Ask Reuben – December 17, 2025
Senior Developer
What do we expect you to know?
Some events have occurred in close succession. … some frequently asked questions will get ask about the release and the way we operate, and it got me thinking what do we expect you to know about Four Js and Genero and how we operate. For some customers this is highlighted if you have had some senior personnel retire taking some corporate knowledge with them, and we find these customers asking questions we would not expect such long standing customers asking. If in the future we were to run a certification program aimed at Senior Genero Developers, what would we expect you to know off the top off your head about Four Js, Genero and the way we operate ?… With the release of Genero 6 in mid December 2025, it should not be a surprise to a Senior Developer that Genero 3.21 will no longer be under Current Version Support after 31st December 2025. The following should be firmly ingrained With the concept of Front End Delivery, you should be aware that only a single front-end version is supported for use by the Current plus Two supported Genero runtimes. With Four Js Genero, you should be aware of different ways an application can be run in combination with a front-end … You should be capable of downloading, installing, licensing, and configuring individual products. The Genero ecosystem is made up of a number of terms and TLA (Three letter Acronyms). This list below is no means exhaustive but I’d expect you to be aware of the products we offer, terms used in documentation, and the options available within our products. You might not use them all but you should know enough to be aware that Four Js can be a solution and wether something belongs to Four Js or not. We’d expect you to be able to read the product announcements, review the documentation, and be able to determine what issues impact your application so that you can upgrade from one version to the next. I have had two Ask-Reuben articles on Upgrading, here and more recently here. Hopefully there are some gems of knowledge in there. If I was to say one avenue of frustration here is that customers asking what will impact them between the version they are on, and the latest version, and there is multiple versions between the version they are on and the latest version. There is no silver bullet, if you have not invested some time looking at an individual release as it arises, you may be in for a shock down the track. Customers going from 3.20 to 6.00, you might be impacted by something that occurred in the 4.00 release. Whilst something might be new to you there, that is old news to us as it was done 5 or so years ago. We also have to be mindful to customers who adapted to the enhancement or change then and have moved forward with it. As Senior Developer I would expect you to advocate for analysing a release as it becomes available. You don’t necessarily have to upgrade to it at the time, but you have done the ground work so you can do an upgrade past it at the best time for your organisation. I hesitate when it comes to listing individual aspects of Genero syntax. When I look at this, if I was to summarise it would be what has been added to Genero. What should you be using to make your product better. If you are only using Informix-4gl syntax you are missing out on a lot. I would expect a senior Genero developer to keep themselves informed of what has been added to Genero, even if you don’t use it still be aware that it is there. The expectation is that a minimum, you would use GBC Customisation to adapt the GBC to match your corporate branding. That would include … You should be aware of When running your application and connecting to a front-end, you will be aware of the concept of Direct Connection versus using the Genero Application Server. You may only one but I’d expect you to be aware of the other and understand the differences. When it comes to GAS … Know the basics of how to create and consume both SOAP and RESTful Web Services. I find that if you have a good calculator sample providing and consuming a web service, then additional web services are easy. They are just a different function with different arguments passed backwards and forwards! If usingGenero Report Writer you should know … It is a tough ask expecting someone to know everything about all our products, particularly as you might have no need for them in your environment, perhaps because you are using alternative products or using other techniques. I hesitate to name them in case I leave something out! but if we did have some certification around Senior Genero developers then perhaps there would be some optional sections on the following … … or perhaps the questions would be aimed to show that you are aware of these products and what they can do. Final point is that we make a number of resources available to you. We need to make sure that a Senior Developer is aware of them and can find them if your organisation needs these resources … It is that last item I want to finish on. For our smaller customers, you might not have the time and resources to be a Genero expert in all areas. For our larger customers, you might have this Senior Developer who is the lead Genero developer and is in close contact with Four Js, but there maybe gaps in their knowledge, or they might have taken over from a longtime employee that had the knowledge. Do not be afraid to reach out. Use the Support Portal to ask us a question, the Forum to ask other Genero developers a question. Use Professional Services to fill in the gaps of your team.
Support Policy
Front End Delivery
Front-ends
Downloading, Installing, Configuring, and Licensing
Products and Terminology
Upgrading
Genero Programming
Genero Browser Client (GBC) Customisation
Genero Application Server (GAS)
Genero Web Services (GWS)
Genero Report Writer (GRW)
Other Products
Resource Availability
Final Point