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WEST COAST WEB ADVENTURES, INC. NEWSLETTER - Vol #1, Issue #3, November 28, 2001
Online version at: http://www.WestCoastWebAdventures.com/news/news11282001.txt
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Visit http://www.WestCoastWebAdventures.com for additional information, to add
your two sense, or to unsubscribe from this newsletter.
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Contents
  - About this Newsletter
  - Cool Tools: FGL Programming Guide
  - Case Study: Online Insurance Rating
  - Working with Code: Object Database Storage
  - FGL Tips: The SESSION Object
  - This Week's Referral: DOWNLOAD.COM

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About this Newsletter
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First, a special thanks to all those users that have exhibited extreme patience
with our efforts. 

This newletter was created as a free resource by West Coast Web Adventures for 
people interested in providing themselves with more control of their web 
presence, software development, and overall computer experience.

It is published via email once or twice per month, more or less, as the 
opportunity and need arises. We hope that users of all experience levels will 
get something out of each issue.

The newsletter is published in-house by West Coast Web Adventures staff 
members, but outside content contributions are always welcome. Contact the 
webmaster if you have something to contribute.


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COOL TOOLS: FGL Programming Guide
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OK, so it's taken a while, but the entire FGL programming guide is now 
available online. This represents all of the documentation necessary to start
programming in the FGL environment, or to create extremely advanced web-based
applications.

The online guide includes the following sections:

    Introduction
    A Brief History of the FGL Language
    Language Features
    Platforms and System Requirements
    The Virtual Machine
    Variables and Data Types
    Global, Static, and Local Variables
    Data Conversion
    Arrays
    Operators
    Functions and Procedures
    The "Main" Function
    Flow Control
    Database Programming
    Ini Files
    Low-level File Manipulation
    Code-blocks & Macro Expansion
    Object Oriented Programming
    Active Pages
    Task Management
    Debugging Your Program
    Error Handling
    Error Messages
    The SYSCLASS library
    FGL Programming Utilities
    Extending FGL with Dynamic Link Libraries
    License and Distribution Agreement

Access the online FGL documentation from the developer's section of the West
Coast web site, then click on the FGL documentation link followed by the 
LANGUAGE link. You can also access the guide directly at:

	http://www.westcoastwebadventures.com/fgl/Language/index.htm

The individual function documentation is still in the process of being 
converted to the web. Thanks for your patience during this process. Let us
know if we can help with specific questions in the mean time.


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CASE STUDY: Online Insurance Rating
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The insurance industry has been slow to embrace the technology revolution that 
the web has created. Many sites that offer online quotes amount to not much 
more than fill-in forms that generate consolidated email requests.

The process of creating a quote involves selecting the desired product category
and applicable geographic region, gathering information about the user and 
relevant item to be insured, then performing various look-ups and calculations
in order to deliver an accurate quote.

In order for this process to be efficient, only information required to 
generate the quote should actually be gathered. Likewise, the reward for 
providing the information and going through the process should be an 
instantaneous result. That is, the quote should be delivered immediately.

From a prgramming perspective, this overall process can be broken down into
several areas. First, the user is instructed to select the product line and 
region in which to quote. Second, a form is presented that requests the minimum
information necessary to generate the quote. Following submittal of the form,
a validation routine checks the input and prompts for correction if applicable.

Once the data has been validated, the process of look-up and calculation is 
performed to determine the rating information. Usually this involves accessing
rate tables, regional factors, underwriting rules, and a host of other 
components.

Finally, the resultant information is formatted into an actual quote and 
returned to the user in theform of an HTML file.

This entire process can easily be implmented using the dynamic content delivery
vehicle found in Active Pages. Ongoing modifications and maintenance are 
simplified through the use of integrated object technology.

Visit an implementation of an online insurance rater at the following web
address:

	http://208.60.0.61/insmgmt/oem/asic/hoflams.htm


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WORKING WITH CODE: Object Database Storage
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Traditonal database architectures provide fixed-length fields for storage of 
specific data elements. This works fine for instances where the data to store
is known in advance and each element's length is predetermined. Changing the
database, however, involves altering its internal structure, and fixed-length
fields tend to waste LOTS of space.

Variable length database structures provide provide many benefits over fixed-
length structures, however the price is often significant loss of performance.

One solution is to create a hybrid database structure that employees the best 
components of each structure within a single entity. With FGL, this is possible
by using the built-in database functionality for relational fixed-length 
fields with an associated BLOB field to store the variable length components. 
This is significantly enhanced through the use of objects as an interface to
the database.

For example, consider a contacts database. Basic information such as First
and last name can be used for high-speed access by using the relational 
portion of the structure, while additional information can be added at will
through an object component that utilizes the BLOB functionality of FGL.

