WebHub Release Notes for v1.770 to v1.999

Key Patches between v1.770 and v1.999

Memory Leak Fixed

Thanks to the research by Ken Green of Tibersoft we were able to pinpoint and eliminate a set of small memory leaks in TwhSession. This leak only occurs when a new session is created.

ISAPI Runner Improved

The v2.007 ISAPI runner fixes all known problems and is highly recommended for anyone doing file upload or electronic file delivery. Contact customerservice@href.com for a copy if you are a registered v1.77 customer.

Here is what's new in WebHub v1.770

Improvements by Category

Here's the list of all the changes that made its way into the v1.770 WebHub VCL, and the standard forms that we supply to get your application going faster and more secure than ever. We've found and corrected a Y2K related bug involving IE5 that affected cookies and page-expiration, so this is a must-upgrade release!

Introducing WebHub Lite

Free, even for commercial use! Click to read more about this exciting new release, then come back here to read about the refinements and added capabilities in 1.770. In a nutshell, WebHub Lite includes enough to compile generic web application servers such as "aserver."

Improvements by Category

tPack

utMainFM v1.77

Restorer was not acting properly.
The main-form's restorer would be replaced internally and you were not able to store some settings anywhere else than tpack.ini. This has been corrected. In the process the order in which the INIT; and LOAD; procedures are called was refined and the following should be taken note of:

• In WebHub panels, e.g. forms derived from utPanFrm's TutParentForm, the INIT; procedure is called before the restorer reloads variables. If, for example, you are initializing database connections based on these settings from INIT; you will now have to write a public procedure init(Restorer:TFormRestorer); override; and move initialization logic there.
• In mainforms, e.g. forms deriverd from utMainFm's TtpMainForm or [trayunit/class], you can program against the inherited load/save events and the same order applies: INIT before LOAD. The upshot of this is that you can now set the restorer's UseDefaultFile option to false and have the INI file automatically be (exe-dir)(exe-name).ini

/NoMenu Commandline parameter v1.77

This used to be called from the init procedure where it could lead to GPFs under certain conditions. It was moved to utMainFm.OnFormCreate. If you rely in this logic in copies of utMainFM.pas, please make this change.

procedure ucWinApi.TrimMem; v1.77

procedure for reducing the apparent memory use of all delphi applications. It's called from utMainFC so that all tPack PanelWare applications automatically benefit.

utIpcObj.TCriticalSection v1.77

CSect: TRTLCriticalSection has been made a public property

function uCode.ParamValue(const Key:ShortString; var Value:String):Boolean; v1.77

now returns the original case of the commandline parameter. (used to capitalize)

tTpAction.Test:Boolean v1.77

now returns false/isUpdated is not updated. This is primarily for consistency in the designer.

popouts diabled v1.77

disabled the popout feature by commenting out the 'detach' line in utpanfrm. This is the new default and it's easy to revert to using auto detach by re-enabling that line.

renamed or dropped v1.770

Debug.pas renamed to tpDbg.pas

Debugctl.pas no longer shipping.

TWebApp

Cookies v1.77

Reconciled differences between AddCookie and Cookiemacro procedures.

Fixed support for a 'Domain' AppDefault in the AddCookie procedure.

Y2K v1.77

Switched all date formating codes from 2 to 4 digit years!

HREF macro v1.77

Extended to support targets starting with '#','.' and '/'. (these strings used to get prepended with http://)

HEADER macro v1.77

changed to accept arbitrary, expandable strings. (a ':' had to be present in the parameter string.)

page-sections v1.77

switched the processing loop from for to while to recognize new/removed page-sections during page-execution. previously add/remove of sections while a page was running without triggered an exception.

CheckBoxes, FrameSets and .CKB

.CKB has long been one a crucial yet terribly annoying 'aspect' of dealing with checkboxes in WebHub. This release gives you new options in dealing with the pending list so that you have far greater control over when it is processed and cleared.

