WebHub Object Pascal Components

Delphi 6 not supported v2.106
WebHub v2.104 was the last build compiled for Delphi 6.
We are not supporting Delphi 6 any more because it has $IFDEF...$ENDIF but not $IF...$IFEND. The latter is a more powerful syntax which allows multiple criteria ... which is very much needed for multi platform support. The cost of code maintenance is simply too high.
We recommend that owners of Delphi 6 upgrade to Delphi 7 or Delphi 2007 or the latest Unicode version of Delphi. Talk to your local Delphi sales rep for pricing deals (there usually are some). You should qualify for upgrade pricing.
TPack MultiTypeApp refactored v2.105
If you have compiled services with earlier code, please uninstall your old service, compile the new one, and then install the new one. It will not work without uninstalling and reinstalling.
MultiTypeApp logic was simplified and code supporting different work modes was extracted into new units:
  • MultiTypeAppCon.pas console (think linux daemon)
  • MultiTypeAppGUI.pas graphical user interface (normal windows app, or linux with appropriate desktop)
  • MultiTypeAppSvc.pas windows service
When running as a service, use TtpProject. In TtpProject's event for creating forms, call Application.MainForm.Visible := Application.IsUIEnabled; // requires tpProj
Instead of EnableGUI (deprecated) function it is possible to call {M}Application.IsUIEnabled method.
ForceEnableGUI and ForceForceGUI (deprecated) functions no longer do anything and remain just for compilation compatibility.
Specific service application functions have been removed from {M}Application and now accessible from SvcApplication variable (when PREVENTSVCMGR is not defined).
By default, standard application is started in GUI mode. The following command line keys are available, although WebHub users can control these features more easily by setting flags in the application-level config file:
  • /minimize - minimize (default action)
  • /show and /restore - show application window
  • /hide - completely hide application (including tray icon).
Default start behavior (minimize to tray) can be changed in application settings.
In service mode all parameters defined during installation are available on next service starts. For example, the following commands sequence installs and starts service with appid=adv: 
ServiceApp /install /appid=adv
net start ServiceApp
Parameters values set in net start have higher priority than installation parameters
If you always want to see a GUI for your service, install with the /debug parameter, i.e. 
ServiceApp /install /appid=adv /debug
However, in v2.105 and v2.106, as-service, there are exceptions when you stop the service.
tpProj.pas was modified to correspond with MultiTypeApp. Now code has no need for conditional compilation directives depending on mode.
Regarding GUI separation, ExtCtrl (TTimer) unit usages still remains. Probably the timer will be removed from this unit completely/soon. Right now, it is used for service name checks (related to /num parameter).
TtpProject.TrueProjectStart now calls CoInitialize to support TADOQuery and other components that use COM. This feature was included in WebHub 1 through 2.064. If you are not using COM, you could comment out the call to CoInitialize. The way this is being done will be different in v2.107.
As-Service v2.106
Forms and data modules are constructed in main thread using TThread.Synchronize method now. CoInitialize is not needed any more, because it is called automatically in the main thread. There are no errors during service termination in standard application now.
Service is always installed with GUI support. It is not used by default, but tray and form appears if /debug parameter is specified. The /debug parameter can be used in net start command. It can also be used at the moment of installing the service, and then the GUI will be always enabled.
If any of the events called by TtpProject set Continue to False, the service does not "start successfully." This means that you can cause a fatal error, for example, if the database is unavailable and you do not want your service to run at all.
If your WebHub application has access violations when it stops, see whether you have code in the On-Stop event of TtpProject, and if so, make sure that none of that is trying to reference objects which might already be nil (especially pWebApp).
TtpProject.OnStartupComplete event added v2.106
In WebHub apps, this event can be used to remove a cover page (which was in place during startup), regardless of whether a GUI is active.
TtpProject strings added v2.106
You may use the Identifier and Item strings in any way.
Identifier is Published, so you can save it to your DFM.
Item is a Public string.
The WebHub demos use the Identifier to hold the pWebApp.AppID and the Item to hold the Cover Page filespec.
whsample_EvtHandlers.pas improved slightly v2.105
WebAppUpdate: begin/end added
NewSession handler: improved slightly
BadBrowser handler: added assertion, improved slightly
dmWHApp.pas, dmwhBDEApp.pas improved re automatic menu v2.106
The special action lists in those datamodules now connect themselves to the app, central info and connection components at runtime, which avoids the need for storing dozens of actions in the DFM and makes the files more likely to upgrade (in the future, when verbs change) without any modification.