The database structure might look like this:

	local db_struct = {
	
		{ "FNAME", "C", 20, 0 },
		{ "LNAME", "C", 30, 0 },
		{ "DATA", "B", 20, 0 }
	}
	
	dbCreate( filename, db_struct )
	
This will create a database identified by FILENAME containing three fixed-
length fields: FNAME, LNAME, and DATA. The DATA field will be created as
a BLOB field which stores variable length data in an associated .BLB file.

Then, you can use an object wrapper as an interface to the database, as in:

/////////////////////////////////
// Object Database Source Code //
/////////////////////////////////

CLASS myContacts
  PUBLIC:
	local dbfile, dbindex, delim
  	local fname, lname
  	local addr, city, state, zip, country
 
	METHOD new( )
		::dbfile = 'c:\data\contacts.db'
		::dbindex = 'c:\data\contacts.dx'
		::delim = chr( 1 )
		::init( )
		return( 1 )
	END
	
	METHOD init( )
		::fname = ""
		::lname = ""
		::addr = ""
		::city = ""
		::state = ""
		::zip = ""
		::country = ""
		return( 1 )
	END
	
	METHOD open( )
		dbopen( ::dbfile, "db" )
		db->dbOpenIndex( ::dbindex )
		return( 1 )
	END
	
	METHOD close( )
		db->dbClose( )
		return( 1 )
	END

	METHOD append( )
		db->dbAppend( )
		return( 1 )
	END
	
	METHOD seek( key )
		db->dbSeek( key )
		return( db->dbFound( ) )
	END
	
	METHOD Get( key )
		::fname = db->fname
		::lname = db->lname
		::unpack( db->data )
		return( 1 )
	END
	
	METHOD Set( key )
		db->fname = ::fname
		db->lname = ::lname
		db->data = ::pack( )
		return( 1 )
	END
	
	METHOD pack( )
		local str
		str = addr + ::delim + city + ::delim + state + ::delim
		str += zip + ::delim + country
		return( str )
	END

	METHOD unpack( data )
		::addr = strextract( data, ::delim, 1 )
		::city = strextract( data, ::delim, 2 )
		::state = strextract( data, ::delim, 3 )
		::zip = strextract( data, ::delim, 4 )
		::country = strextract( data, ::delim, 5 )
		return( 1 )
	END

END

////////////////////
// End of Listing //
////////////////////

The key to this example is the PACK and UNPACK methods. They are used to 
convert object data into linear data so that it can be stored in and extracted
from the BLOB field.

Using the above code, the following example can be used to access the data:

	// create an instance of the object
	obj = new( "myContacts" )

	// open the database
	obj.open( )
	
	// update the object variables
	obj.fname = "Steve"
	obj.lname = "Repetti"
	obj.addr = "123 East West Highway"
	obj.city = "Mission Viejo"
	obj.state = "CA"
	obj.zip = "92691"
	
	// add ablank record
	obj.append( )
	
	// store the object variables in the database
	obj.set( )	
	
	// close the database
	obj.close( )

This method not only makes accessing your data easier, by the information 
stored requires significantly less space than fixed-length architectures.
Also, it is extremely easy to add additional fields to the database without
changing its defined structure.


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FGL TIPS: The SESSION Object
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Web development is highly simplified through the use of the SESSION object 
contained in the SYSCLASS library. This binary library is automatically 
available to any Active Page and provides a number of web-related features, 
the most promminant being the SESSION object.

The SESSION object can be used to access server details, current user 
information, and data passed to a page using web forms.

For example:

<[
	// create a session object
	session = new( "session", param( 1 ), param( 2 ) )
	
	// determine the name of the current web server
	server = session.data( "SERVER_NAME" )

	// determine the web port used
	port = session.data( "SERVER_PORT" )
	
	// Get the client host name
	// which can be used for dynamic routing
	// and virtual hosting
	host = session.data( "CLIENT_HOST" ) 

	// Get data passed through a web form
	fname = session.var( "fname" )
	lname = session.var( "lname" )
	age = 0 + session.var( "age" )

]>

This example first creates a session object. The parameter statements passed
the object the server ID and a unique session ID. Then, various internal server
information is extracted using the DATA method. Finally, information passed to
the page via a web form is extracted with the VAR method. Examine the SERVER.AP
file located in the \sdweb\home\system directory for additional examples.


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THIS WEEK'S REFERRAL: DOWNLOAD.COM
===============================================================================

Looking for a file or application available for immediate download from the 
net? Then C|NET's DOWNLOAD.COM probably has it.

The site features an easy to use interface, fast search, and independent user
comments for each download. Software is organized by category or can be 
accessed directly through the site's search engine.


    See for yourself at: http://www.download.com


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This newsletter is the copyrighted material of West Coast Web Adventures, Inc.
(c) 2001 by West Coast Web Adventures, Inc., All Rights Reserved.
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