We are in SANE.....

I wanted to announce that the first local users group meeting was held last weekend,  for Sesame. 

We have been meeting quarterly for about 8 years as QANERUG (Q&A New England Regional Users Group).  The Sesame development team came to make a presentation to our group in November 2001.

Unfortunately our first order of business was getting a name.  It was decided to accept Alec's contribution of SANE (Sesame Associates of New England User Group).  Thanks again Alec, your different contributions never end.

So there is now a group of us in New England who are inSANE.  Looking forward to the National meeting.

Link to our web page is: http://www.sensiblesolutions.org/SesameNE.htm    (I know, the page needs some work, I need some time.... )

We are proud to be the first, and waiting to hear about other local groups.  I will provide more information about last weekend's meeting in a few days. 
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For those who have attended, you may remember that we meet in the Salem NH Library basement, across from the Boy's Club.  So it is only fitting that if we are inSANE that we would get together in the ASYLUM (Across from Salem's YMCA, Library Underground Meetings).  ??? --   

Hi Erika....the quick answer is YES, but it is too embarrasing to look at now.  Was created eight years ago using Write with macros in Q&A 4.0.  This was a test of Web Page Development tools, before we had tools like FrontPage, Dreamweaver, etc.  Has not really been maintained, other than announcements of QUNERUG meetings. 

The link that is here: http://www.sensiblesolutions.org/SesameNE.htm  is to a quick and dirty page, copying content from QANERUG page. 

I have also modified the first message to include this link.  Now you are forcing me into working on it this weekend.  Thanks lots  ....

Quote:

It does now......June was reading it while I was editing.
(I was creating the page on the fly with the forum posting).

June was good enough to let us use one of her Q&A databases for training in conversion to Sesame.   

We did not finish, but she is right, we did have FUN in the process.

Please make this change to your calendars:

The SANE meeting originally planned for May 1, 2004, has been rescheduled to Saturday May 15 , in Salem, NH.

Sorry for any inconvenience, but still hope to see many of the Sesame Associates of New England Users' Group, members of QANERUG, and our friends and guests.

Directions and more information available at http://www.sensiblesolutions.org/SesameNE.htm ;

This will be our second quarterly meeting of SANE. 
FREE.....NO FEE....and usually have refreshments too.

Let me know if you can make it there to join us.

Hi Ann.....

It would be good to see you again.

If planning to stay over, the Red Roof Inn has been used by others in the past.  Rooms only, no on-site restaurant.  But I can recommend good eating places, will be glad to join you for meals. 

Details can be worked out that Friday.

This is an excerpt from the email recently sent out to our members.  This meeting is open to everyone!
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SANE (Sesame Associates of New England) is now meeting with QANERUG (Q&A New England Regional Users Group).

Date: Saturday, August 14, 2004.
Time: 9:30 - 4:30
Location: Main Street, Salem, NH.
Site:  Meeting conference room in Kelly Public Library.
Cost: FREE
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Sesame has now been released for over six months, and we are starting to see real applications being made in Sesame.  Some from scratch, some converted from Q&A.

Some of the things we hope to discuss:

1.  Should I translate my Q&A database, just build in Sesame directly?
2.  If I do translate, what steps do I need to take?
3.  Potential problems when doing Reconicle from Designer to Database
4.  Can menus be made to replace the "Tree"s on the left?
5.  Relational vs. "Natural" (hierarchal) designs choices.


Bring a Q&A file with you for translation.  Bring a Sesame file that you have already translated from Q&A.  Bring a Sesame file that you created from scratch.  Bring some Q&A files.  Most of all, bring yourself, your sense of humor, and the desire to explore these databases and have fun at the same time.

If you know of any other users of Q&A / Sesame, copy this email for them and invite them to join us.  See you on Saturday!  Bring your friends and associates, fun for all.  Discuss Sesame, Q&A, general computer hardware, software, and related issues.

RSVP appreciated,

Thanks,

Bob Hansen
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Next meeting will be on Saturday, November 6, 2004.

Browse to http://www.sensiblesolutions.org/SesameNE.htm or http://www.sensiblesolutions.org/qanerug.htm for the latest information on meeting dates and directions to the meeting.

