When you create a Library in Xojo, it’s tailored to the project type you’re working in, whether that is Desktop, Web, Mobile or Console, so everything stays organized and easy to manage. The Library format was designed to support all project types simultaneously; unfortunately, the Xojo IDE was not. The good news is that there are still ways to take advantage of the flexible underlying format. Since Libraries are simply .zip files, you can change the extension to .zip and decompress them to explore their contents. Inside, you’ll find a folder named for the project type you originally created it from, making it easy to understand the structure. Here are two ways to create Libraries that support multiple project types.

Merging Libraries Manually

To manually create a multi-project-type Library, start by building a separate Library for each project type your functionality supports, then change each one’s extension to .zip and decompress it. Choose one decompressed Library to serve as the final version, and copy the project-type folders (Desktop, Web, iOS, Android or Console) from the others into it. When everything is combined, recompress the folder back into a .zip file and change the extension to .xojo_library. You now have a single Library that works across all the project types you included.

Using LibMerge

LibMerge is a utility we created to make it easier to merge Libraries.

1. Download LibMerge for Linux, macOS or Windows. It will be included in the Extras folder in the next major release.
2. Launch LibMerge and then click the Add button to select the Libraries you wish to merge or drag them into the Libraries list in the LibMerge window.
3. On the Info tab, make sure the Version, Copyright and Description values are as you want them for the merged Library. These initial values are loaded from the first Library you add to the list.
4. Click the Save As button to choose a name and location for your merged Library. That’s it!

If you choose two libraries that both already support the same project type, LibMerge will tell you and not load the second Library. Included with LibMerge is the LibMerge Library which you can use to build the merging of Libraries into your own build tools. Check out the included LibMerge API Guide for details. Here is an example:

Try
   Var merge As New LibMerger
   merge.AddLibrary(SpecialFolder.Desktop.Child("MyDesktopLibrary.xojo_library"))
   merge.AddLibrary(SpecialFolder.Desktop.Child("MyWebLibrary.xojo_library"))
   merge.SaveMergedLibrary(SpecialFolder.Desktop.Child("MergedLibrary.xojo_library"))
Catch error as UnsupportedFormatException
   System.Beep
   MessageBox(error.Message)
End Try

Whether you prefer to roll up your sleeves and merge Libraries manually or let LibMerge handle the heavy lifting, Xojo gives you the flexibility to build reusable components that work across all your project types. With a little exploration and the right tools you can streamline your workflow, reduce duplication and keep your projects cleaner and more maintainable. LibMerge makes this process fast and reliable whether you’re merging two Libraries or twenty. Read more about Libraries in the Xojo Documentation.

Geoff Perlman is the Founder and CEO of Xojo. When he’s not leading the Xojo team he can be found playing drums in Austin, Texas and spending time with his family.

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What this project includes

• A self-contained UDPSocket subclass (MPACSocket) that handles bind, presence broadcasting, peer pruning, and chat envelopes with versioned JSON (good for further updates to the protocol).
• Simple API: Start(port), Stop(), Rename(name), SendChat(text). Everything else comes through events like Bound, ChatReceived, PeerOnline/PeerOffline, PeerUpdated, StatusChanged, and SocketError.
• A sample DesktopWindow (wndMPAC) that wires MPACSocket to a transcript area and peers list.

How to use

• Add MPACSocket to your project, drop it onto a DesktopWindow or instantiate in code.
• Set DisplayName, call Start(62636), and listen to events to update your UI or console output.
• Use SendChat to broadcast a message; presence beacons and peer tracking happen automatically.

Download

You can download the entire Xojo project from GitHub

This project shows how a small, well-scoped class can turn low-level UDP into a friendly, cross-platform building block. Feel free to adapt the events or JSON schema for your own protocols.

Gabriel is a digital marketing enthusiast who loves coding with Xojo to create cool software tools for any platform. He is always eager to learn and share new ideas!

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Year of Code Project

• Year of Code: Kickoff
• January Project: Desktop Apps | Forum Discussion
• February Project: Database Apps | Forum Discussion
• March Project: Web Apps | Forum Discussion
• April Project: User Interface | Forum Discussion
• May Project: Mobile Apps | Forum Discussion
• June Project: Code Sharing | Forum Discussion
• July Project: Charting | Forum Discussion
• August Project: Console Apps | Forum Discussion
• September Project: Games | Forum Discussion
• October Project: Multi-Platform | Forum Discussion
• November Project: PDF | Forum Discussion

How to Play:

Each month we’ll announce a new theme and share an example project of our own. Share your projects to the Xojo Forum thread for that month via GitHub (all the links you need are posted above ↑ ). Learn how to use Xojo and GitHub.

The Prizes:

Monthly winners get $100 at the Xojo store. Every month you submit a project is another chance to win the grand prize. The grand prize is $250 cash plus a Xojo Pro license and a year of GraffitiSuite and will be announce in December. Learn more about the prizes.

• Modules: organize shared helpers that don’t store data. They just do a job and return a result.
• Classes: represent objects that keep data and have actions.
• Interfaces: agreements about what methods exist so parts can work together without caring how they’re built.
• Delegates: a way to pass a function around so another part of your app can call it later (a callback).

Modules

Purpose

• Provide a namespace for related helpers, constants, and enums.
• Offer reusable helpers that don’t remember data between calls.
• Add extension methods that make calling code cleaner.

Use when

• You need shared helpers (formatting, parsing, conversions).
• You want to group constants/enums (error codes, log levels).
• You’re adding behavior to existing types via extension methods.

Avoid when

• You’re tempted to store changeable global data that creates hidden dependencies.

Benefits

Read more: Xojo Modules Documentation

Classes

Purpose

• Represent real concepts in your app (e.g., an order, a report, a session).
• Keep data and the related rules/actions in one place.
• Separate concerns: core logic in classes, screen logic in the UI.

Use when

• You have data that changes over time and rules to enforce.
• You need services that coordinate steps (for example, “Export report” or “Sync data”).
• You want testable units that don’t depend on UI elements.

Avoid when

• You only need a simple helper that returns a result (that belongs in a Module).
• Platform-specific calls would leak into core logic (hide those behind Interfaces).

Benefits

• Clear rules kept close to the data they protect.
• Clean boundaries between UI, core logic, and data access.

Read more: Xojo OOP Classes Documentation

Interfaces

Purpose

• Define the what without the how.
• Let you swap implementations (e.g., memory vs. SQLite vs. REST) without changing calling code.
• Make testing simple by substituting fakes/mocks.

Use when

• A feature may vary by platform or environment (file system, keychain, camera, notifications).
• You want to keep app logic separate from the details of databases, files, or network calls.
• You’ll have multiple strategies that share the same shape.

Avoid when

• There’s only one implementation and you don’t need to test in isolation.

Benefits

• Loose coupling and easier future changes.
• Cleaner, more stable internal APIs.

Read more: Xojo Interfaces Documentation

Delegates

Purpose

• Provide type-safe callbacks by letting you hand a function to another part of your app.
• Enable flexible behavior without defining a whole interface and class.
• Power progress updates, cancel handlers, filters, or small strategies.

Use when

• You need a one-off callback (progress, completion, error reporting).
• You want to inject small pieces of behavior (sorting, filtering, formatting).
• You’re wiring up dynamic behavior at runtime.

Avoid when

• You need a broader contract with multiple related methods (use an Interface instead).
• You need lifecycle or semantic grouping (a Class with events may be clearer).

Benefits

• Lightweight and expressive.
• Less boilerplate than creating full classes for simple callbacks.
• Encourages small, composable, testable pieces.

Read more: Xojo Delegates Documentation

Quick Decision Guide

• I need to group common helpers and constants. → Module
• I’m modeling an object with data and rules. → Class
• I want to depend on behavior, not a specific implementation. → Interface
• I need a small callback or injected behavior. → Delegate
• I need many subscribers to a lifecycle change. → Event on a class

Quick glossary

• Interface: a contract, a named list of methods something promises to have.
• Delegate: a variable that holds a function to call later (a callback).
• Event: a signal that something happened; other parts can listen for it.

Use Modules to organize shared helpers, Classes to model your world, Interfaces to decouple and swap implementations, and Delegates to pass behavior flexibly. Combined thoughtfully, these features keep Xojo projects easy to change, easy to test, and ready to ship across platforms.

Gabriel is a digital marketing enthusiast who loves coding with Xojo to create cool software tools for any platform. He is always eager to learn and share new ideas!

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We first met Mark Franken in 2016 at a Xojo Developer Conference in Houston, Texas. Today, Mark splits his time between writing software and caring for 40 acres of rainforest. But before he traded city life for the wild, he spent decades in film and television post-production. In 2003, while still working in post, he founded Sounds In Sync, a company born out of his desire to solve the problems he faced in the editing room. What started as a side project quickly grew in popularity, and eventually, Mark shifted his focus full-time to software development. As a sound editor, Mark worked on some iconic and award-winning films including The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Great Gatsby, Happy Feet Two, and Peter Rabbit.

Mac, Windows or Linux?

Develop on Mac, build for Mac & Windows

How would you explain your most recent project to a new developer?

I’ve been working on a major update for my app EdiCue, scheduled for release as EdiCue v5 in June 2025.

EdiCue is a tool used by sound editors to “cue” dialogue that needs to be re-recorded in film and TV projects. Typically, this involves working alongside the sound editing application Pro Tools to place clips on the timeline, each clip aligned with a section of dialogue and named with the exact text the actor needs to re-perform (e.g., due to background noise, unclear delivery, or script changes).

For this release, I wanted to streamline the manual cueing process by integrating AI-based speech-to-text. Specifically, I’ve added a new feature that allows users to load a WAV file, transcribe the dialogue using Whisper AI, and then export a Pro Tools session with timeline clips automatically named using the transcribed text and timing.

The integration required wrapping whisper.cpp for use in my Xojo-based application. I worked with Christian from Monkeybread Software (MBS) to build a custom plugin that bridges between Xojo and the compiled Whisper Dylib/DLL files, enabling support for macOS and Windows.

What is something that has surprised you about coding in the last 5 years?

The biggest surprise for me has been how far AI has come in understanding, writing, and explaining code. While it still makes mistakes and doesn’t always produce perfect output, for me it’s now an invaluable tool, working in languages I hadn’t formally learned like Python and C/C++.

Thanks to AI, I’ve been able to build and compile C/C++ libraries and create my own shared libraries (Dylibs/DLLs). This has let me expose C++ functionality through clean C-style APIs, making them accessible from within my Xojo applications. It’s dramatically expanded what my apps are capable of.

In the past, I’d reach out to Christian at Monkeybread Software to write me a  plugin or port specific code to Xojo, something I’ve always appreciated. But for my latest project, I needed to navigate this myself as I wasn’t exactly sure what was required from the start.

With AI’s help, I’ve successfully compiled third-party libraries that use gRPC for both macOS and Windows, built a shared library layer, and exposed the functions I needed to call from Xojo.

I learnt a lot in the process, and now I’m confident in rebuilding and maintaining these libraries as updates are released.

Xojo isn’t the only tool in your kit. What is a piece of software more people should know about?

One tool I highly recommend is Hex Fiend – a hex editor for macOS. I found it especially invaluable while updating my Xojo WAV file classes, where I needed to ensure that I was reading and writing metadata correctly.

Hex Fiend’s main window displays the raw hex data of the file, while a side panel interprets the data for various file formats, including support for WAV files. It decodes the fields, letting you see exactly how your code is affecting the underlying binary layout.

This allowed me to track down a number of bugs in my metadata handling code which would have been hard to track down otherwise.

How did you find Xojo? And when did you start using Xojo?

I first discovered Xojo back in 2002, when it was still known as RealBasic. At the time, I was working as a sound editor on The Lord of the Rings – The Two Towers in New Zealand. A fellow editor visiting from San Francisco introduced me to it, and I was immediately impressed.

