bBrowser for WPF?

ic2 · Post by **ic2** » Wed Aug 02, 2017 10:31 pm

Is anyone using a browser for WPF forms with the same capabilities of bBrowser? I have found browsers in components of companies like Infragistics, Telerik or Devexpres, all costing $ 1000- over $2000 per license. I'd say there would be a huge market for a WPF bBrowser even if Joachim would offer that at higher prices than the current VO/Vulcan bBrowsers. Or are there other alternatives?

PS: I won't be around much in the forum - although I acknowledge the fact that we can do more useful layout things like :cheer: I dislike

the sorting of replies from new to old, the fact that I don't have the messages off line and searchable on my Pc when I travel :unsure: and the fact that it takes 5 seconds before anything happens :woohoo: .
But that's the new era I guess: everything is slower and less efficient than it used to be and judging from the number of messages here and in the NG, the forum won :S
Dick

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Wed Aug 02, 2017 10:45 pm

Hi Dick,

Yeah, I also still much prefer the good old newsgroups! But I can't deny that the web forum has it's own advantages, too..

About WPF browsers I know there are many people here that can give you good advice on it.

Chris

wriedmann · Post by **wriedmann** » Thu Aug 03, 2017 3:42 am

Hi Dick,

I don't think that you will find a control like bBrowser in WPF. bBrowser works very well with DBFs, and I have my doubts that many people will use DBFs (or other positional databases) with WPF.
In my Winforms applications, I had used iGrid.NET (10tec.com/winforms-grid/), a very fast control that outperformed the listview even on underpowered tablets, and I have been in contact with the author since then because I liked the idea of such a grid also for WPF. He started the development and has paused it because he had seen too few interest in it.
iGrid is a lowcost and high speed grid, and I liked it very much.

Wolfgang

P.S. for sure, the forum is less efficient than a NG, but it has many advantages, not only the emoticons (wich I don't use even on Whatsapp), and I can read and answer even from my phone when I'm out of office.

robert · Post by **robert** » Thu Aug 03, 2017 6:47 am

Dick,

The infragistics WPF suite is $ 899 for all the WPF controls. Not $1000 for only a browser control.

Robert

NickFriend · Post by **NickFriend** » Thu Aug 03, 2017 8:05 am

Dick,

As Robert said... I use the DevExpress WPF controls, also $899 or thereabouts for something like 100 controls including fabulous grid (no offence, but it's way better than bBrowser) and a really superb reporting suite. Just with those two it's already competitive with the old VO third party tools.

Why reinvent the wheel.

No problem with the web forum... don't be in such a rush all the time!

Nick

ic2 · Post by **ic2** » Thu Aug 03, 2017 1:11 pm

The client for which we plan to convert it's huge project to X# has many bBrowsers in use and they are satisfied with the current capabilities. So a bBrowser for WPF would be ideal as we can stick to the initialization code. It wouldn't be a big problem if such a control isn't created for DBF; we use ADS and can "feed' it with queries as well.

I can imagine that for vendors like Joachim or iGrid it is difficult to "mass" market a product. I think they still can make money with it. I agree that the specs of the DevExpress controls are impressive but apart from the required rebuilding (which would also be needed when using any standard grid except a 'WPF bBrowser") we may not need the extended functionality (directly). And then I think it's a big difference if we pay 219 euro for a full source code Vulcan bBrowser or $ 899 for DevExpress where, at least to start with, we only need the bBrowser functionality. Or $ 295 for iGrid. Per developer.

DevExpress advertises that their controls emulate the look, feel and capabilities of Microsoft Office. That's bad news. And they write it is very fast, but that's not good either as Nick advises me not to rush;).

But seriously, bottom line is that their isn't a current grid alternative for WPF unless we can have bBrowser capabilities done in DataGrid (which we are investigating). If we need to rewrite all our browser anyway the $ 899 is of course only a part of the costs.

Apart from that the product looks great so if I am ready to rewrite and add more functionality it may be a good choice. What we need to find out if it supports HTML editing with spell checker, also for UWP (which would require the DXperience version of $1,499.99)

Thanks for your reactions - if I have any news I'll let you know.

Dick

wriedmann · Post by **wriedmann** » Thu Aug 03, 2017 3:53 pm

Hi Dick,

my migration path is different: none of my customers can afford it to rewrite the complete application from scratch.
Therefore most of my applications will be moved in this manner:
- first migrate the complete application to X# using the VO GUI classes
- when the application works, replace the shell window and the menu with WinForms shell and menu
- afterwards rewrite important or new windows in WinForms

WPF applications are too different even from their concept, so I don't think it will be possible to move a VO application to WPF without a complete rewrite.

Wolfgang

NickFriend · Post by **NickFriend** » Thu Aug 03, 2017 4:02 pm

Wolfgang Riedmann wrote: WPF applications are too different even from their concept, so I don't think it will be possible to move a VO application to WPF without a complete rewrite.

I agree. This is what we have done.

Nick

FFF · Post by **FFF** » Thu Aug 03, 2017 6:08 pm

Nick Friend wrote:I agree. This is what we have done.

Well, i may comment, as i'm seeing this from a double role - as the developer of code/app AND as it's own "customer".

The point is, and i suspect Wolfgang's customers will see this similiary: what do i get from a rewrite? Is there really a unsolvable/unpayable problem with the old codebase which hit's me as an entreprise hard enough to justify the amount of time and money? My job as "customer" is keeping me in business and make a netto gain, not play with shiny gadgets or tell the world how "advanced" i am

.
YMMV...

Karl

wriedmann · Post by **wriedmann** » Thu Aug 03, 2017 6:32 pm

Hi Karl,

I have basically 2 types of applications
- standard applications that are used by more customers, like invoicing and accounting. I plan to rewrite the most important of them in WPF and with a SQL database.
- customer applications. These are written and maintained for only one customer, and the largest of them are enhanced at least weekly. I have requests that I cannot fullfill with pure VO, and some of them already have X# COM modules for some functionalities. Some requests can be done only with WinForms and/or WPF, but the remainder of the application will remain "old" VO code.

Then are brand new applications - these will be written in X# Core and WPF. The Door Configurator was the first one, the AdWords Reporting will be the next.

And I have a myriad of small helper applications, command line or single window programs, or even Windows services. Some of them will be rewritten or simply recompiled with X# and adapted to use .NET functionalities.

Wolfgang

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