Hi Bob..

We spent the whole day inSANE just covering the first two items:
1.  Should I translate my Q&A database, just build in Sesame directly? 
2.  If I do translate, what steps do I need to take?

Probably did them in reverse order.  We covered the steps to take in Q&A before opening Sesame to translate.  Then used that information as a basis to determine if translating or building was the best option.

Some issues that came up that might be of interest.

1.  Users with Demo version of Sesame were unable to open the applications that were created over 30 days ago.  That has been brought up and discussed in the forum on this past Monday after return from the SANE meeting.  Since some users could not use the apps we were looking at, then we had to crowd around fewer systems when we all wanted look/try the same thing as a group.

2.  We discussed naming conventions, and the benefits to come up with a convention first, rename your Q&A databases, and your fields in Q&A before proceeding.  Let Q&A do all the renaming needed in the programming vs. needing to go through modules in Sesame Programming Editor.

3.  Included in the naming convention discussions was the benefit to name all databases with tbl prefix and to use frm as prefix for forms.   This provides for some nice advantages when reviewing syntax, especially in XLU types of commands.  That allowed for some common naming conventions to be carried into other applications that might link to Sesame, like Access.  (Depends on your own naming conventions).  And even though field names are not referenced in Sesame, we saw benefits to using prefixes on fields also.  When data is exported to other programs, having the field name included can be helpful in determining intended field type.  So we discusses using str, num, dat, tim, bn for strings, numbers(made no distinction for single, double, integers), date, time, boolean, etc.  We recognize that this is a personal subject and a standard will never exist.

4.  We went through about 75 lines of steps to take in Q&A before starting Sesame translate.

5.  Then we went through another 75 lines of things to do within Sesame after the translation.

6.  Without exception, everyone gets confused trying to do the Translation in the Designer.  After digging around for half hour, finally remember  it can't be done there.  Need to do in Database Mananger.  All feel it was counter-intuitive.

7.  Concerns about losing Saved Specs between current database, and Designer database during reconcile and timing needed to control that.  (Discussed in earlier forum subjects).

8.  Some time was spent where I demonstrated the use of a third party utility program I am working to create.   This functions as  Sesame editor with syntax highlighting, Search/Replace (using Regular Expressions as an option), a point/select/click insertion of Sesame commands with user friendly syntax already embedded, entire blocks of code can be here from a library Sesame Code that the user can create, the ability to replace new names of field elements in all program modules of the application at once (no need to open up each section in Sesame and Search/Replace one at a time)Has no ability to check syntax errors at this time, will need to do that in Sesame.

9.  Discussed the frustration of using correct terms for application, databases, fields, layout elements, etc.  It is constantly misused on the forum, in Inside Sesame, in various documentation sections.  Really need to work hard trying to force one another to use the correct terms.  Especially a problem when talking with each other!

Translate/Build from scratch?  It will always be a personal, individual call.  But we seemed to conclude that it might be easiest to created the database and form designs from scratch with predefined naming conventions that match the names that are changed in Q&A.  Then import the data, maybe multiple groups due to new structures of databases, then import/cut/paste the programming into the program editor after exporting it out of Q&A  into some type of text editor.

We wanted to test importing programming but ran out of time.  We never got to discuss the other items on the proposed agenda either: 
3.  Potential problems when doing Reconicle from Designer to Database 
4.  Can menus be made to replace the "Tree"s on the left? 
5.  Relational vs. "Natural" (hierarchal) designs choices. 

We traded copies of applications and various documentation, hints/help that had been collected from various sources.  Copied all the files onto one CD and passed it around to load on laptops that some people brought with them.  (Everyone swore they were virus free, heh, heh).  That included many of the technical web pages on Lantica site and a translation of Q&Answerman that I had done into Sesame.

At least three of us will be attending Users Conference in Baltimore.  I hope to have a version of my Sesame Editor alternative available at that time.  Got good feedback from SANE meeting last week.

Feel free to join us at our next SANE meeting on November 6, just one month after the Users Conference.

(Thanks for the kick.  Now I will have to update the SANE web site too.  I never usually get around to doing that).