Improvements for Surfers using a Proxy v2.106
Request.XForwardedFor will contain the real ip number - if the proxy provides it.
Request.ProxyName will contain the proxy's name - if provided.
Session.SessionFirstIP will contain the XForwardedFor information (if non-blank), else the usual RemoteAddress.
When a proxy is in use and is providing XForwardedFor, Request.RemoteAddress will be the address of the Proxy.
The OnBadIP event now respects XForwardedFor and will not bounce a surfer as long as the Proxy is correctly sending the XForwardedFor information.
GUI separated by unit v2.106
We are still working on separating all code which requires (Q)Forms into its own unit.
Separation complete: 
- tpList
  - tpListGUI
- webList
  - webListGUI
- webIList
  - webIListGUI
- updateOK
  - updateOKGUI
Change uses clause in interface of forms from updateOK to updateOK{non-gui}, updateOKGUI
Change calls to UpdateEditor to GUI.UpdateEditor e.g. Pages.GUI.UpdateEditor
Change 
with pWebApp, Tekeros do
  with TpaAppChunks(EditingInControl.Tag) do
to 
// uses webListGUI
with Tekeros, TwhStringListGUI.GetGUI(Tekeros) do
  with TpaAppChunks(EditingInControl.Tag) do
This is very rare; if you have UpdateEditor in your *.pas files, change 
    pWebApp.Tekeros.GUI.UpdateEditor;
to 
  with pWebApp, Tekeros, TwhStringListGUI.GetGUI(Tekeros) do
    UpdateEditor;
Remove GUIShowResponse = outQuick from DFM files (unlikely that you would have this).
Refactored units: 
- tpUIBase
- tpAction
  - tpActionGUI
Search for TtpVCLAction in DFM files and delete any nested TtpVCLAction objects.
Search for TtpVCLAction in PAS files and delete any specific app-actions such as app_Properties1: TtpVCLAction;
GUI separated further v2.107
Separation complete: 
- ucDlgs
  - ucDlgsGUI
- webColl
  - webCollGUI
- webInfoU
  - webInfoUGUI
- tpApplic
  - tpApplicGUI
- webBrows
  - webBrowsGUI
- htmlCore
  - htmlCoreGUI
- webSend
  - webSendGUI
- WebBase
  - WebBaseGUI
- cgiServ
  - cgiServGUI
- webSplat
  - webSplatGUI
Units below were updated to correspond with the changes: 
- xtension
- webCall
- webCore
- webPage
- webRead
- wpcList
- MultiTypeApp
- MultiTypeAppCon
- MultiTypeAppGUI
- MultiTypeAppSvc
- restorer
- xtension
In uses clauses for *.pas of forms but not datamodules, change tpApplic to tpApplic{non-gui}, tpApplicGUI.
Search string for use with FuzRegex: tpApplic[\s,;]
Fixed issue with remote refresh v2.106
Remote Refresh led to an access violation in v2.106. Fixed in the webSend unit.
INPUTTEXTAREA no longer reports warning for blank data v2.106
Previously, if you called INPUTTEXTAREA|sample, and the sample textarea was empty, and you were logging errors or showing errors in the summary, you would see a warning about the empty data... which was unfair.
ucDlgsGUI unit: list in DPR for standalone projects v2.106+
If you were using ucDlgs for AskQuestionYesNo or other important messages, add ucDlgsGUI to the uses list in your DPR. Otherwise, ucDlgsGUI will not be linked into your EXE (this is a feature) and the messages will never appear (this can be a big problem for end-users!).
As-Service: improved v2.108
Confirmed: you can create a service using MultiTypeApp and without using TtpProject. There are more features if you use TtpProject however. In particular, the feature of getting the Service Name from the version resource is done by TtpProject.
Restorer: massively improved v2.108
Each TutParentForm (panel) can opt in or out of the Restorer behavior.
The following are probably worth overriding if you write your own panels: 
    function RestorerActiveHere: Boolean; virtual;
    function RestorerPartialXPath: string; virtual;
    procedure Save(InRestorer: TFormRestorer); virtual;
    procedure Load(InRestorer: TFormRestorer); virtual;
    procedure DetachOnStartup(InRestorer: TFormRestorer); virtual;
If you had code such as the following (to disable the restorer in earlier versions), you can delete it to try the restorer in version 2.108. 
    if Assigned(fmWebHubMainForm.Restorer) then
    begin
      fmWebHubMainForm.Restorer.Flags := [];  // disable for v2.098 
    end;
WebHub New-Project Wizard v2.108
DPR no longer includes ForceEnableGUI (as it is no longer required for quick WebHub apps).