At the heart of this is a new event. TWebApp.OnProcessCheckBoxes: TProcessCheckBoxEvent;

The TProcessCheckBoxEvent=procedure(Sender:TObject;var ProcessCheckBoxes,ClearPending:Boolean); takes 2 boolean var parameter and is called for every page request.

ProcessCheckBoxes defaults to True if '.CKB' or 'CKB' is present on the commandline, and ClearPending defaults to True is '.KEEPCKB' is not present. For existing applications this is all exactly what you need to keep the pending list clear and the checkboxes current.

Future developments might now rely on the presence of a hidden field in order to fine-tune the checkbox processing and even to manage multiple lists of pending checkboxes. This is the first good use that we've found for hidden fields to date.

Here is what you can now do when putting forms containing checkboxes into a frameset: Add a hidden field to the form and put the following logic into your code:

procedure MyForm.OnProcessCheckboxes(Sender:TObject;var ProcessCheckBoxes,ClearPending:Boolean);
begin
  with tWebApp(Sender) do 
    if Literal['Hidden']<>'' then begin
      Literal['Hidden']:='';
      ProcessCheckBoxes:=True;
      ClearPending:=True;
      end;
end;

From this, you can grow the logic to implement screens which used to be impossible without altering WebVars.pas directly. Here are the two ideas you need:

• Never clear the pending array unless you are processing the checkboxes when in a frameset. This allows you to get rid of '.KEEPCKB' entirely!
• Swap a named list of checkboxes from TextAreas into the Pending in order to process multiple forms containing checkboxes. (The Pending lists would need to be stored there during OnSaveSession.)

property CheckedState[..] v1.77

added property CheckedState[Sender:TComponent;const Key,Value:String]: Boolean; which can be used to retrieve/delete a 'true' (and only 'true') setting of a 'dotted' checkbox. 'Value' is a string/char representing the true/false default value for the property.

function CmdHas(const Value:String):Boolean;

added. functions like the macro.

AppDefault['BadIPPage']

If you have TWebApp.CheckSurferIP set to True, and a surfer fails the check, standard code in dmWebHub will now bounce the surfer to the PageID specified by this appdefault. If no such default exists, the built-in logic will deliver a 'standard' access denied page unless you explicitly allow passage.

A feature like this had been in the shared datamodules, where a constant 'pgBadIP' had been used. The example has been streamlined and now uses the AppDefault.

AppDefault['BadBrowserPage']

If you have TWebApp.CheckBrowser set to True, and a surfer fails the check, WebHub will bounce the surfer to the PageID specified by this appdefault.

This is a new 'policy' decision that might well drive you crazy during development. Please review the assumptions in dmWebHub.pas and adjust the defaults for your development circumstances.

property UrlDivider:char

Added property and made small changes made in the url logic including the runner (runner not shipping yet) to allow creation of urls which use '/'s in place of ':'s in webhub URLs. This will be of immediate use to people running with the Coolness Layer.

Fix for errors-on-exit v1.770 9 August 1999

For anyone who downloaded prior to August 9, edit ht\lib32\htwebapp.pas and move this line

  DestroyAppHandlers;

out of finalization and into the app's destructor like this:

destructor ThtWebApp.Destroy;
begin
  //Destroy the take-over lists
  //to reconnect the handlers taken over. This prevents gpfs that
  //might happen if objects subscribed are now also being freed.
  DestroyAppHandlers;
  inherited Destroy;
end;

This fix is being incorporated into the shipping files now.

In the WebHub VCL

TWebCommandLine v1.77 Changed to check if hub-notifications are due at the end of each request. (The update interval remains at 1.5 seconds betwen notifications). This prevents applications from dropping of the connected panel!
At present this has a nasty side-effect that requires you to manually delete the application's entry from the hub-connected panel every time that you change AppID's.

