• Forms are now exported! They are exported in JSON format and stored in a folder named "vc_forms".
• Your exported methods will be moved from "vc_source" to "vc_methods" to make things clearer.
• Advanced customization options are available for those that want them (but they are NOT necessary).

The VC_Framework component facilitates automatic export of all methods and forms (collectively referred to as "assets") from a 4D host database to text files on disk. If the host database is under revision control, these text files are suitable for committing to the repository, thus giving the developer a granular ability to track changes to assets over time. Most importantly, the VC_Framework component is designed to have zero impact on the host database. There is no startup code to install and nothing to configure.

Methods are exported as plain text files. Forms are exported as JSON text files.

Note: 4D v14 is REQUIRED. Furthermore if you get errors about "unnamed" objects, you need at least 14.2.

• The Components folder contains:
  • The "VC_Framework.4dbase" component suitable for installation in any 4D v14 database.
  • The "prog.4dbase" component, which extends 4D's Progress module to include a threshold for progress bar display.
• The matrix folder contains the component source code.

Install the "VC_Framework.4dbase" component. Do NOT install an alias, you must install the component. Launch the host database in 4D, and open a method if none are open. This will launch the stored procedures to manage asset export.

(Optional) Install the "prog.4dbase" component. VC_Framework will not show progress bars without this component.

Note: the first export may take some time in larger databases, but you only need to do this once.

Note: in a sufficiently complex database, VC_Framework may cause Design Mode to periodically hang. The component will detect this automatically and will let you know if it appears to be a problem.

Instead of waiting for VC_Framework to launch via method editor macros, you can install explicit startup code. There is a macro for this; "VC_Framework: Startup Install".

There are several configuration options that can be set during startup. This is useful if, for example, you want to disable form or method export (otherwise it will automatically start exporting). You pass these parameters in the form of a C_OBJECT. These settings are persistent, so you only need to set them once.

These are the possible settings:

For example, if you want to disable form export, add this to your On Startup database method:

C_LONGINT($vc_found_l)
ARRAY TEXT($vc_components_at;0)
C_OBJECT($startupParams_o)
OB SET($startupParams_o;"VC_ExportForms";False)
COMPONENT LIST($vc_components_at)
$vc_found_l:=Find in array($vc_components_at;"VC_Framework")
If ($vc_found_l>0)
EXECUTE METHOD("VC_STARTUP";*;$startupParams_o)
End if 

If you do not have an On Exit or On server shutdown database method, I recommend creating one and adding a call to "VC_EXIT". This is NOT required, just recommended; it allows VC_Framework to exit gracefully.

The processes that handle exporting or deleting assets can be managed via macros. For example you can start or stop the process via macros. These macros are visible in your macros menus.

There are several shared "setter" methods that allow you to tweak the component (methods named VC_CONFIG_@Set). Reminder: the component is open source, if you are interested in details for these settings, look at the source code to see what they do. Ideally the component should function without any tweaks (that's the goal). If you find you really need to change something, please let me know because it might be that the default settings are wrong.

Here is a list of the setters:

(Hint: these control the same settings as the startup parameters described above)

Here us a list of the other shared methods:

The VC_Framework component can be extended to support basic revision control (RC) integration. By this I mean that VC_Framework understands the concept of "create", "update" and "delete" for files. If the host database (or another component) contains the following shared methods:

• VC_DEVHOOK_Create
• VC_DEVHOOK_Update
• VC_DEVHOOK_Delete

The VC_Framework component will call these methods prior to saving/deleting the method. The callee can choose whether or not to allow the change as well as take any action necessary to notify the RC software of the change.

The VC_SVN component is an example of this. VC_SVN will automatically execute the 'svn add' or 'svn delete' commands as appropriate.