This was not just an exercise for the world of blogs, I had a specific business need. I have two projects that are nearing the point of needing to be on public servers. The rewrite of pcReminder.com and a new project called theTaxCure.com. I use RackSpace for all my VPS hosting and the two factors that have the most impact on pricing in the new Cloud economy is Ram and Licensing. So with pcSoft’s stated support of Linux combined with my great experiences with Linux servers, for both PostgreSQL and non WebDev projects, made Linux and obvious choice for me. I didn’t set out to build both Linux and Windows Servers. So I built a Linux Centos 6.3 Server with 512K of RAM.

So in honor of my beloved Crimson Tide getting ready to play for yet another SEC championship and hopefully National Championship, I will give you the history of the project in Football terms. I find that much of life can be described in those terms.

I love the WinDev/Webdev development environment and have being doing some incredible things in it over the last 2 years. WebDev can create great websites and although the development at times seems more of a challenge than it does with WinDev, I think that has more to do with the ever changing world of web technology than it does the tool. I have done a few web projects with it as either proof of concepts or for other peoples servers, but its time to move move my old Cold Fusion projects over and start on a few new commercial web projects.

So pcSoft kicks off, and it looks good, they offer the WebDev WAS server for Linux or Windows and the price is very good compare to similar solutions (please don’t ask my what my Cold Fusion Licensing was!). Hell I might be able to return this thing for a touchdown right out of the gate!!!

So then I open the Linux Deployment document, which comes as a PDF in the install package. The documentation appears to not have been updated in quite a while considering the Linux Distributions (Distros for all the cool kids) listed are 3 or 4 years old. Further reading of the document shows some very sketchy details when it comes to some of the configurations and security requirements. So tackled on the 50 yard line, but no problem, I am pretty good at Linux these days, have a couple of real geeks in my contact list, and Google is a close friend of mine I can probably figure out, so still feeling good about my chances!

A lot of research, trial and error, Googleing and a couple of Hail Mary’s later I have a Linux WebDev server up and running. Example site provided by pcSoft, up and running and very snappy. Gaining yards and looking to score!!!

So time to grab the proof of concept site I have been working on for theTaxCure.com and upload it to the server. But there’s an issue! Those that know me know that given a choice the back-ends for my projects will likely be PostgreSQL. But after digging around and asking support I find out that although they have they offer a Native PostgreSQL driver, they only offer it for Windows. Never occurred to me that they wouldn’t have a Linux version, after all one of the key selling points of the environment is that it can generated Windows, Web, Mobile and Linux applications from a common code base. And PostgreSQL is open source and native to Linux. But alas they don’t. Incomplete pass.

Second and Ten: Disappointment but not the end of the world, I will go through ODBC. So convert my analysis to use ODBC via OLEDB for PostgreSQL and got it working locally. It was very easy to do, nice Run play. Gain of 6 yards.

Third and Four: More research, more Googleing, and perhaps a live chicken and a candle (I will never tell) later, I have ODBC configured and working on the Linux server. Upload the site and get an error, more digging, check with support. Ah.. can’t do OLEDB on the Linux box, got to do straight ODBC. More research more googleing, and find out that with WebDev (or WinDev for that matter) if you use straight ODBC you can’t use the Hxxxx commands or HExecuteSQL query, instead you have to use the SQLxxxx commands which are very rudimentary and would mean hand coding all data access and remove most of the productivity gains that WebDev gives you. Stopped at the line of scrimmage, no gain on the play.

Fourth and Four: Take a Timeout and consider look at what plays I have in the playbook. Marc of WinDev US did a hell of a job talking convincing me that HyperFileSQL Client/Server is worth another look. Seems like a good time to try it, so I decide to go for the first down… Play Action! Convert my project to HyperFileSQL, was fairly easy, I had to deal with a couple of SQL statements that I had that HyperFileSQL didn’t like but nothing major. It took me less than 30 minutes to convert my project to a different back-end database! Pulled a Flea Flicker and got the first down!

First and Ten: I start testing the site, everything looks good. But then I test “THE REPORT”. The purpose of the site is to produce a very sophisticated financial analysis report. The report is actually over 10 Internal reports, including lots of charts, and customized data based on a number of factors. Basically, “It’s not your daddy’s report”. So when I run the report I get:

Internal error detected by WebDev application server.
Internal Error Code: ReadFile( 4 bytes ) Failed
srcAwp/cgI00.cpp (3410)

Hmmm… That’s helpful (NOT!!!) but kind of sounds like some type of permissions problem. So more research, more Googleing (you are seeing the pattern here right?) but no luck, it doesn’t seem to be a permissions issue. So I start removing Items from the report until I can get it to work. Turns out that that error message was saying “RTF is not supported on Linux”. Don’t know why I didn’t get that error! False Start, 5 yard plenty, repeat First Down.

First and 15: For now I will just take the RTF property off of the controls for now to just get it working and figure out a work around later. But still getting errors on the report. More research, more Googleing. Turns our charts can be used in Linux as long as you have the QT library installed, which I covered in the articles for Linux, but only on screens, you can not put a chart control a report in Linux (why, why, why the distinction?). Quarterback got sack, 10 yard loss.

Second and 25: My own endzone is starting to feel awful close! So I removed the charts from my report just to get some kind of output for testing. Miracle of all miracles, I got a report! But it looks like crap. You guessed it, more research, more Googleing, and turns out you have to use all True Type fonts on your reports and install them on the Linux server if you want your report to look right. Bad Hand Off, Lost 4 more yards.

Third and 29: I decide I will figure out how to install the True Type fonts later, because solving the chart issue is more important. So I decided to hand code the charts, you can’t get them quite as pretty (some properties are not exposed) but they are pretty close. I put an Image control on the report and set the destination of the Draw Chart to the Image Control. Ops, you can’t set the destination to a report control only a screen control. Delay of Game, 5 yard plenty, repeat down.

Third and 34: Taking snaps from my own endzone now! More research, more Googleing. Figure out I can set the destination to an EMF image, and then move that image into the image control on the report. It looks pretty good. Pass over the middle, 10 yard gain.

Forth and 24: Clock is running out, so I decide to go for it. I published to the Linux box and get an error on the report. More … (Ok I won’t say it!). Turns out EMF images are not supported on Linux. So I try setting the destination to a BMP instead, it works but the quality is horrible, I can’t reproduce the quality report that is the purpose of this site. And there you have it, sacked in my own endzone. Safety Game Over.

So that’s how I came to do the entire series of articles again, with a Windows server. Since I was being forced to build a Windows box, I decided I might as well be out on the bleeding edge. So I built a Window 2012 server and used a 64 bit compile of Apache 2.4. Keeping with my approach to the cloud I use the smallest image available (its only a few clicks to increase as you need), which is 1 Gig of RAM.

The documentation for the setup of WebDev WAS on a windows server is better but still not great, but between what I had already learned, the cookbook that Tim from Windev US made available on wxlive.us, and a few left over candles I got it up and running.

• http://doc.windev.com/en-US/?9000115&name=windev-applications-for-linux-limits
• http://doc.windev.com/en-US/?9000078&name=printing-linux
• http://doc.windev.com/en-US/?9000055&name=how_develop_site_for_linux

Or you can ask your Uncle Pete to do a test on his Linux box!