TWebStoreList extended v1.77

Several procedures were added to simplify coding against this ultrafast stringlist derivative. These are

• procedure AddStrings(Strings: TStrings); override;
  prior versions required you to add strings one by one or risk having the object pointer which is ususally used to track the hash-value of the stored string go out of date. This override respects all settings of the list and closes that loophole.
• function AssertString(const Text:String):Integer;
  makes sure a string exists in the list and returns the position.
• function StringByHash(Value:Integer):String;
  and function StringByObject(Value:TObject):String;
  make it easy to access a string by hash or object. A blank string is returned if nothing is found.

WpeEdit- Editor Base Class v1.770

The editor base class previously contained an inilink and a restorer, both of which were removed at run-time when they promoted themselves above those of the main forms.

If you use a plain Delphi form in a WebHub project, and you don't have a restorer component, then the editors (e.g. HTML|Files panel) will no longer be able to remember their positions. Add one restorer/inilink combo to your main form to remedy this.

If you are using ht\htfrm\whMain.pas then no changes are required.

TWebDBListBox v1.770

Fixed a small bug that prevented the selected item from highlighting. Thanks Seth Wagoner for the report.

TwhBrowserInfo v1.77

ExpireWithPragmaNocache was not recognizing IE5 leading to %=Exires|-1=% failing to create pages that properly expired between browser versions.

AnchorInQueryString

TWebOutput.KeepCookiesOnBounce:Boolean v1.77

This new property (default:True) will retain all headers present at the time that WebOutput.SendBounceTo is called, and, altering only the status code force the browser to redirected. it might be used like this:

pWebApp.AddCookie(..); //add first cookie
pWebApp.AddCookie(..); //add second cookie
pWebApp.WebOutPut.SendBounceTo(pWebApp.Jump['There','Command]);

TWebOutput, file sharing and usage improved v1.770

Files are now opened such that they may be shared-for-reading by other processes, such as web servers and editors.

This helps the exporting routines, and means that TWebOutput.Open no longer throws an exception just because Microsoft IIS has a read-lock on the file.

TWebDCom fix v1.772

DoExecute procedure fixed so that result is only calculated once. Make this change yourself in ht\lib32\webdcom.pas:

procedure TWebDCom.DoExecute;
var
  a1:string;
begin
  inherited DoExecute;
  if lowercase(Command)='free' then
    Free
  else begin
    a1:=getResultText;
    if assigned(WebOutput) then
      WebOutput.Send(a1);
    end;
end;

This fixes makes the counter example count by-1 instead of by-2, among other things. The fix is to your web application (recompile with above fix), not to the counter app itself.

Renamed for Delphi 5 compatibility v1.770

• TWebBrowser renamed to TwhBrowserLink.
• TWebOutput.WebBrowser renamed to TWebOutput.BrowserLink.
• TWebHtmlMemo.WebBrowser renamed to TWebHtmlMemo.BrowserLink.
• TWebBrowserFileProperty renamed to TwhBrowserLinkFileProperty.

In the Forms and Datamodules

appMain.pas and appMaiDB.pas obsolete v1.770

If you were using these units in your projects, save your copy.

We have discontinued AppMain and AppMaiDB in favor of the combination of whMain, dmWebHub and a datamodule with an application object.

whMain.pas v1.77

New icons to indicat five application states in color, in the tray The standard main form, now changes the tray icon to indicate which of the following states the application is in:

1. PARKED - in the tray - Transparent
2. BUSY - serving surfers - Yellow
3. PING - serving surfer #1000-1010, presumably a web site monitoring robot - Green
4. STOPPED - suspended or disconnected from The Hub - Red
5. RESTORED - form is open on the screen - Blue

Sample resource files are included in ht\lib32:

• whAppIco.ico -- great icons for you to use
• whAppIco.res -- same in a resource file; reference in your DPR
• whAppDpr.res -- copy this to myproject.res for your MAINICON if you want the WebHub shell logo.

dmWebHub.pas v1.770

Removed UpdateMenu, UnUpdateMenu and InitMenuAndTitle procedures. If you have your own custom app-datamodule, you will need to remove calls to these procedures that had been in ht\htfrm\dmWebHub.pas.