I had been using Delphi/Kylix up to that point, but I was looking for a way to build cross-platform desktop apps for Mac and Windows. RealBasic’s ability to generate native applications for both platforms from a single codebase had me sold, and it fit perfectly with the kind of tools I wanted to create for audio post-production workflows.

What did you first build with Xojo? And when was that?

In December 2003, I built my first Xojo app ‘EdiTrace Auto’ for both Mac (OS9) and Windows. It was designed to load EDL (Edit Decision List) files generated by my online comparison tool at EdiTrace.com.

The app would parse the EDL events and convert them into keystroke commands that it could send to Pro Tools, automating the process of recutting sound edits to match the latest picture version delivered by the video editors. This saved sound editors a huge amount of time by eliminating the need to manually conform their sessions to match the new picture cut.

What do you build with it now?

My original app ‘EdiTrace Auto’ eventually evolved into a more powerful tool: EdiLoad. In January 2025, I released EdiLoad v6, which includes a major new feature: the ability to compare the waveforms of “assembled” WAV files against a guide track provided by the picture department.

This lets sound editors verify that WAV files recorded on set are assembling perfectly in-phase, down to the sample, with the guide audio, ensuring audio alignment is sample-accurate.

To implement this, I explored how Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) can be used to analyze the frequency content of complex waveforms. A helpful introduction for me was this YouTube video, which explained the core concepts.

After a fair amount of experimentation, I landed on a solution using an FFT function from an MBS plugin. I transform the two waveforms, sum them, and invert the result to obtain the sample-level offset.

In EdiLoad this processing is handled by a Xojo Worker, which was the first time I had used one. It was a great fit, as each alignment task just required two file paths, a time range, and a handful of user settings. The workers allow the app to access multiple cores while batch-processing all files in the assembly. You can see the feature in action in this EdiLoad v6 demo video.

What is something you worked on that you want to talk about?

One project I’m particularly proud of is writing a set of Xojo classes to read and write Pro Tools session (.ptx) files, despite having no formal software development training.

Pro Tools sessions store their data in a proprietary binary format, and there’s no public specification available. But to deliver key features my clients needed, I had to find a way to read and write these files directly from my Xojo apps.

To reverse-engineer the format, I built several test apps to see how the data was structured, and then modify known parts of the PTX files and compared results. By selectively changing binary data, I was able to track down how specific values were stored. It was a painstaking, months-long process, but it ultimately gave me the tools to read and write session data reliably.

These classes are now in used in three of my desktop apps. I also created a REST API that several online services use to convert marker data into PTX session files, allowing users to generate markers that can be imported directly into Pro Tools.

Do you earn a living with Xojo?

Yes. Xojo, and the supportive Xojo community gave me the opportunity to learn software development in my spare time while I was still working full-time as a sound editor. Over time, I was able to release my own apps through my website, gradually building up a sustainable software business.

After 20 years in post-production, I was able to transition full-time into software development. That shift also gave my family and me the freedom to leave the city (Sydney, Australia) and move to a quieter life in the bush, about six hours up the coast.

Now I work from home, doing what I love, and I’m incredibly grateful for the flexibility it gives me to be present while our kids grow up. It’s not just a career change, it’s been a lifestyle upgrade.

Do you use it for any hobbies?

Not really. When I’m not working, I try to step away from the screen. I spend my downtime in the garden, the bush, or looking after my bees. But I find quite often that I get my best code insights and ideas while I’m in nature.

What’s your biggest Xojo success?

Without a doubt, it’s been getting my applications established across the global film and TV industry, and using my background in sound editing to develop cutting-edge tools that directly support my peers.

The highlight has been receiving not one, but two Engineering Emmy Awards, one for EdiCue and another for EdiLoad. These awards recognized the impact of my apps in setting new standards for technological excellence in television post-production.

Thank you to Mark Franken for answering questions and sharing his Xojo experience with the community. Learn more about Sounds In Sync.

If you have an app, a project or a person you want to see featured in Spotlight On, tell us about it!

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Introducing dataClass: Universal Data Fetching for Xojo

Do you ever wish you could just grab some remote JSON data, search through it, and use it in your app, no matter what kind of project you’re building? That’s exactly what this little, pure-Xojo dataClass allows!

Here’s what it does:

• Loads a list of posts from a web API (using standard URLConnection and Xojo’s built-in JSONItem).
• Lets you search by any term within the post’s title or body – case-insensitive.
• Works unchanged in all Xojo project types – all of them!

Why is This Cool?

By using only built-in classes and avoiding platform-specific quirks, you can build business logic and utility classes that drop straight into your app, whatever the deployment target.

The Complete Source Code

You can copy the full dataClass source from this GitHub repository.

What Will You Build?

Have a favorite cross-platform Xojo technique, class or code module? Show us your own! Share in this month’s Year of Code forum thread.

Stay tuned for more Year of Code 2025 examples, and happy coding!

Gabriel is a digital marketing enthusiast who loves coding with Xojo to create cool software tools for any platform. He is always eager to learn and share new ideas!

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Year of Code Project

• Year of Code: Kickoff
• January Project: Desktop Apps | Forum Discussion
• February Project: Database Apps | Forum Discussion
• March Project: Web Apps | Forum Discussion
• April Project: User Interface | Forum Discussion
• May Project: Mobile Apps | Forum Discussion
• June Project: Code Sharing | Forum Discussion
• July Project: Charting | Forum Discussion
• August Project: Console Apps | Forum Discussion
• September Project: Games | Forum Discussion
• October Project: Multi-Platform | Forum Discussion
• November Project: PDF | Forum Discussion

How to Play:

Each month we’ll announce a new theme and share an example project of our own. Share your projects to the Xojo Forum thread for that month via GitHub (all the links you need are posted above ↑ ). Learn how to use Xojo and GitHub.

The Prizes:

Monthly winners get $100 at the Xojo store. Every month you submit a project is another chance to win the grand prize. The grand prize is $250 cash plus a Xojo Pro license and a year of GraffitiSuite and will be announce in December. Learn more about the prizes.

For the most part, writing drawing code will just work because you use Xojo’s Graphics class for Android, Desktop and iOS projects. Web projects, however, don’t use the Graphics class. The WebCanvas control’s Paint event is passed a WebGraphics object. While the Graphics and WebGraphics classes have a lot in common, sharing many of the same methods with the same parameters, they are two distinctly different classes from the perspective of the Xojo compiler. That means that while the code you write will look almost identical, you still have to use a Graphics object for Android, Desktop and iOS projects and a WebGraphics object for Web projects.

Your instinct might be to simply write the code for one and then copy it to the other projects, changing Graphics to WebGraphics for Web projects. This will of course work, but then you have to remember to do this copy/paste/change operation every time you update your code. That’s not ideal.

Graphics vs. WebGraphics

With Xojo, the code can be written in such a way as to automatically handle the difference between Graphics/WebGraphics. Most often your graphics methods will be called from something that provides a Graphics or WebGraphics object for you to draw into such as a Canvas control’s Paint event. From there your code will call your methods that do the drawing. The problem is that your methods can’t use a Graphics or a WebGraphics type as a parameter because Graphics is not going to work for your Web projects and WebGraphics doesn’t exist in any framework except the Web framework. Thus using it anywhere else will result in a compiler error.

Using a Variant

Getting around this limitation is, fortunately, quite easy. Instead of using Graphics or WebGraphics as a parameter type, you use Variant. A Variant can hold any type of data from Strings to Integers, to Graphics to WebGraphics and more.

Once your drawing method gets the Variant though, it can’t use it to draw. It can only use a Graphics or WebGraphics objects. The trick is to then copy it into a Graphics or WebGraphics class variable:

Var g As Graphics = context

or

Var g As WebGraphics = context

The problem you now face, as mentioned earlier, is that WebGraphics only exists in Web projects. That means you have to write your code in such a way that you will declare the variable g as a Graphics object in Android, Desktop and iOS projects and as a WebGraphics object in Web projects. This can be achieved via conditional compilation. This is a simple technique that tells the Xojo compiler to only compile code into your app if conditions you specify are met. In this case, if you’re targeting Desktop or Mobile, it should compile in the line that uses the Graphics type, and if you are targeting a Web app, the line that uses WebGraphics. To conditionally compile, you just need to add that conditional code around these two lines:

#If TargetDesktop Or TargetMobile Then
   Var g As Graphics = context
#EndIf

#If TargetWeb Then
   Var g As WebGraphics = context
#EndIf

Since a project must be only one of the above types, when you run or build your project, the appropriate line of code will be compiled in. From there, you now have a variable (g) of the right type can use this to draw whatever you like. For example, there are four identical example projects (one for each project type) that show off this technique. They can be found in the Xojo IDE by choosing File > New Project, clicking on Examples, choosing the Graphics folder in the list and then the Cross-Platform Drawing folder. The examples all draw a checkerboard that looks like this:

They all contain the an identical Checkerboard class that handles the drawing. This class has DrawBorder and DrawCheckers methods that both take a Variant as a parameter. In each project is a Canvas control whose Paint event calls these methods:

Var cb As New Checkerboard
cb.DrawBoard(g)
cb.DrawCheckers(g)

The full DrawBoard method looks like this:

#If TargetDesktop Or TargetMobile Then
  Var g As Graphics = context
#EndIf

#If TargetWeb Then
  Var g As WebGraphics = context
#EndIf 

Var boxSize As Integer = Min(g.Width/8, g.Height/8) 'The size of the box
'Draw the rows
For y As Integer = 0 To 7
  For x As Integer = 0 To 7
    'Switch colors for each box in the row
    If g.DrawingColor = Color.Black Then
      g.DrawingColor = Color.White
    Else
      g.DrawingColor = Color.Black
    End If
    'Draw a box
    g.FillRectangle(x * boxSize, y * boxSize, boxSize, boxSize)
  Next
  'Switch colors again for the beginning of the next row
  If g.DrawingColor = Color.Black Then
    g.DrawingColor = Color.White
  Else
    g.DrawingColor = Color.Black
  End If
Next

In the example projects, check out the DrawCheckers method as well. It uses the same technique. What is great about this is that this class can be copied into any Android, Desktop, iOS or Web project and it will indeed just work.

Checking Out the Examples

There are four example projects (one for each project type – Android, Desktop, iOS and Web) that demonstrate the technique explained here. You can find them in the Xojo IDE by choosing File > New Project, clicking on Examples, choosing the Graphics folder in the list and then the Cross-Platform Drawing folder.

Geoff Perlman is the Founder and CEO of Xojo. When he’s not leading the Xojo team he can be found playing drums in Austin, Texas and spending time with his family.

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When developing applications with Xojo, choosing the right backend is crucial for managing data efficiently. Traditionally, Xojo developers rely on SQL databases such as SQLite, MySQL, or PostgreSQL for their desktop, web, and mobile applications. However, there is an alternative that provides a more flexible and modern approach to backend development: PocketBase.

PocketBase is an open-source backend perfect for your multi-platform Xojo application. It offers a simple-to-use API and a built-in admin panel to manage the data from any web browser. No other tool such as MySQL, Workbench, or SQL Studio is needed. In this post, I will explain how it compares to traditional SQL databases and demonstrate how to integrate it into a Xojo project.

Why Choose PocketBase for Your Xojo App Backend?

PocketBase is a lightweight, self-hosted backend designed for simplicity and flexibility. Unlike traditional SQL databases that require a separate backend service or API layer, PocketBase is an all-in-one solution that combines the database and API.

Key Features:

Embedded Database – Powered by SQLite, eliminating the need for a separate database server.

Built-in User Authentication – Supports email/password logins, OAuth2 sign-ups, and one-time password (OTP) with minimal setup.

File Storage – Store and retrieve files locally or via S3.

Cross-Platform Compatibility – Runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux. Can communicate via URLConnection making it ideal for Xojo’s desktop, web, and mobile platforms.

Easy Deployment – A single binary file that can be self-hosted or deployed anywhere with minimal configuration.

