to a file.
You can check for PFC, FUNCky, or PowerScript syntax that became obsolete in PowerBuilder 6, 7, or 8. If you select PowerScript and Version 8, the Migration Assistant also checks for usage of reserved words that have been added in PowerBuilder 8.
You can also perform a custom search by specifying the strings you want to search for in a text file. Each string you want to search for must be on a new line. You can specify a replacement string on the same line, separated from the search string by a tab character.
The Migration Assistant is available on the Tool page of the New dialog box.
(To use the Migration Assistant:
1. Select File>New to open the New dialog box, then select Migration Assistant on the Tool page.
2. On the Search for Syntax of Type page, specify the type of syntax to be verified and click Next.
3. If you selected PFC, FUNCky, or PowerScript syntax, the Migration Assistant can check for syntax that became obsolete in PowerBuilder Versions 6, 7, and/or 8. On the Select Versions page, specify which versions you want to check and click Next.
Or
If you selected Syntax in Custom File, specify the file on the Specify Custom Search File pageand click Next.
4. On the Specify Libraries to be Searched page, locate the libraries you want to search in the left pane, double-click them or drag them to the right pane, and click Next.
5. On the Ready to Search page, check that the search criteria are what you want and click Finish.
The Migration Assistant Search Results page displays the PBLs, objects, and lines of code where obsolete syntax was found and shows the suggested replacement syntax, if any.
6. Modify your code to use current syntax.
Working with Target and Workspaces:
To Create a new workspace: Select Workspace on the Workspace tab in the New dialog box.
To Open an existing workspace: Select Open Workspace from the File menu or the popup menu for the workspace to browse the file system, or select File>Recent Workspaces and pick a workspace from the list.
To Create a new target: Select the target type from the Target tab in the New dialog box.
To Add an existing target to the workspace: Select Add Target from the popup menu for the workspace. In the Add Target to Workspace dialog box, select the target file (.pbt) you want to add. If the target was built in a previous release, the Migrate Application dialog box opens.
To Migrate an existing PowerScript application and add it to the workspace as a target: Select Existing Application from the Target tab in the New dialog box. In the wizard select the PBL and application you want to migrate. Use the browse button (...) on the Set Library Search Path page to select additional PBLs. If the application was built in a previous release, the Migrate Application dialog box opens.
To Migrate an existing PowerSite 7.1 project to a new Web target and add it to the workspace: Select Migrate PowerSite 7.1 Project from the Target tab in the New dialog box
.
To Remove a target from the workspace: Select Remove Target from the popup menu for the target.
To Add a library to the library list for a PowerScript target: Select Properties from the popup menu for the target and click Browse on the Library List page to locate the library
Good luck.
Here is how you migrate an application, keep in mind you need to set up a new workspace (new in 8.0... see help).
1. Right click on your workspace in the system tree, then select New...
2. Select Existing Application from the Target tab in the New dialog box.
3. In the wizard select the PBL and application you want to migrate. Use the browse button (...) on the Set Library Search Path page to select additional PBLs. If the application was built in a previous release, the Migrate Application dialog box opens!
4. The wizard will ask you to specify a target, name it whatever you want.
5. You get the Migrate Application dialog. Just click OK and cross your fingers. :) (Oh did I mention back up your PBL's before migrating?)
OK, now potential problems...
Surprisinly we didn't have many. If you have some objects that do not migrate properly you can open source from the new system tree and edit.
We did not even use the Migration Assistant mentioned above, we just went ahead and did it. The app we migrated is very large as well using PowerTool as class lib and over 15 other pbl's
The big thing is getting used to workspaces, targets and how to manage a group development (check out, etc. ) environment.
HTH
Rich Bianco