There still seems to be a steep learning curve when it comes to Sybase’s PowerBuilder. In this specific case, PB11 is no easier.
What *I* personally would like to see is:
- step by step online tutorials to create a multitude of projects – from simple ‘hello world’ applications to database connected applications to .NET to AJAX enabled .NET web apps
- online videos for the new and experienced developers rather than just feature highlights
- more books… from the “Beginning PowerBuilder 11″ (perhaps a ‘for Dummies’ series type book) to super advanced PB11
- more podcasts ( take a look at Meet the Gimp for example format )
- PowerBuilder gallery of open source and commercial PB applications (please don’t just point to the abomination known as codexchange) and online pb communities
- A better tiered licensing model: Free version (take a look at Microsoft’s VB Express for a model of what should be included for free), Student (K-university) edition, Professional / Small Business, Enterprise. There should be NO feature differences between the student and enterprise editions – the only difference should be in what PB can be used for (licensing).
- Open source & hobby-ist development should be actively promoted to help rebuild the PB community
Can anyone think of anything else to help new developers learn PowerBuilder?
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I could not agree with this MORE… There is a conspicuous absence of Powerbuilder learning material for beginners. I have many great C, C+, C#, and Objective C books that teach C from “HELLO WORLD” to a complete working application. Where are the Powerbuilder equivalents?
I have been on countless Powerbuilder courses… Powerbuilder Boot Camp, Powerbuilder Best Coding Practices, Advanced Powerbuilder Techniques, Powerbuilder Conferences… and every single course I’ve been to ends up being a sales pitch for the next release. No course offered by Sybase teaches basic programming techniques – teaching time is too valuable to waste on basic concepts. Every book in our Powerbuilder library assumes a basic understanding of Powerbuilder. What if you don’t have a basic understanding of Powerbuilder? Where do you go?
I don’t disagree that there is a shortage of entry-level material for Powerbuilder. That being said, I fail to see the steep learning curve for the product. We have a number of non-techies here that are capable of designing and developing reports, forms, and simple bug fixes, all without coming from a programming background. I can’t say that about .NET, Java, Perl, etc.
There really needs to be some higher-end information like you mention though – AJAX, .NET integration, web forms, etc. I haven’t found much in the way of PFC resources that I’m happy with either. Maybe some of us need to put our heads together and come up with a viable solution to this?
can you tell me major difference between powerbuilder 9.0 and powerbuilder 11.0
Selvakumar,
Take a look at the “Technical Resources” tab on http://www.sybase.com/products/development/powerbuilder
The differences between Powerbuilder 9 and 11 are quite numerous. If you want all the details, review the “What’s new in Powerbuilder” manuals at http://sybooks.sybase.com
hope this helps
Jason L. Froebe