Setting Up PocketBase for a Xojo App

To get started, I have simplified some steps below. If you get stuck or want more in-depth instructions take a look at the documentation.

• Download PocketBase
  • Visit PocketBase and download the latest release for your operating system.
  • Extract the files to your project directory.
• Run PocketBase
  • Start the PocketBase server by navigating to the extracted folder in the command prompt/terminal.
  • Run the command: ./pocketbase serve to start the server.
• Access the Admin Panel
  • Open http://127.0.0.1:8090/_/ in a web browser and set up an admin account.
• Add a User
  • In the PocketBase admin panel, create a new record in the users collection. (Collections are the equivalent of a table in SQL.)

Connect Xojo to PocketBase

Now that your PocketBase server is running, integrate authentication into your Xojo desktop app. In this example, we will handle authentication in the open event of the main window. This will demonstrate how Xojo interacts with PocketBase’s authentication API.

Implement the Login Request

Add the following code to the open event of your main window:

Var userEmail As String = "email@email.com"
Var userPassword As String = "MyPassword!"
Var loginURL As String = "http://127.0.0.1:8090" + "/api/collections/users/auth-with-password"
Var conn As New URLConnection
conn.RequestHeader("Content-Type") = "application/json"
 
Var loginPayload As New JSONItem
loginPayload.Value("identity" ) = userEmail
loginPayload.Value("password") = userPassword
conn.SetRequestContent(loginPayload.ToString, "application/json")
 
Var loginResponse As String = conn.SendSync("POST", loginURL)
Var jsonResponse As New JSONItem(loginResponse)
Var userInfo As JSONItem = jsonResponse.Lookup("record", New JSONItem)
Var userID As String = userInfo.Lookup("id", "")
Var authToken As String = jsonResponse.Lookup("token", "")
 
If authToken.Length > 0 Then
  MessageBox("Login successful! Welcome, User ID: " + userID)
Else
  MessageBox("Login failed. Please check your credentials.")
End If

Update Your Credentials and URL

Replace userEmail and userPassword with the credentials you used to create a user in PocketBase. Also, ensure the loginURL matches your PocketBase instance (without /_/ at the end).

Run The App

Launch your Xojo app. If authentication is successful, a message box will display the user’s ID. Otherwise, you will see an error message indicating that the credentials are incorrect.

Wrapping Up

In this article, you have successfully set up a PocketBase server, created a record, and integrated authentication into your Xojo app. PocketBase simplifies backend development by handling authentication and data storage—all without the need for a traditional SQL database.

With PocketBase, there is no need to set up complex user tables, hash passwords, or build a custom API. Collections can be easily managed directly from the web via the admin panel. This means you can spend less time managing infrastructure and more time focusing on bringing your app to market.

To help you get started, I’ve created a collection of example projects, which you can find here:

Xojo-Pocketbase-Examples

If you’d like to discuss how Iron Elephant Solutions has used Xojo and PocketBase in real-world applications, feel free to reach out through our website or add me on LinkedIn.

Ezekiel Burke is the founder of Iron Elephant Solutions. He focuses on building custom, scalable, and affordable software that helps businesses work smarter. With 15+ years of experience, he specializes in full-stack development, process automation and systems integration, creating solutions that simplify complex workflows.

For Geoff Haynes, his work as a developer started at home with BASIC on a Commodore 64, that led him to PHP and Microsoft SQL Server for some web development, which then lead him to traveling the US amusement park circuit to install the hardware and software for point of sale (POS) systems. Today, he is settled and running Raximus Studios, using Xojo and enjoying doing what he knows best.

Q&A with Geoff Haynes of Raximus Studios

Mac, Windows or Linux?

Windows for anything requiring a UI. Linux for everything else. Sadly, I do not own a Mac but my iPhone is my daily driver for most tasks.

What’s next on your “Learn Next” list?

I spent a couple months early in 2023 learning about electrical engineering and designing circuits. I started building an EEPROM bios programming circuit but did not have time to finish it. I would like to learn more about electrical engineering and circuit design in the future.

What programming moments made you think “Wow, I love my job so much.”

• The first time I used the Xojo crypto module to send encrypted data back and forth to an Android app written in Java.
• The first time I compiled a class library in C# and used declares in Xojo to access the functions inside of it.

What is something that has surprised you about coding in the last 10 years?

The major shift to web-based cloud systems replacing software running locally on computers.

What is a cool piece of software more people should know about?

• I think SQLyog is a great tool for MariaDB. I tried many different tools used to manage MariaDB and SQLyog is my favorite.
• Voidtools Everything is a great program I use a lot to quickly find files on my development machine.
• By far, UnmanagedExports by Robert Giesecke is the most useful tool I use in every new software project.

What’s the most interesting thing you worked on recently?

Earlier this year I wrote a C# class library that can take image files and convert the binary data to work with ESCPOS commands to print perfect graphics using receipt printers in Xojo. That was really challenging and satisfying when I got it working perfectly.

Music or no music while coding?

The answer depends on what I am coding. If I am designing UI or server backend code then no music. If I am working on tedious tasks e.g. threading database queries then it’s usually Radiohead’s A Moon Shaped Pool or the Tron: Legacy soundtrack playing in the background.

When did you start using Xojo?

In 2009 I was offered a position to develop different types of software for a local IT business that was interested in writing custom applications for their clients. This is how I started using Xojo (then Real Studio). For the next several years I wrote many different types of custom applications for local businesses in Real Studio. Some examples include an office check-in manager, a contest management system, I also developed a system that was designed to work with grocery store membership cards. In addition to Real Studio, I also wrote many different types of mobile Android applications in Java. In my spare time I worked on custom database report applications in Real Studio for clients that I met during my time working in the POS industry. 

What did you first build with Xojo?

In 2016 after I parted ways with the local IT company, I decided to start Raximus Studios when I had the idea to design an arcade debit card system in Xojo that could take advantage of the cheaper IoT circuit boards that had become available.
I integrated the arcade debit system with other existing POS systems that I knew from my years of subcontractor work in the POS amusement industry. A few other systems I have designed in Xojo that are currently in use at locations include:

•  An unattended gate access system that controls turnstile entry through barcode and QR scans as well as biometrics. 
• A media control system that uses IR scanning devices to control AV devices like the type of systems used to control multiple monitors in restaurants and bowling alleys. 
• A cloud-based gate security system used to design and create photo ID cards that are scanned and verified for gate entry. 

What are you building with Xojo today?

In 2023 I started work on my own amusement and entertainment POS system written in Xojo. This new POS system RAXPOS will be launching in early 2025 at the first location. 

Thank you to Geoff Haynes for answering questions and sharing his experience with Xojo with the community. You can contact Geoff at @raximusstudios and learn more about his projects at Raximus Studios. If you have an app, a project or a person you want to see featured in Spotlight On, tell us about it!

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Some of you might not have noticed because, until recently, most people didn’t think much about Windows ARM. After all, nearly everyone still runs Windows on x86-64 CPUs. But lately, Windows on ARM is starting to get more traction, both in the press and in the market.

Back in May, Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon Dev Kit for Windows. This is supposed to be a $900 mini PC (about the size of a Mac mini) for developing Windows ARM apps for the Snapdragon X Elite SoC (system on a chip). I say “supposed to be” because although the press release says it was intended to go on sale on June 18, I can only find pre-order pages for it, so it seems to not be available just yet or out-of-stock.

There have been other ARM PCs for Windows in the past, but their performance has always been less than desirable. The new Snapdragon X Elite is supposed to be roughly equivalent to Apple M3 SoCs.

You don’t have to wait for Qualcomm as Copilot+ PCs and laptops with Snapdragon SoCs are starting to appear elsewhere. Lenovo has the ThinkPad T14s Gen 6, which at about $1700 is not exactly a bargain, but is in the ballpark of many Mac laptops. The Yoga Slim 7x is even cheaper starting at just $1200.

But I’m not here to sell Lenovo products. I’m just pointing out that Windows on ARM is becoming a reality, if slowly. That might be starting to change given Intel’s recent troubles with its Raptor Lake CPUs and most recent earnings report, however. Take it with a grain of salt, but Qualcomm is predicting that Windows ARM could reach 50% of Windows PC market within five years.

That sounds astonishing, but change often happens slowly then all at once.

Building for Windows ARM with Xojo

The good news is that with Xojo you are already prepared for this. To build your existing Xojo desktop project for Windows ARM, you just need to change one property in the Windows Build Settings and click Build. There is no step 3.

Xojo can also build Windows apps for x86-64 and x86-32, which pretty much covers all your bases. Not to mention that it can build macOS apps, Linux apps, web apps, iOS apps and Android apps.

And if you already have an Apple Silicon Mac then you don’t even need to purchase a Windows ARM computer. You can run Windows ARM as a virtual machine on a Mac using Parallels or VMware Fusion. You’ll still need to get your own license for Windows 11, however.

Although you can make your own Windows ARM apps with Xojo today, there are a couple temporary limitations to keep in mind. The first one is that XojoScript is not yet available. The other is that Xojo itself is not yet a native Windows ARM app. Both of these are because the Xojo compiler itself is not yet native on Windows ARM. That will change, but for now Xojo itself runs perfectly fine using the Prism x86-64 emulation layer in Windows. In addition you can use the Remote Debugger to test your apps on Windows ARM from another computer.

Will Windows ARM replace Intel like it did for Macs? It seems hard to believe, but the wind seems to be blowing in that direction. To make sure you’re prepared, download Xojo for free today and start creating your own ARM apps!

Paul learned to program in BASIC at age 13 and has programmed in more languages than he remembers, with Xojo being an obvious favorite. When not working on Xojo, you can find him talking about retrocomputing at Goto 10 and on Mastodon @lefebvre@hachyderm.io.

Presented with choosing what development tool is best for your main, full-stack development needs, let’s discuss the benefits of Xojo development platform for your next web project. With its simplicity, flexibility, and powerful features, Xojo will help you create high-quality web applications quickly and efficiently, with the added bonus of covering backend and frontend development in the same IDE—no more language switching—while also lowering your overall costs.

Overview of Full-Stack Development

Full-stack development covers the entire spectrum of technologies and skills required to create a fully functional web application. This approach involves both the frontend, which users interact with directly, and the backend, which powers the application.

At its core, full-stack development refers to the ability to work on both the client-side and server-side of an application. This means that full-stack developers should be proficient in frontend technologies such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, as well as backend technologies like Node.js, Python, and frameworks such as React and Django. Full-stack developers possess a broad skill set that includes designing user interfaces, managing databases, and server logic, enabling them to oversee the entire development process.

Usually, a full-stack developer handles:

• Frontend Technologies: These consist of HTML for structure, CSS for styling, and JavaScript for interactivity, crucial for crafting engaging user interfaces. Frameworks such as React, Angular, and Vue.js are also typical choices for building dynamic web applications.
• Backend Technologies: This segment covers server-side programming languages like Node.js, Python, Ruby, and PHP, coupled with frameworks such as Express, Django, and Ruby on Rails, essential for robust backend development. Databases, both relational (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL) and NoSQL (e.g., MongoDB), are also crucial for data management.
• APIs (Application Programming Interfaces): APIs enable simple communication between frontend clients and backend applications/servers, facilitating the exchange of data. RESTful APIs and GraphQL are common approaches used in modern web applications.

Advantages in adopting a full-stack approach in software development:

• Faster Development Cycles: With a single developer or a small team capable of handling both frontend and backend tasks, projects can progress more quickly, reducing the time to market.
• Easy Integration: Full-stack developers have a comprehensive understanding of how the different components of an application interact, leading to better integration and fewer compatibility issues.
• Enhanced Problem-Solving: By possessing a complete view of the application, full-stack developers can identify and resolve issues more efficiently, improving overall project quality.

Why choose Xojo as a full-stack development solution?

