GENERO 5.00 (vNext)

Early Access Program (EAP) subscriptions now open

Irving, Texas – January, 17th 2024 – Four Js is pleased to announce that subscription to the Early Access Program (EAP) for Genero 5.00 – referred to previously as ‘vNext’ in the product roadmap – is now open. This release comprises important new features that will improve your productivity and the user experience of your applications. The program opens on January 30th when you will gain access to the product packages.

If this is your first time participating in a Four Js EAP, please read the section “What is an EAP?”, where you will learn how to subscribe to the program.

The list of features highlighted in this announcement are not exhaustive. To find the complete list, read the “What’s New” and “Upgrade” sections provided in the appropriate 5.00 User Guides. The “What’s New” section provides the full list of new features in the release; the “Upgrade” section tells you how to migrate from a previous version of Genero.

Additional features may be added during the EAP; we recommend frequent visits to the forum.

Genero front end delivery

Starting with Genero 4.01, Genero front ends is moving to a rolling release pattern.

New features for the front-end clients – GBC / GDC / GMA / GMI – were delivered in v4.01; we suggest you test them during the EAP. These versions are compatible with the Genero v5.00 packages (FGLGWS and GAS).

When the EAP ends, all the front-end clients – GBC / GDC / GMA / GMI – will be delivered as v5.00. These v5.00 front-end clients will support both Genero v4.01 and Genero v5.00. No new v4.01 front-end packages will be released; anyone needing a maintenance release for their v4.01 front-end installations will need to use the v5.00 front-end packages.

GBC & Universal Rendering

Most of the features listed below have been introduced in v4.01 releases of the Genero Browser Client. If you stopped using or testing with the Genero Browser Client due to a slowdown in the rendering of the user interface, we ask that you try again during the EAP. There have been significant improvements in performance, especially around scrolling tables and the handling of table columns.

In addition, there are additional features that may interest you.

  • The new themes Dark and Compact are available.

New themes are available

Table with default theme

Same table with Compact theme

Application with Dark theme

  • Theme Integration supported for GMA apps.
  • Local notification management for mobile front ends (GMA and GMI).
  • Background and foreground display support for apps on mobile devices.
  • Modal dialog handling based on screen size.

Modal dialog opened as full screen on small/medium screens and as modal on large screens

Genero BDL bundle (FGLGWS) v5:

  • GGC v5 and JGAS v5 are no longer bundled in the FGLGWS package.
  • Added Open Database Interface drivers for three databases:
    • Oracle 23c. This is important as Oracle 23c is the long term release replacing Oracle 21c.
    • MariaDB 11.
    • Dameng database 8.x. Support for this database is not free. The Dameng driver is delivered as part of the FGLGWS package (v5, V4, and V3) but requires a specific Genero license for use.
  • VS Code support was introduced with Genero v4.01; however, it has been improved in Genero v5.00. If you are interested in using VS Code, please test the improvements and let us know what you think!

Genero Web services:

  • New json extension package providing classs and methods for processing JSON documents (IMPORT json).
    • New JSONReader / JSONWriter to manage JSON streaming data for better performance.
    • New JSON serializer based on JSON streaming API to support JSON schema in REST services.
  • Better support of JSON Schema and swagger.
    • A new JSONRequired attribute to specify mandatory properties.
    • New JSONOneOf and JSONSelector attributes to validate against different JSON schemas in the OpenAPI document of a REST web service.
    • Enhancements to the fglrestful tool to support these new attributes.
  • Rest Service enhancements:
    • Support PRE and POST request handlers in REST services.
    • Support new WSTypeD1escription and WSDescription attributes to document Genero REST services.
    • Support of WSErrorHeader attribute in the RETURNS clause.
    • Support of conditional WSRetCode assignment by setting it to 2XX.
  • Misc
    • Support of HTTP/3 on the server side behind a web server.
    • OpenIDConnectServiceProvider and OAuthAPI support ROLES in ID and access tokens.
    • GIP creates ROLES in ID and access tokens.
    • fglgar run is deprecated (as the JGAS is no longer bundled in FGLGWS.)

GAS v5

  • Support of HTTP/3 behind a web server.
  • The httpdispatch dispatcher supports HTTPS for development purposes only.
  • Configuration changes:

    • Replacement of TCP_BASE_PORT and TCP_PORT_OFFSET by TCP_SERVER_PORT
    • Simplified log categories to ERROR, WARNING, INFO and DEBUG
  • New gasadmin commands to manage applications and services at runtime.

GGC v5

  • GGC v5 will follow the rolling release pattern of the other Genero front ends. It will be compatible with FGLGWS 3.21, FGLGWS 4.01 and FGLGWS 5.00.
  • Delivered as a separate package on our website (Linux, macOS, and Windows only)
  • BDL scenarios no longer start automatically; the server part must be started/stopped by the user.

JGAS v5

  • Delivered as a separate package on our website (Linux, macOS, and Windows only)
  • No more embeds a Java web server.
  • Requires JDK17 and above.

How to subscribe ?

If you want to subscribe to the Early Access Program  you must have a Four Js web site account (“My Account”) that enables access to privileged technical information.

Four Js will send you an acknowledgment of your subscription within 24 hours (Monday -> Friday).

Upon approval, you will get access to the download section and the associated mailing list.

We appreciate your interest in pre-release access to our products, and value your feedback. Thank you for your participation in this important phase of our product development.

Best Regards,
The Four Js Development Team