AppPanel.pas includes the methods that you would most likely want to override to use the restorer features. Therefore, if you create a new panel using the WebHub Wizard and select the AppPanel.pas unit, you will have those immediately available.
WebHub with Rubicon
WebHub is fully compatible with Rubicon. You can install the free trial version of Rubicon v3.036+ into a machine which already has WebHub installed. During installation, be sure to install the webRubi unit, which is a webaction to help you display Rubicon results in a WebHub application.
TtpProject; setting var Continue: Boolean to False v2.108
An underlying issue has been fixed in utThread such that you can now set the boolean Continue := False; in any of your OnCreate... handlers on TtpProject, and the project will stop loading, and your code in the Event Handler for OnError will be called.
SetLocalVar command now supports parentils around value v2.108
The appvers example shows sample usage. See AppVersion.whteko, which installs with the runtime system.
MultiTypeAppSvc serious bug fixed v2.109
Application.Handle must not equal 0 when used with WebHub. Ever.
Stop/Start v2.109
You can now call {M}Application.Terminate to stop a MultiTypeApp running as a normal application or as a Windows service.
Output panel shows output v2.109
It had not been showing output in v2.108.
GUI, as-service tray icon fix v2.109
This issue has been fixed: if whLite (any webhub app) is started by hub (invisible, as service), its form shows but there is no tray icon. When form is minimized, gui is gone completely.
Load of non-Western chars in .whteko: fix v2.109
We retested the loading, display and overall processing of non-Western character data in the .whteko files and that is working fine now.
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The Hub, WebHubAdmin, ZMAdmin

Older Hub service must be uninstalled v2.105
If you are working on a machine which already had a Hub, please run hub.exe -uninstall to uninstall the Hub service BEFORE installing WebHub Runtime v2.105. Or, if you did not see this note soon enough, you can actually use the new hub.exe and do the same thing from a command prompt: -uninstall then -install.
Hub more responsive v2.106
Initial tests show the Hub service works better than v2.104 in terms of being able to detect previously-running WebHub apps immediately after it has been restarted.
Hub: no error on Win2003 server shutdown v2.107
One customer reports that a long-time problem of error-on-shutdown of Win2003 has gone away with this edition.
WebHubAdmin: fewer startup/exit errors v2.108
Improvements in the restorer base classes make WebHubAdmin run more smoothly.
EXEs and DLLs now code-signed v2.108
The WebHub Runtime Setup, the Hub, ZMAdmin, WebHubAdmin, and the runner files are now all code-signed by HREF Tools Corp. in order to make them more Vista-friendly.
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WebHub Runners

Working on 64-bit runner v2.107
The following changes were made to facilitate compilation in Free Pascal. Some additional IFDEFs have been introduced in the source units indicated. 
- apiMail: include path fix. TCriticalSection is a standard FPC class - changed to SyncObjs.TCriticalSection
- apiStatRunner: include path fix.
- cgiConst: include path fix. CGIWIN.RES resources duplication with standard fpc-res.res
- httpext: include path fix. 
- isaWriteRunner: linked JwaWinNetWk unit
- NativeXml: procedure properties fixes. Removed Graphics usage.
- tpObservers: fixed
- tpSyncObjs: ported to FPC
- ucPos: ported to FPC
- ucShell: Application -> {M}Application
- utIPCObj: ported to FPC
- utThread: procedure properties fixes.
- whcfg_Runner: include path fix.
- whutil_ZaphodsMap: GetEnvironmentVariable -> SysUtils.GetEnvironmentVariable
- ZaphodsMap: GetEnvironmentVariable -> SysUtils.GetEnvironmentVariable
ISAPI runner for 64-bit IIS v2.108
This runner exists and is included in WebHub Runtime v2.108.
Here is the line that you can put into a BAT file to toggle IIS into 64-bit mode (it is a double-negative, you are saying "do NOT run in 32-bit mode on this 64-bit computer." 
cscript %SYSTEMDRIVE%\inetpub\adminscripts\adsutil.vbs SET W3SVC/AppPools/Enable32bitAppOnWin64 0
Less logging when peer closes connection v2.108
This message, "WriteClient wrote X bytes and it was asked to write Y bytes," is not a serious error as long as X equals Y, and will no longer be logged.
 
 
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