When it comes to full-stack development, selecting the right programming language(s) or frameworks can significantly impact the efficiency and effectiveness of your projects. Xojo is a powerful choice for anyone seeking a robust, user-friendly and versatile development environment that provides everything needed to transform their ideas into fully fledged, working software products, no matter the platform or environment.

Xojo features ideal for full-stack development:

• Built-in Web Server: Xojo has its own built-in web server that allows developers to easily test and deploy web applications (on Linux or Windows servers) without the need for additional software. There is no need to set up complicated web server technologies or deal with compatibility issues and security. Xojo handles all of that for you. In production, you can run a web app built with Xojo as stand-alone or behind Apache or Nginx. You decide what works best for your project.
• Visual Development Environment: Xojo offers a visual development environment that allows developers to design user interfaces using drag-and-drop elements. This approach simplifies the process of creating appealing applications, accessible to both novice and experienced developers.
• Object-Oriented Programming: Xojo is object-oriented programming (OOP), enabling developers to create modular and reusable code. OOP encourages better organization and maintainability of applications, making it easier to scale projects over time.
• Compiled Code: Xojo compiles code into machine code, which results in fast and efficient web applications. In the event that some bad actors gain access to your server, rest assured that Xojo built web apps are more secure than those built with other tools.

In addition to these features, while many programming languages cater to full-stack development by combining and utilizing multiple external solutions, Xojo distinguishes itself as an ideal, singular solution. Compared to languages like JavaScript, Ruby, PHP or Python, Xojo has a gentle learning curve, making it an attractive option for beginners. Its syntax is straightforward and resembles natural language, which helps new developers learn concepts quickly. Xojo’s visual tools and drag-and-drop features enable developers to prototype applications rapidly. This is particularly advantageous for startups and businesses looking to iterate and launch products quickly.

Xojo for Frontend Development

Creating an engaging and user-friendly frontend is crucial for any web application. With Xojo, developers can quickly prototype and design visually appealing interfaces without the need for 3rd party tools or additional frameworks.

Xojo’s visual development environment makes building user interfaces an easy and enjoyable thing. With its drag-and-drop interface, developers can easily design and layout their GUI components- buttons, labels, and text fields- without needing any code at all. This intuitive approach allows developers to focus on the logic of the application rather than getting bogged down by low-level details.

So, what makes Xojo’s frontend capabilities so effective? For starters, it allows frontend developers to quickly:

• Prototype and test ideas without writing code;
• Easily create complex layouts and designs;
• Focus on the logic of the application rather than the UI;
• Collaborate more effectively with designers and other team members.

Example: A simple web app frontend built with Xojo

To illustrate the power of Xojo’s visual development environment, let’s take a look at a simple web app frontend built using Xojo. In this example, we’ll create a basic to-do list application with a user-friendly interface without writing any HTML, CSS or JavaScript code.

Coding Backend Functionality and Connecting it to the Frontend

While users interact with the frontend of apps, it’s the backend that does the heavy lifting, handling data and core functionality. Xojo makes building these backend systems easier for developers with useful features that create efficient server-side applications without unnecessary complexity. Xojo is a practical choice for developers who want to build solid, functional backends for web (and even desktop or mobile) apps without getting bogged down in overly complicated processes. Here are some notable aspects:

• Database Integration: Xojo supports out-of-the box connections to a variety of databases, including MySQL/MariaDB, PostgreSQL, SQLite, and ODBC. Besides the built-in database classes, now there’s also the DBKit project and the new DatabaseConnection project item.
• RESTful API Creation: Xojo makes it easy to create RESTful APIs, which are essential for enabling communication between the frontend and backend of a web application. By defining endpoints and handling HTTP requests and responses, developers can facilitate data exchange and enhance the interactivity of their varied applications and clients (web, desktop or mobile).
• Session Management: Managing user sessions is crucial for web applications, especially those that require user authentication. Xojo provides built-in support for easy session handling, allowing developers to track user activity and maintain state across different pages, improving the overall user experience.

Integrating the Frontend and Backend

Full-stack development works best when the frontend and backend of an app work well together. Xojo makes this easier by offering a single app development software solution for both parts. Developers can use the same programming language throughout the whole project, which saves time and reduces complications. This approach helps programmers focus on creating a smooth user experience without switching between different tools or languages.

Here are some key points worth taking into account when you want to start building your next successful application:

• Unified Language for Development: One of the standout features of Xojo is that it allows developers to work in one programming language, eliminating the need to switch between multiple languages like HTML, CSS, or JavaScript. This means that both the frontend and backend logic can be implemented using Xojo’s straightforward syntax, streamlining the development process, no matter the OS platform they’re building for.
• Single Integrated Development Environment (IDE): Xojo’s IDE serves as a centralized hub for managing both frontend design and backend coding. Developers can design user interfaces visually, drag and drop elements, and simultaneously write the corresponding backend code without needing to leave the IDE. This integration enables a more intuitive workflow, reducing the chances of errors and inconsistencies.

As the demand for agile and efficient software development continues to rise, the choice of programming language solutions and frameworks can have a significant impact on both project timelines and budgets. Xojo stands out as a compelling alternative for developers and teams accustomed to traditional stacks like LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP) or MEAN (MongoDB, Express.js, Angular, and Node.js) or any other.

For organizations and startups already familiar with other development stacks, transitioning to Xojo can lead to significant savings in training costs. Xojo’s intuitive interface and single programming language approach mean that team members can quickly adapt without needing extensive retraining. This is especially beneficial for companies looking to onboard new developers or expand their teams. And as an extra plus, using Xojo, you can expand your application supported platforms to include building native desktop clients (Mac, Windows, Linux) or mobile clients (iOS, Android) , all with just one codebase.

And let’s not forget that managing a full-stack application typically involves maintaining multiple technologies, which can result in higher operational costs. Xojo minimizes the need for additional languages and frameworks, resulting in lower maintenance overhead costs and increased efficiency in full-stack development. Updates, debugging, and scaling become more straightforward, allowing teams to allocate resources more effectively.

Is it fair to call Xojo not just a great full-stack development suite but a full-stack development suite that truly optimizes the entire development process and maximizes productivity?

Gabriel is a digital marketing enthusiast who loves coding with Xojo to create cool software tools for any platform. He is always eager to learn and share new ideas!

DarkMode

All of the chart types now have the ability to render themselves properly in both light and dark modes. For that to happen, using different colors for data representation when the light or dark modes are enabled, all you need to do is assign ColorGroup instances instead of Color values when creating the DataChart instance.

For example, this snippet of code will create two data sets using ColorGroup instances for the values:

Var dsInflaction As New ChartLinearDataset("Dollar", New colorGroup(Color.red, Color.orange), True, dollar)
Var dsTemp As New ChartLinearDataset("Euro", New colorgroup(Color.blue, Color.white), True, euro)

And this is how it is rendered in light and dark modes:

More Grid Flexibility

We added three new properties the the Chart control itself to better handle the way you want the chart grid to be rendered:

• IsGridVisible
• IsYAxisVisible
• IsXAxisVisible

For example, in previous releases you needed to set the GridColor property to Color.Clear to avoid the drawing of the grid lines in the chart. Now, you can set the GridColor to any other color you (or your app user) may want, and simply control if the grid is rendered or not setting the IsGridVisible property to the True/False boolean value.

In addition to the grid itself, you have the flexibility to decide if the rendered chart will display the X or the Y axis along their values through the IsXAxisVisible and the IsYAxisVisible boolean properties. As with the IsGridVisible property, you can change these values at runtime and the chart will be updated accordingly:

Inline Labels

Also, starting with Xojo 2024r2, for all the chart representations based on a ChartCircularDataset, you will be able to decide if you want the Labels to be rendered inline in addition to these rendered by default in the upper section of the chart, or instead of these. This can get a better identification of the label representing every Pie chart section, requiring less screen space.

In order to display the Inline labels all you need to do is set the ChartCircularDataset.HasInlineLabels property to True.

Conclusion

As always, we look forward to keep improving Charts and see how do you use them in you Xojo developed apps and solutions!

Javier Menendez is an engineer at Xojo and has been using Xojo since 1998. He lives in Castellón, Spain and hosts regular Xojo hangouts en español. Ask Javier questions on Twitter at @XojoES or on the Xojo Forum.

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Throughout that time, software development has generally become more difficult with developers having to learn a wide variety of tools and programming languages, many of which are the hot thing for a short while and then disappear afterwards for the next hot new thing as the cycle repeats.

Up until recently this was not as big a deal for tech companies because they could just hire their way out of the problem. Teams got big and bloated, often because the tools being used were large, complex, rapidly changing and difficult to learn. So the solution, in opposition of the Mythical Man Month, was to throw more people at it. This was feasible because of 0% interest rates and the relative ease of raising capital.

But that era is over. Interest rates are no longer historically low and raising capital for companies is now much harder and less desirable than it once was. This means technology companies are reducing staff and hiring more judiciously. Fewer people now have to do more with less.

The idea of a “one person framework” is that there should be a way for a single developer to create software using just one development framework. This is not a new idea, but it is being talked about again because of these recent changes with how technology companies work. In many ways, Xojo is the original one person framework. From its inception, with inspiration from Visual Basic, Xojo let you make complete apps more efficiently without having to also learn other tools, languages or frameworks.

So what can Xojo, as a one person framework, do for you? Xojo lets you build most of the apps your company is likely to need, using only Xojo itself and its easy-to learn object-oriented programming language (which is similar to Visual Basic and Python, languages that many people already are familiar with). Xojo is a cross-platform, integrated development environment (IDE) that combines an object-oriented programming language, visual designer, code editor, debugger and more into one tool and one framework.

With Xojo you can make apps for most of the commonly used platforms that your business is likely to need.

Desktop Apps

Xojo has been a great way to make desktop apps since its inception in 1998. Unlike Java, Electron or other frameworks you’ve seen throughout the years, Xojo makes native apps and can do so for the major desktop platforms: Windows, macOS and Linux. Yes, that includes native ARM and x86 apps as well.

With a single project, you can click one button to have Xojo build separate native apps for each of those platforms. To further drive that point home, the Xojo IDE itself is a desktop app made with Xojo that runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.

With Xojo you have access to many commonly-used controls and the Xojo framework with support for databases, JSON, XML, RegEx, Zip/Unzip, networking and so much more.

Web Apps

Since 2010, Xojo has been able to make web apps. Xojo uses a somewhat unique approach to web apps by running compiled code on the web server. This code communicates to the app running on the web browser using an internal JavaScript framework and Bootstrap for the UI, which you don’t really need to worry about. It’s all handled automatically.

This approach is great for business purposes as it lets you make web apps using a development pattern that is very similar to what is used to make desktop apps.

If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of managing your own web app server, Xojo even offers Xojo Cloud as a fully managed web hosting service with 1-click deployment of your Xojo web apps.

Mobile Apps

Mobile support first appeared for iOS in 2013 and Android support was recently added in 2023. Using Xojo to make native mobile apps that can be deployed in their respective app stores is yet another way Xojo can help one person make more apps.

A developer that already knows how to use Xojo can jump right into mobile development without having to learn yet another IDE and programming language.

Console Apps

Console apps are text apps that run from the command line. These app are great for automating internal processes or other command-line tools. You can even build Console apps that communicate with other console apps to build a chain of tools for processing or converting data, for example.

Xojo Framework

A single person can create all of the above types of apps because Xojo uses the same programming language for all of them. And as mentioned above, the Xojo framework has many built-in features and is broadly compatible across all the different project types. There are differences, of course, but we strive for consistency and compatibility.

For just a few of its many capabilities, all platforms have the same framework classes and methods for things such as Dictionary, Set, URLConnection, files, SQLite, and most graphics. And speaking of examples, Xojo includes over 400 example projects from which to learn.

Could Xojo Work For You?

As you should now realize, a single developer using Xojo could reasonably create a desktop app (for Windows, macOS and Linux), a web app, and mobile apps for iOS and Android. If you previously had multiple teams of multiple people creating that many apps, then Xojo could really save you a lot of money and time.