If you get errors on opening any datamodules that say the WebIniFileLink component is gone, choose the "remove" option and then save and reopen your project.

Commandline parameter changes:

The "/active" and "/inactive" parameters are no longer implemented. They have been replaced by the new "NoHub" parameter. "NoHub" should be passed if you want your application to start with twebcommandline.usewebhub set to False, which disconnects the application from the Hub and lets you update/edit W-HTML on WinNT, Win95 and Win98.

dmWebHub.pas, htWebApp.pas, webSend.dcu v1.771

Fixed problem where refreshing the app would throw an exception and make the process unavailable to the Hub. The Hub's connected panel would show MAILISAPI HELO instead of the process name and AppID.

This means remove refresh via %=htwebapp.refresh=% works now too.

Fixed GPF on exit problem for people who had used additional app event handlers, e.g. whMail panel.

dmWhApp.pas and dmWHDBAp.pas v1.770

Changed the settings of the instantiated WebApp components away from the component defaults in order to optimize for running single module, single instance applications 'out of the box'. Here is what we did:

• TheAppIDSave= False -- prevent initializing to appid='AppID'
• tpOptions= [tpUpdateOnGet] -- do not updateonload (not until you lock in an appid)
• BuiltInsEnabled= False -- disable the builtin pages
• ShareSessions= False -- select in-memory sessions
• ShareByFile= False

To override, put values into the app's INI file, e.g.

[TWebApp.Defaults]
CgiUseHandle=true
ShareSessions=true
ShareByFile=true

The demos all have overrides in the INI files.

WebHub Lite does not support CgiUseHandle or CgiHideHandle.

Control TheAppID from the DPR v1.770

Support for /ID has been removed from dmWebHub.pas.

If you use the /ID parameter, use this example code to control the Application ID from the DPR:

uses
  webapp, ucString, uCode;  // add these 3 units if you don't already have them 
//
  with pWebApp do begin
    AppID:=DefaultsTo(ParamString('ID'),'dbEdit');
    Refresh;
    end;

btw.. the INI file used by the app can be controlled using the '/APPINI=' parameter to make it independent of Hub|Edit Setups

As-service, no exit feature fixed v1.770

If you use the as-service units (which is simple to do.. request source files by email and list ScvApp.pas in the project's uses clause right after Forms.pas) and compile your application with utTrayFm, the application will not terminate unless stopped with NET STOP or through the Services panel. This prevents logged-in users from accidentally exiting the application.

One liners.. v1.77

fmDecode.pas renamed to whDecode.pas for Consistency

fixed bug where suspend message was reversed in old datamodule

updated default file extension list in editor dropdown (added .whtm)

fixed double-click on restorer gpf, both in restorer and tpaction

fixed gpf on edit pages

fixed gpf on unloading tpack?0/whub?0 packages!

Need to know! v1.770

The example code for TWebCommandline.OnBadPageID in dmWebHub.pas has been polished and you have to read this slowly to believe it. It enables you to 'JUMP TO A MACRO'.. the macro will run and the example code will bounce you back to the page you just came from. Got that? Use this concept to TOGGLE BOOLEANS! Simply define

mcUseBrowserCheck=%=TOGGLE|_bCheckBrowser=%

and jump to it! as if it was a page. You can even use the command parameter to parameterize something from there! Immensely useful!

Wizards

WebHub Project and Form Wizard v1.770

The wizard was updated to better support the shared WebHub panels and datamodules that install to ht\htfrm.

It now generates the INIT statements automatically, as well as the code to support the /ID parameter, directly from your DPR file.

The project definitions and form descriptions were revised for simplicity and clarity. Try the "full project", it'll give you a complete WebHub application with all panels in just a few seconds.

The wizard file was renamed from whWizard.dll to whWiz##.dll to indicate the version number and provide easier compatibility for people using more than one version of Delphi on their machine.

WebHub HTML Import Wizard v1.770

This is a separate free download.

This wizard was updated August 7, 1999.