Will you use Xojo to make the next Photoshop, FaceBook, Excel or Google Docs clone? Perhaps not, but most companies don’t create those types of apps. Xojo does a lot, but it does not and cannot do everything. There is a limit to what any single framework can do, otherwise it becomes too large for its own good, collapsing under its own weight.

Instead, most businesses have much different needs and often require specially created software. For business apps, especially bespoke small-business apps, Xojo can often be an ideal solution by allowing apps to be created faster, more easily and at less cost than can be done with other tools. This saves you money and time, both of which are in short supply these days.

Xojo is free for learning, development and testing! Give it a spin to see what it can do for you.

Paul learned to program in BASIC at age 13 and has programmed in more languages than he remembers, with Xojo being an obvious favorite. When not working on Xojo, you can find him talking about retrocomputing at Goto 10 and on Mastodon @lefebvre@hachyderm.io.

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And what do we mean by the transitory character of Popover windows? Well, and here comes one of the first differences from Modal windows. When a Popover is visible and the user clicks or taps on any other element of the graphical interface not contained in the Popover itself it will close, hence transitory. So, you don’t have to include the typical “Close window” button in a Popover (though you can), since it will close when the user clicks outside of it, i.e. when the Popover loses focus.

Where are the Popover Window Contents?

Where do you define the content displayed in a Popover window? While in your Web app, you can do it on any Container control added to the project. In the case of Desktop and iOS apps, you can do it on either the designs of a Container Control or any Window or Screen added to the project.

For example, here you can see that the content shown as a Popover in the previous screenshot is actually that of a Window (Window2) added to the project:

This introduces additional flexibility allowing your app’s logic to decide when to display a Window or Container instance as you have been doing until now, or display it as a Popover.

Showing a Popover

Displaying a Popover is very straightforward, whether it is created from a Container or a Window, the method is the same:

DesktopContainer.ShowPopover(parentControl As DesktopUIControl, facing As DesktopWindow.DisplaySides = DesktopWindow.DisplaySides.Bottom, detachable As Boolean = True)

The explanation of the expected parameters is as follows:

• ParentControl: The control that will act as the parent, or on which the Popover will be pointing to.
• Facing: The direction in which the Popover will point on the parent control; by default it will appear under the parent control, but you can use any of the values available in the DesktopWindow.DisplaySides enumerator (or the iOS equivalent).
• Detachable: This value only applies to macOS Popovers, since said operating system has the ability for the user to “detach” the Popover from the parent control as long as this value is defined as True. To detach, drag the Popover with the mouse cursor.

Let’s say we have a window called Window2 and a button called MyButton. In the Pressed event of MyButton we can use the following lines of code to display Window2 as a Popover:

Var w As New Window2
w.ShowPopover(me)

And that’s all!

Platform Differences

In the previous section we already pointed out the first: macOS is the only operating system that acts on the value indicated in the Detachable parameter. But there are some other considerations to keep in mind so you don’t get caught off guard:

• Beyond the limits. Although in Windows and macOS Popovers can exceed the limits of the window on which the parent control is located, the position of the popover in Linux is restricted to the limits of the window that contains the parent control. This is the same for iOS and for Web pages.
• iPhone and iPad. When a Popover is displayed on an iPhone, it will look like a modal window; while if the same application is run on an iPad, the appearance will be the typical one expected from Popovers: the window pointing to the parent control in the indicated direction.
• On the Web. The contents of a Popover are those defined in a Container control, while on the rest of the platforms you can use both Container controls and Windows / Screens.

Why the Popover doesn’t “point” in the configured direction?

By default it will try to do so according to the value that has been set in the “facing” parameter, but if it does not find enough space on the margins of the screen, then it will be displayed on the next side of the parent control in which there is available space for display the Popover in its full width and height; This is true on macOS, Linux, Web and iOS.

Can I reuse a Popover?

No, You can not. Whether you use a Container control or a window as the source of the UI design to be displayed by the Popover, do not lose sight of the fact that the Popover is just another type of window; and therefore behaves as such. That is, once it is closed either because it has lost focus or because you have closed it explicitly through code invoking the Close method, all the displayed controls and the rest of the internal structures will be closed / invalidated, so that although the instance If a Popover is not Nil (because, for example, you keep a reference to the window or container instance used as the UI source), you will not be able to invoke the ShowPopover method again on said instance but you will have to create a new instance of the Container/ Window used as the source of the UI to be displayed by the Popover.

How can I communicate with the UI elements contained in the Popover?

You would do so just as you would do with any other type of window that you have been using so far in your Xojo projects.

Conclusion

Without a doubt, Popovers are a new way to improve the design of your apps’ user interfaces, providing a more direct relationship between the user interface elements displayed in the Popover and the “parent” control in charge of displaying it. Furthermore, since you can use any window or container you want as the source of the UI to be displayed by the Popover, you will have greater flexibility about when you want to display them in a Popover or display them using any other of the available window types or, in the case of Containers, embedding them as part of other UI elements at runtime.

Javier Menendez is an engineer at Xojo and has been using Xojo since 1998. He lives in Castellón, Spain and hosts regular Xojo hangouts en español. Ask Javier questions on Twitter at @XojoES or on the Xojo Forum.

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Generate Codes

The ability to generate codes and identify them from images is available as a shared method for the indicated platforms, in desktop and console apps. The latter is interesting because it means that you can use this functionality in web apps deployed on Windows or Mac servers.

Creating QR or Bar128 codes couldn’t be simpler. Since it uses a shared method, it is not even necessary to have previously created an instance of the class, you only need to invoke the method:

Barcode.Image(value As String, width As Integer, height As Integer, type As Barcode.Types = Barcode.Types.QR) As Picture

Where the expected parameters are the following:

• Value: Source text string that will be converted to the indicated code type
• Width: Width of the resulting image with the generated code
• Height: Height of the resulting image with the generated code
• Type: The type of code you want to generate. It can be QR or Bar128; these values are available in the Barcode.Types enumerator

Once the method is invoked, you will obtain an image (Picture) that you can use in your app; or you will receive an InvalidArgumentException if some of the parameters provided are invalid, such as passing an empty text string as the data source.

For example, the following line of code generates a 120 x 120 image corresponding to a QR code with the text provided:

Var p As Picture = Barcode.Image("Xojo Rocks!", 120, 120, Barcode.Types.QR)

Recognize Codes in Images

In the same way it is possible to generate code images from text, it is also possible to recognize up to twelve different types of codes from an image. To do this we will use another shared method of the Barcode class:

Barcode.FromImage(image As Picture) As String()

As you can see, in this case the method will return an array of Strings with the values of the recognized codes. It is possible that the image contains more than one code; but it is also possible that no code could be recognized in the provided image, so it is advisable to check the limits of the received array before proceeding.

For example, this line of code will recognize the codes available in the MyPicture image and return the values in the RecognizedCodes() array:

Var RecognizedCodes() As String = Barcode.FromImage(MyPicture)

Scan Codes

Scanning QR codes (or any of the other supported codes) on desktop is only available for macOS and Windows platforms. This is due to desktop presenting a user interface where you can preview the image captured by the selected camera. You can select the camera to use to scan from those connected to the computer (including, for example, iOS devices in the case of Mac, through Continuity; or Android devices paired with your Windows computer). In the case of Mac, the ability to scan images is only available using macOS 10.15 or higher.

To scan codes directly using any of the cameras connected to the computer it is necessary to have previously created an instance of the Barcode class (for example, drag the class from the IDE Library onto the tray area in the Layout Editor window):

Doing so will add it to the Project Browser where we can select it and implement any of the three available Event Handlers:

• ScanCancelled: The user has canceled the code scanning operation, such as by closing the presented UI window
• ScanCompleted: Receive the value as String corresponding to the code detected by the camera
• ScanFailed: Raised when some type of error has occurred, such as the fact that no camera is detected

To display the code scanning UI, invoke the StartScan method on the created Barcode instance. For example:

Barcode1.StartScan

The scan UI does not close automatically when a code is recognized to allow scanning a series of codes (such as in the case of inventory), so it is also possible to stop the operation by code by calling the StopScan method. For example, you can include this line of code in the ScanCompleted event of the Barcode1 instance after the received value has been processed:

me.StopScan

As expected, invoking the StopScan method from code will close the code scanning UI.

Conclusion

Now you can create all types of applications on macOS, Windows and iOS with the ability to generate and scan QR codes, Barcodes and other types of codes, opening up a wide field of possibilities for Xojo users.

Javier Menendez is an engineer at Xojo and has been using Xojo since 1998. He lives in Castellón, Spain and hosts regular Xojo hangouts en español. Ask Javier questions on Twitter at @XojoES or on the Xojo Forum.

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• The control should show previews of images and PDF documents.
• The documents to be displayed can be dragged and dropped onto the control, or opened from the standard file selection dialog.
• In the case of images, they can also be added to the control using Copy and Paste.
• In any of the above cases, the path of the file in question must be received so that future actions can be carried out.

As an additional point, since we are using Xojo, the control will be cross-platform and functional on macOS, Windows and Linux.

Download the Example Project.

Preparation

Taking into account these requirements, as well as considering that the same problem may have more than one solution, this tutorial will show you how to create a control using the Composition technique. Using this technique, several graphical interface controls will be used internally and their use will be transparent to users who use it globally, either when creating their own applications or when using the control on any desktop platform.

When it comes to creating a control using the Composition technique, the DesktopContainerControl is the best candidate. A new ContainerControl-based class would internally use the following core controls:

1. The DesktopImageWell control which is ideal for displaying images.
2. The DesktopHTMLViewer control which is ideal for displaying the preview of PDF documents.

Now, while DesktopImageWell supports displaying images directly using Drag and Drop, this is not the case with the DesktopHTMLViewer control; so if the user of the control tried to drag and drop a PDF document or image when the HTMLViewer is displaying the control, it wouldn’t work.

To solve this situation it is common to add a third control. We’ll use a DesktopCanvas that will be, at all times, the top layer regardless of which underlying control (either the ImageWell or the HTMLViewer) is displayed. Thus, the DesktopCanvas would capture the event corresponding to the user dragging a file onto the global control (the class based on ContainerControl). Since it is transparent, it will not prevent the preview of the image or PDF file to be seen in the bottom layer control, at least on macOS.

But the Canvas is not transparent on Windows, in this case we need to use conditional compilation at various points in the class to modify the user interface of the main ContainerControl so that it adds a special area located under the controls preview (ImageViewer or HTMLViewer), and which will be used by the user of the control to drag and drop the corresponding files. For this we will use an additional DesktopCanvas.

Of course, we will also have to add a button to our control that will be responsible for opening the standard file selection dialog box so that the user can choose the file to preview.

To deal with another small difference between macOS and Windows, we will add a DesktopRectangle to be used as the base layer of the control (Z axis), so that it displays the typical Focus ring when the control is active and selected.

Designing the Control

With all that in mind, start a new Desktop project in Xojo. Drag a DesktopContainer from the Library onto the Navigator. It will look like this:

With the new Desktop Container1 instance selected in the Navigator, use the Inspector Panel to change the following values:

• Name: ImagePDFContainer
• Size > Width: 220
• Size > Height: 200

Next, add the Drag and Drop area which, remember, will be shown only when the control is executed on Windows. To do this, drag a DesktopCanvas from the Library and drop it in the area of the Layout Editor corresponding to the Design Editor, placing it right under the container for our own convenience.

With Canvas1 selected, use the Inspector Panel to change the following values:

• Name: DropArea
• Position > Left: 1
• Position > Top: 221
• Position > Width: 216
• Position > Height: 100

The design should look like this:

Now, add the background layer. This is the layer that will be in charge of displaying the focus ring for the control in Windows. To do this, drag a DesktopRectangle from the Library and drop it on the ContainerControl in the Layout Editor. The ContainerControl should show a red box indicating that the dragged control will be contained as a child control in the Container itself. Next, with DesktopRectangle1 still selected in the Layout Editor, use the Inspector Panel to modify the following values:

• Name: BacktroundRect
• Position > Left: 0
• Position > Top: 0
• Position > Width: 220
• Position > Height: 200
• Locking: Lock all four padlocks.

Next, add the button responsible for displaying the standard dialog box for selecting the file to preview. Drag a DesktopPushButton from the Library and drop it onto the bottom of the Container in the Layout Editor. The Container should display a red box to indicate that the button will be added as a child control in the Container itself.

Then, with Button1 still selected in the Layout Editor, use the associated Inspector Panel to change the following values:

• Name: OpenFileButton
• Position > Left: 0
• Position > Top: 0
• Position > Width: 178
• Position > Height: 22
• Locking: Closes the left, right and bottom locks. Open the lock on the top edge.
• Mac Button Style: Recessed
• Caption: Open File…

At this point, the control layout should look something like this:

Now, add the instance of the DesktopImageViewer control responsible for previewing the images. As in previous steps, drag the DesktopImageViewer control from the Library and drop it on the Layout Editor, in the upper right part of the Container; then, with ImageViewer1 still selected, use the associated Inspector Panel to change the following values:

• Name: ImagePreviewer
• Position > Left: 238
• Position > Top: -219
• Position > Width: 218
• Position > Height: 198
• Locking: Lock all four padlocks.

Drag a DesktopHTMLViewer from the Library onto the free area of the Layout Editor, just below the ImageViewer added in the previous step; Then, with HTMLViewer1 still selected in the Layout Editor, use the associated Inspector Panel to modify the following values:

• Name: HTMLPDF
• Position > Left: 238
• Position > Top: 0
• Position > Width: 218
• Position > Height: 198
• Locking: Lock all four padlocks.

At this point, the control layout should look something like this:

Finally, add the overlay to be used only when the control is executed on macOS and that is responsible for capturing the action of “Drag and Drop” files by the user. Drag a new DesktopCanvas over the Container in the Layout Editor. The Container should display a red box to indicate that the new control is being added as a child of the Container itself. With Canvas1 still selected in the Layout Editor, use the associated Inspector Panel to modify the following values:

• Name: CanvasOverlay
• Position > Left: 1
• Position > Top: 1
• Position > Width: 218
• Position > Height: 179
• Locking: Lock all four padlocks.

To make sure that all the “layers” (order of the controls on the Z axis) are as we expect, click on the “Show Tab Order” button in the Layout Editor toolbar. If they do not match the order shown in the image below, drag and drop each element to the correct position in the list:

Add Functionality

With the design of the control now complete, it is time to add its functionality. To do this, select ImagePDFContainer in the Navigator and add the following properties along with the values indicated in the Inspector Panel:

The first will be in charge of containing the message to be displayed in the “Drag and Drop” area:

• Name: DropFileMessage
• Type: String
• Scope: Public

The second will be the property in charge of storing the reference to the file (FolderItem instance) whose image/PDF is being previewed:

• Name: FileDropped
• Type: FolderItem
• Scope: Private

The last property will be responsible for containing the color to be used as the focus ring:

• Name: FocusColor
• Type: Color
• Scope: Public

Next, add the events that the control needs to consume for its operation. With ImagePDFContainer still selected in the Navigator, add the following Event Handlers along with the associated code:

Opening:

HTMLPDF.Visible = False
ImagePreviewer.Visible = False

#If TargetWindows Then
  DropArea.Top = Me.Height - 50
  DropArea.Height = 50
  DropArea.Width = BackgroundRect.Width
  DropArea.Left = BackgroundRect.Left
  BackgroundRect.Height = BackgroundRect.Height - 50
  
  HTMLPDF.Height = BackgroundRect.Height - 2
  ImagePreviewer.Height = BackgroundRect.Height - 2
#EndIf

RaiseEvent Opening

MouseDown:

Me.SetFocus
Return True

FocusReceived:

#If TargetWindows Then
  FocusColor = Color.Blue
  BackgroundRect.BorderColor = FocusColor
  DropArea.Refresh
#EndIf

FocusLost:

#If TargetWindows Then
  FocusColor = Color.Black
  BackgroundRect.BorderColor = FocusColor
  DropArea.Refresh
#EndIf

Since the Opening event is used by our ImagePDFContainer subclass, add an event definition with the same name so that instances created from it can also add their own Opening event handler and include any additional code to execute as desired.

Then, add an additional event definition (FileDropped) that will be the one sent by the ImagePDFContainer subclass to the instances created from it, and that implement it, to pass them as a parameter the FolderItem corresponding to the file opened / dragged and dropped / or , in the case of images, that have been pasted on the control.

• Name: FileDropped
• Parameters: file As FolderItem

Since we want to support pasting images onto the control, we also need to add a MenuHandler to the ImagePDFContainer subclass. To do this, with ImagePDFContainer still selected in the Navigator, select the option Add to “ImagePDFContainer” > Menu Handler…

Use the following values in the associated Inspector Panel:

• MenuItem Name: EditPaste

And add the following code in the Code Editor associated with the Menu Handler:

Var pb As New Clipboard
If pb.PictureAvailable Then
  Var f As FolderItem = SpecialFolder.Temporary.Child("temp-pict.png")
  If f.Exists Then f.Remove
  If f <> Nil Then
    pb.Picture.Save(f, Picture.Formats.PNG)
    FileDropped = f
    PreviewFile(FileDropped)
  End If
  Return True
End If

Return False

To complete this section, add a new method to ImagePDFContainer and use the following values in the associated Inspector Panel:

• Method Name: PreviewFile
• Parameters: f As FolderItem

Add the following code in the associated Code Editor:

FileDropped = f

If f <> Nil Then
  
  If FileDropped.Name.EndsWith(".pdf") Then
    ImagePreviewer.Visible = False
    HTMLPDF.Visible = True
    
    HTMLPDF.Top = BackgroundRect.Top + 1
    HTMLPDF.Left = BackgroundRect.Left + 1
    
    #If TargetWindows Then
      HTMLPDF.Height = BackgroundRect.Height - OpenFileButton.Height
    #Else
      HTMLPDF.Height = Self.Height - OpenFileButton.Height
    #EndIf
    
    HTMLPDF.LoadPage(FileDropped)
    
  Else
    
    Var p As Picture = Picture.Open(FileDropped)
    
    If p <> Nil Then
      ImagePreviewer.Top = BackgroundRect.Top + 1
      ImagePreviewer.Left = BackgroundRect.Left + 1
      
      #If TargetWindows Then
        ImagePreviewer.Height = BackgroundRect.Height - OpenFileButton.Height
      #Else
        ImagePreviewer.Height = Self.Height - OpenFileButton.Height
      #EndIf
      
      ImagePreviewer.Image = p
      HTMLPDF.Visible = False
      ImagePreviewer.Visible = True
      
    End If
    
  End If
  
  RaiseEvent FileDropped(FileDropped)
  
Else
  HTMLPDF.Visible = False
  ImagePreviewer.Visible = False
End If

Add Functionality to Controls

Now it’s time to add functionality to the controls. Select the CanvasOverlay item in the Navigator and add the following Event Handlers along with the code given below:

Opening:

Me.AcceptFileDrop("application/pdf")
Me.AcceptFileDrop("image/png")
Me.AcceptFileDrop("image/jpg")

#If TargetWindows Then
  Me.Visible = False
#EndIf

DropObject:

#Pragma Unused action

If obj.FolderItemAvailable Then
  PreviewFile(obj.FolderItem)
End If

MouseDown:

#Pragma Unused x
#Pragma Unused y

Self.SetFocus

Now select the DropArea item in the Navigator and add the following Event Handlers along with the code indicated below:

Opening:

Me.AcceptFileDrop("application/pdf")
Me.AcceptFileDrop("image/png")
Me.AcceptFileDrop("image/jpg")

#If TargetMacOS Then
  Me.Visible = False
#EndIf

DropObject:

#Pragma Unused action

If obj.FolderItemAvailable Then
  PreviewFile(obj.FolderItem)
End If

Paint:

#Pragma Unused areas

g.DrawingColor = FocusColor
g.PenSize = 2.0
g.DrawRectangle(0, 0, g.Width, g.Height)
g.PenSize = 1.0

If DropFileMessage <> "" Then
  
  g.DrawingColor = Color.Black
  
  Var textLength As Double = g.TextWidth(DropFileMessage)
  Var x, y As Double
  
  x = Me.Width / 2 - textLength / 2
  y = Me.Height / 2 + g.TextHeight / 2
  
  g.DrawText(DropFileMessage, x, y)
  
End If

Now select the HTMLPDF item in the Navigator and add the Event Handlers along with the code indicated below:

MouseDown:

#Pragma Unused x
#Pragma Unused y

Self.SetFocus

Next, select the ImagePreviewer item in the Navigator and add the following Event Handlers along with the code below:

MouseDown:

#Pragma Unused x
#Pragma Unused y

Self.SetFocus

Finally, select the OpenFileButton item in the Navigator and add the following Event Handlers along with the code indicated below:

Pressed:

Var f As FolderItem = FolderItem.ShowOpenFileDialog("")

If f <> Nil Then
  Self.PreviewFile(f)
End If

Testing the ImagePDFContainer Control

We have completed the design and added the required functionality to our control, now it is time to add an instance to the project window so we can test its operation.

Select Window1 in the Navigator so that the associated Layout Editor is displayed. Next drag ImagePDFContainer from the Navigator and drop it onto the Layout Editor, using the following values in the associated Inspector Panel:

• Size > Width: 220
• Size > Height: 200
• Locking: Lock all four padlocks
• Appearance > Allow Focus Ring: Enabled
• Behavior > Allow Focus: Enabled.
• Behavior > Allow Tabs: Enabled.

With ImagePDFContainer1 selected in the Navigator, add the following Event Handlers along with the code below:

Opening:

Me.DropFileMessage = "Drop Files Here"

FileDropped:

LastFolderItemNameLabel.Text = file.NativePath

As you can see, this is referring to the LastFolderItemNameLabel control that we have not yet added to the window layout yet; So, let’s do that.

Select Window1 in the Navigator to access the associated Layout Editor. Drag a Label control from the Library and drop it onto the bottom of the window in the Layout Editor, then use the following values in the associated Inspector Panel:

• Name: Label1
• Position > Left: 28
• Position > Top: 360
• Position > Width: 150
• Position > Height: 20
• Locking: Lock the left and bottom padlock. Unlock the top and right locks.
• Text: Last FolderItem Path:

Add a second Label from the Library to the right of the previous one, using the following values in the associated Inspector Panel:

• Name: LastFolderItemNameLabel
• Position > Left: 190
• Position > Top: 360
• Position > Width: 390
• Position > Height: 20
• Locking: Locks the left, bottom and right padlocks. Unlock the top lock.
• Text: (empty)

Run the Application

Ready! Run the application and try dragging and dropping image files (JPEG or PNG), as well as PDF files on the control. You should see the change on the fly, showing the most appropriate viewer for each type of file. It will also display the path of the file at the bottom of the window.

You can also click on the button to select the file to display or try copying images and pasting them directly on the control. If you do this, a temporary file will be created so that one of the initial requirements is satisfied: being able to continue working with the file corresponding to the image or PDF document.

As I mentioned at the beginning, this is just one of the possible implementations. I hope you have learned a few things along the way in, for example:

• Redefine Events consumed by a base class.
• Create your own Class Events and how to launch them to “pass” information to the instances created from said class.
• Capture and work with Menu Handlers.
• Use of Conditional Compilation so that certain sections of code run only on one platform or another.
• And, of course, how to make several UI controls cooperate and present themselves as a single control to the developer and end user who are going to use them.

I hope you found it interesting. You are welcome to modify and expand the project to better suit your purposes!

Have fun and keep coding with Xojo!

Javier Menendez is an engineer at Xojo and has been using Xojo since 1998. He lives in Castellón, Spain and hosts regular Xojo hangouts en español. Ask Javier questions on Twitter at @XojoES or on the Xojo Forum.

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Downloading the Xojo Project

The Xojo project that I demonstrated can be downloaded here. In the zip file, you’ll find the Xojo project file and a “Readme” file. The Readme file includes step-by-step instructions on setting up SuiteTalk REST, a custom NetSuite role, an integration record, and more.

The SuiteQL Query

During the webinar, I spent some time discussing the SuiteQL query that’s used to lookup items based on the keywords that a user enters. I mentioned that there’s a lot of variation between NetSuite instances, both in terms of how they’re configured and customized. That makes NetSuite development both challenging and interesting.

As a result of the variation between NetSuite instances, you may need to modify the SuiteQL query based on how your NetSuite instance is configured. In the Xojo project, you’ll find that the query is stored as a constant named “SuiteQLQuery,” and it’s an attribute of the ListView screen.

The query uses the REGEXP_LIKE condition, which I discussed recently in this blog post. If you’re not already familiar with REGEXP_LIKE, then you might want to read up on it. Also, in the query I’m using the TO_CHAR function to format the “first column Base Price” as currency. Specifically, in the query, you’ll see this: TO_CHAR ( COALESCE( MAX( Price ), 0 ), ‘fmL99G999D00’ ). If you’d like to learn more about the TO_CHAR function and the format model modifiers that it supports, visit: https://docs.oracle.com/cd/B19306_01/server.102/b14200/sql_elements004.htm#SQLRF00216

Our Next Webinar

Our next Xojo / NetSuite webinar will be held on Thursday, February 22nd at 1PM CT (US). I’ll demonstrate how you can use Xojo to develop a Web app that integrates with NetSuite. To signup, please visit Xojo’s Webinar page. And finally, I want to thank everyone that attended the webinar, as well as Geoff and the entire Xojo team for the opportunity to present.

Tim Dietrich develops custom software for businesses that are running on NetSuite. He makes extensive use of Xojo to develop mobile, desktop, Web apps, and more – all of which integrate seamlessly with NetSuite. To learn more, visit: https://timdietrich.me

Students looking to begin their journey into programming choose Xojo for its ease of use and dedication to cross-platform development. Plus, Xojo is true rapid app development and is ideal for building prototypes and mockups really fast. All of these features benefit from Xojo’s OOP-focus. Xojo also has an active and helpful community and years worth of free, on-line resources.

Ease of Use from App Design to Build

Xojo is known for its user-friendly and visual development environment. It employs a drag-and-drop interface, which can be helpful for students who are new to programming and those who want to rapidly prototype software without delving into complex coding. Xojo is efficient, featuring a streamlined development process and extensive feature set, you can create applications fast without sacrificing quality or functionality. Xojo is based on object-oriented programming principles. Learning OOP through Xojo can provide students with a solid foundation in programming concepts that are widely applicable in the software development industry.

Multiplatform Development for Windows, macOS, Linux, mobile, & web

Xojo is incredibly versatile. Whether you’re interested in desktop, mobile, or web application development, you can built it with Xojo. With its cross-platform capabilities, you can even build applications that run on multiple platforms from a single code-base. This can be particularly valuable for students working on a MacBook but needing app for a Windows machine or vice-versa. Write your app once and compile it for macOS, Windows and Linux.

Rapid Application Development for Prototypes and Mockups

Xojo is designed for rapid application development (RAD), making it an ideal choice for students who need to create functional applications quickly. Students can use Xojo to build practical, real-world applications. This hands-on experience can be valuable for learning and demonstrating software development skills, especially for those working on the design and usability aspects of software development.

Community and Resources

Xojo has an active community and offers resources, including documentation, tutorials, and forums. Students can benefit from this support when learning and troubleshooting. With an active and friendly community of developers, top-notch support team and extensive documentation and tutorials, you’ll always have the help and resources you need to succeed. Learn at your own pace, and have access to the support you need to overcome challenges along the way.

No matter why you choose Xojo, whether for its simplicity, cross-platform capabilities, rapid development or community and resources, Xojo is a valuable tool for learning programming and software development concepts. Xojo is a great place to start when building or looking to expand your development toolkit.

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Remote Debugger

With Xojo, you can. Let’s talk about Xojo’s aptly named Remote Debugger. In the instance above, that particular user can install Xojo’s Remote Debugger app on their computer. You and your users can find the app included in the Extras folder of the Xojo download. After your user installs, launches and sets the Options in the Remote Debugger app, you can connect to that user’s computer by adding a connection to it in the Debugging pane of the Settings dialog box in the Xojo IDE on your computer.

Press the Add button, choose a name, add the user’s IP address and the password they created for the Remote Debugger app. If the user is just barely remote (on your local network for example), the Add dialog that appears will show local Remote Debuggers, making the process even easier. If this is the case, you can click on the user’s machine from the list without having to ask them for the their IP address.

It gets a bit complicated if you and the user are not on the same network. That’s because their router has to be configured to allow the connection to get through to their computer. That can be complex and potentially not allowed by their network administrator. The easiest solution in these cases is to use a service such as ZeroTier or Tailscale that creates a secure, private network which effectively puts you both on the same network making it a breeze to connect. (Both of ZeroTier and Tailscale have a service tier that is free.)

Once you’ve added the remote debug host, you can choose Project > Run Remotely and then choose that host to begin the connection. When you do this, your computer will compile a debug version for the computer and OS running on that remote user’s computer. It will then send that build to their computer and launch it. The app will then connect back to your Xojo IDE’s Debugger! You can then debug just as you normally would. Have the user try various functions as you watch what they are doing using screen sharing of some kind. When it drops in to the Debugger, you can step through the code, look at the values of variables and properties, etc., just as you do when debugging on your local computer. In cases like this, it can take a frustrating, painful debugging experience and make it nearly stress-free. In minutes you’ll be staring at the line of code that just wasn’t expecting the user to do what they did.

Also, the remote computer doesn’t have to actually be remote. For example, the Remote Debugger is handy for debugging on local virtual machines or other computers on your desk. It lets you keep your project where it belongs (where you keep it on your computer) while debugging in an OS running somewhere else.

So the next time you wish you could just debug on another computer or virtual machine, remember Xojo’s Remote Debugger! Watch a 13 minute video on Xojo’s Remote Debugger to learn more.

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This blog post is intended as a follow-up to that webinar. In it, I hope to provide some additional information that we didn’t have time to cover, answer some of the questions that came up during and after the webinar, and also provide a link to the Xojo project that we created during the webinar.

Downloading the Xojo Project

The Xojo project that we developed during the webinar is available for download here. In the zip file, you’ll find the project and a “Readme” file that includes instructions on how to set things up (including SuiteTalk REST, a custom NetSuite role, an integration record, etc).

My advice is to download the project, setup NetSuite, and run the project. Then look at how the project was built -the screens, methods, and so on. After you’re familiar with the project file, experiment with it. Perhaps try modifying the project so that instead of providing access to Items it provides access to Employees instead.

If you run into any problems, or have questions, please feel free to email me (timdietrich@me.com). Another great resource for your general Xojo questions is the Xojo Programming Forum.

Have fun!

Questions & Answers

Do you prefer to use RESTlets instead of SuiteTalk REST? If so, why?

Yes, I much prefer using RESTlets in all of my NetSuite integration projects. With RESTlets I have more control over the functionality that the API provides, and more control over how the responses are formatted. Also, my experience has been that RESTlets are slightly faster than SuiteTalk REST.

That being said, SuiteTalk REST does have some advantages over RESTlets. For example, SuiteTalk REST provides endpoints that you can use to get metadata, which is something that is often difficult to do with a RESTlet. But perhaps the biggest advantage of SuiteTalk REST is that, unlike RESTlets, there is nothing extra that needs to be installed in your NetSuite account. It’s simply a matter of enabling it.

You mentioned some NetSuite customer statistics in your presentation. Can you repeat those?

Sure. During his SuiteWorld keynote presentation this year, Gary Wiessinger (SVP of NetSuite Application Development) mentioned NetSuite’s growth in terms of the number of customers that are using NetSuite. So as of October 2023, 37,000 customers are using NetSuite, and that represents 324,000 organizations. And those customers are located in 219 countries and territories.

As a Xojo developer, how can I get started with NetSuite?

You should first try to get access to a NetSuite account that you can experiment with. Unfortunately, that’s not as easy as it is with other platforms (such as Salesforce or ServiceNow), where they provide developers with test accounts. My advice would be to reach out to a local NetSuite partner, and see if you can build a relationship with them, and try to get their help in getting started.

After the demo, you mentioned another Xojo project that extends the Android functionality. What was that?

It’s called Android Design Extensions, and there’s a great blog post about it here. Read multiple posts about Android Design Extensions on the Xojo Blog.

Wrapping Up

Thanks again for your interest in Xojo and in using it to develop apps that integrate with NetSuite. I hope you’ve found the webinar and the Xojo project to be helpful.

Happy holidays!

Tim Dietrich develops custom software for businesses that are running on NetSuite. He makes extensive use of Xojo to develop mobile, desktop, Web apps, and more – all of which integrate seamlessly with NetSuite. To learn more, visit: https://timdietrich.me

Although Xojo for Android does not yet have full dark mode support, things continue to head in that direction. Previously your app would adjust its UI for light/dark if the Support Dark Mode property was turned on in the Android Build Settings. Starting in Xojo 2023r3, Color.TextColor and Color.FillColor also adjust their values when run in light mode or dark mode, making it easier for your custom drawing to also adapt.

MobileTextField gets a couple new additions. The ReturnPressed event is now called when, as the name suggests, return is pressed. The AllowSpellChecking property is now also available for MobileTextField and MobileTextArea.

In the Shared Build Settings Inspector there is now a Destination property as there is with other platforms.

Many Android devices have physical back buttons and all let you turn on global software controls that have a back button, but sometimes you want to have the back button clearly shown on the navigation toolbar. With Xojo 2023r3, the new HasBackButton property of MobileScreen can show a back button on the navigation toolbar.

To make it easier to write code that is applicable to both iOS and Android, but not other platforms, there is a new TargetMobile constant available for conditional compilation.

MobilePopupMenu is an all-new control for Android that makes it possible to simplify some of your user interfaces. It works similarly to a PopupMenu on Desktop or Web: when the user taps this control a list of items appears and they can choose one.

On the Advanced tab of the Android Build Settings there is a new Manifest section with a Permissions property. Here you can specify the names of Android permission constants that are needed by Declares or libraries. They are added to the AndroidManifest.xml file when the app is run/built.

MobileHTMLViewer got several enhancements. It now has various processing events, including: DocumentBegin, DocumentComplete, CancelLoad, Error, NewWindow, DocumentProgressChanged and TitleChanged.

And there is now support for running JavaScript using the ExecuteJavaScript method along with the JavaScriptResult and JavaScriptRequest events. ExecuteJavaScript is asynchronous and results appear in the JavaScriptResult event. To call the JavaScriptRequest event, use xojo.execute() in the JavaScript code. A method name and up to 5 parameters can be passed back to Xojo. Learn more in the Xojo Programming Documentation.

The last thing I want to highlight is the new Kotlin Declare. For advanced users, this adds the ability to create Android declares that can pass untouched calls via Alias (with the exception of required type/object handling) to the Kotlin compilation step. This is done by specifying Lib “Kotlin” or adding “:Kotlin” to the end of Lib. Here are a couple examples of what this can look like:

Declare Function AndroidVersion Lib "Kotlin" Alias "android.os.Build.VERSION.RELEASE" As CString

Declare Sub findAllAsync Lib "Object:ctrl:MobileHTMLViewer:Kotlin" Alias "findAllAsync(myfind.toString())" (myFind As CString)

Of course there were many bug fixes as well. Be sure to check out the full release notes for all the details.

Paul learned to program in BASIC at age 13 and has programmed in more languages than he remembers, with Xojo being an obvious favorite. When not working on Xojo, you can find him talking about retrocomputing at Goto 10 and on Mastodon @lefebvre@hachyderm.io.

A set is a group of items, not unlike a Dictionary. You can add or remove items from the set, as you might expect, but some of its more unique capabilities let you do a difference, intersection and union of two sets.

• Difference returns a new Set with members that are unique to each Set. This is essentially the items in the first set that are not in the second set.

• Intersection returns a new Set with members that are common to both Sets.

• Union returns a new Set that contain the members of both Sets.

There are also methods to populate a set from an array or a Dictionary. Learn more about using the Set class in the Xojo Programming Documentation.

Set is based on code written by Xojo MVP Kem Tekinay and works on all platforms.

Kem Tekinay is a consultant and developer based in Connecticut. A Xojo MVP, Kem has been an avid Xojo user since the early days and is a world-renowned thinker and philosopher, at least in his own mind. You can find him and his work at MacTechnologies Consulting.

Paul learned to program in BASIC at age 13 and has programmed in more languages than he remembers, with Xojo being an obvious favorite. When not working on Xojo, you can find him talking about retrocomputing at Goto 10 and on Mastodon @lefebvre@hachyderm.io.

Before we jump into the topic, it’s worth mentioning that this is new in Safari 17, but it is a W3C Standard that might work with other combinations of browser and operating system.

One of the biggest advantages of creating a web app is that users won’t need to update it manually. Once a new version is deployed, a browser refresh will be enough to update- which Xojo handles that automatically. If we are talking about a large company with hundreds of computers, it’s easy to see how having a web-based Intranet, for example, would reduce maintenance costs.

Step by step, browser vendors are allowing developers to access APIs that are traditionally reserved for native desktop or mobile developers.

Adding Icon Badges

When users add a web application to the Dock, developers have the opportunity to set a numerical badge. This helps let the user know the amount of items requiring attention.

Missed calls, unread message notifications or the minutes pending in a Pomodoro session. The meaning of the badge value is determined by you.

This Web API is pretty easy to use in Xojo. Add a few new public methods to the Session object, called SetBadge and ClearBadge, respectively.

SetBadge (amount As Integer)

Var js() As String

js.Add("if ('setAppBadge' in navigator) {")
js.Add("  navigator.setAppBadge(" + amount.ToString + ");")
js.Add("}")

ExecuteJavaScript(String.FromArray(js))

ClearBadge

Var js() As String

js.Add("if ('clearAppBadge' in navigator) {")
js.Add("  navigator.clearAppBadge();")
js.Add("}")

ExecuteJavaScript(String.FromArray(js))

That’s it. Whenever you need to display a badge for that user, call Session.SetBadge(42), for example.

Creating a Manifest File

While is not required, a web app manifest file will allow you to tweak the look and feel of the application when added to the Home / Dock.

In order to let the OS know there is a Manifest file, add a new HTML header. Go to App -> HTML Header and add this line:

<link rel="manifest" href="/manifest.json" />

Let’s fill in the contents. We have to handle that “/manifest.json” URL. Add a new Event Handler in the app object, select the “HandleURL” event.

This is an example of how to create that file:

Select Case request.Path
Case "manifest.json"
  Var manifest As New JSONItem
  manifest.Value("display") = "standalone" // Remove back/forward buttons
  manifest.Value("name") = "My Xojo Application"
  manifest.Value("short_name") = "Xojo App"

  response.MIMEType = "application/json"
  response.Status = 200
  response.Write(manifest.ToString)
  Return True
End Select

You can check the whole list of parameters available from this website:
Web app manifests

Debugging Web Apps

Hey! Where are my Developer Tools!?

You can’t directly debug a web app from the app itself. But if needed, you can still open Safari, press on the Develop menu and, from there, access a Developer Tools instance for any web app that is opened:

That’s All!

While a web app is far from a native desktop app, changes like this make the the gap a little smaller and the user experience a little better.

Happy coding!

Ricardo has always been curious about how things work. Growing up surrounded by computers he became interested in web technologies in the dial-up connections era. Xojo has been his secret weapon and language of preference since 2018. When he’s not online, chances are he will be scuba diving … or crocheting amigurumis. Find Ricardo on Twitter @piradoiv.

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Database Support

Xojo works with a wide variety of databases. SQLite is bundled with your Xojo license and is a great beginner database for desktop, web and mobile apps. Xojo includes direct support for SQLite, PostgreSQL and MySQL. Plus, you can use ODBC to connect to just about anything else, such as Oracle, MS-SQL Server, Microsoft Access, Firebird or even IBM iSeries.

Examples

To help you get started, there are many examples in the Examples/Databases folder included with the Xojo Download, including examples that connect to each of the supported databases. You can find a breakdown of the examples included in the Examples folder in the Xojo Programming Language Documentation.

Additionally, you can check out the Eddie’s Electronics sample app (located in Examples/Sample Applications/EddiesElectronics) to see how to share database code between Xojo desktop and Xojo web apps.

DBKit is an example project designed to make it easier to build desktop and web applications that are front-ends to databases. Specifically, DBKit makes it easy to connect a database table to the user interface controls on a layout. DBKit also handles a lot of the interface for you. You can read more about DBKit in the Xojo Documentation.

Read: Documentation

After you have reviewed the examples, the Database Overview in the Xojo Documentation will help with next steps. Remember, Xojo comes bundled with SQLite which is an excellent database for desktop, web and mobile apps. Read more about using SQLite in the Xojo Documentation and check out this SQLite Tutorial for more detail.

Watch: Videos

The Xojo YouTube channel has hundreds of videos on all things Xojo. Here are the most recent Xojo Database videos and playlists:

• Video: Connecting to a Database from Xojo
• Video: Updating a Database from Xojo
• Video: Querying a Database from Xojo
• Video: Managing the UI when Updating a Database
• Video: Using DBKit to easily connect databases to Xojo applications
• Playlist: Using Databases with Xojo – A growing, catch-all playlist for videos related to Xojo and databases.
• Playlist: Xojo and SQLite – SQLite comes bundled with Xojo and is a great database for beginners building desktop, web and mobile apps with Xojo.

Vendor Documentation

Lastly, you should always refer to the vendor-specific documentation for the database you are using to learn the specifics about how that database works, including SQL syntax.

• SQLite
• PostgreSQL
• MySQL
• Oracle Database
• Microsoft SQL Server

Xojo simplifies the development process, reduces complexity and empowers developers to create efficient and functional database applications with relative ease. The Xojo IDE is free to use for development and testing – design, develop, run and debug your app all without a license. Purchase a license when you are ready to compile your apps, licenses start at $149. Visit the Xojo Store to find the license right for your project.

If you have questions after you have reviewed these materials, the Xojo Forum is an accessible and essential resource for Xojo users of all levels. You can also contact Xojo directly with your questions.

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With this in mind, here’s an infographic that illustrates how Xojo’s been continually updating and modernizing since 1996 while other development tools come and go.

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You still hear this same argument today in the software development world, where the big names are Microsoft, Apple and Google.

But how “safe” is their stuff, really? After all, they all seem to end support for products and tools rather often.

Microsoft recently announced that they are discontinuing Visual Studio for Mac, which was only just introduced in 2016. Last I checked, Microsoft is a Very. Big. Company. Yet they somehow cannot justify resources to keep a Mac IDE viable. Clearly, they have the resources so this is a decision about Microsoft’s focus and priorities, things that Big Companies change all the time.

Google drops products (or drastically changes them) often. Changing their “free for life” Google Apps (G Suite) product to a rather expensive monthly cost was not popular with many businesses.

Apple killed off iBooks Author, and although it was not a development tool, it was something that was heavily promoted for a while as the best way to make content for the iBooks Store. In the development world, Apple killed off their Carbon OS framework in favor of Cocoa after years of telling developers the two would co-exist.

In the 2000s before working here at Xojo, I did a lot of consulting (frequently migrating VB6 apps to Xojo) and one question that was often asked of me is “why should I go with a dev tool from a small company like Xojo instead of something from a big name like Microsoft?”.

The answer I always gave at the time was: “You’re coming to me to migrate a VB6 app. VB6 was from Microsoft and they killed the product off. Big companies do that all the time. A small company like Xojo focuses entirely on their product. It gets all their attention. If you had picked Xojo in 1999 instead of VB6, we would not be having this conversation right now.”

To that end, Xojo has been around since 1998 and has outlived many other development tools and platforms. Some of which come to mind are: Visual Basic 6, Metrowerks CodeWarrior, and (now) Microsoft Visual Studio for Mac.

Technologies are also regularly discontinued by the creators in favor of newer versions. It took years for the Python community to move from Python 2 to Python 3. But when Apple finally removed Python 2 from macOS last year, there were many apps and companies that had to scramble to update their code. PHP8 was release in 2020, but as of today adoption is only about 12%. In 2017, Google switched from Java to Kotlin as the official language of Android, impacting many. Apple promotes Swift and Swift UI over Objective-C and AppKit these days. They introduced Catalyst, but it appears to not be making much headway. Microsoft pushes out new frameworks at a rapid pace, which is exciting, but can be difficult for a development team to know what to pick.

I don’t bring these things up to point out mistakes. Change is inevitable in technology after all. I only bring these up to point out that, even with the big names, there are still risks.

All this is to say that if you are an enterprise company with a large investment in software and IT, you might want to take a look outside the big names and see what Xojo can offer. I realize that if you have standardized on a set of tools from a large vendor, say C# and Microsoft, you are probably thinking “there’s no way I’m switching to Xojo no matter what this guy says”.

We at Xojo agree. You probably should not be switching everything over to Xojo. That would be insanely expensive and risky. But Xojo can be a great complement to the tools you already use. Professional software developers (and their companies) keep lots of tools in their toolbox and Xojo should be one of those tools.

So what can Xojo do for you?

Xojo’s goal is to make programming easier, allowing you to get software made faster. Xojo saves you time and money. To that end, in enterprise environments Xojo is great for:

• Prototypes and proof-of-concepts
• Internal tools and utilities
• Testing
• Demos

With Xojo you can quickly build a desktop app (for mac, Windows or Linux) to test out REST APIs. You can build a web app to demonstrate some UI concepts or easily distribute information. You can build a mobile app (iOS or Android) to quickly try out ideas. Xojo lets you do All The Things without having to deal with a bunch of different complex tools and technologies. Xojo can give you the speed and power of low-code tools without all the limitations.

Xojo makes it quicker and easier to try out software ideas before you commit expensive development resources to your primary tools. A company’s biggest expense is usually salary and using an expensive IT department to slowly build everything is not a great value. You spend too much money on salary and sacrifice too much time on lost opportunities. Using Xojo instead can save you significant money that you can put towards the projects you determine are viable and worth more investment.

And don’t forget about internal tools. Every company needs internal tools of some kind and these won’t generate revenue on their own. Forcing these tools to go through an overworked IT department is slow and expensive. But not building them at all means your staff is less productive than they could be. Your advanced power users can use Xojo to create tools that will improve productivity at a fraction of the cost and avoid lost opportunities waiting for IT.

Like Apple, Google and Microsoft, Xojo isn’t perfect. We’ve made our share of mistakes, such as our transition from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 which was not as smooth as we had hoped it would be. The team is only human, but we do our best to learn from mistakes and if nothing else we are perseverant and committed to always making Xojo better. The fact that we’ve been doing this since 1998 is a testament to that.

So join the many other enterprise customers that use Xojo as a secret weapon! You might find you like using a development tool from a small company that cares about its product and its customers.

You can try Xojo for free today. Licensing is available for as low as $399 per user (even lower when purchased in bulk). Contact us at hello@xojo.com for more information or to get a quote.

Paul learned to program in BASIC at age 13 and has programmed in more languages than he remembers, with Xojo being an obvious favorite. When not working on Xojo, you can find him talking about retrocomputing at Goto 10 and on Mastodon @lefebvre@hachyderm.io.

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