Synerg-E-News
 News for Professional Developers 

October 30, 2002

In this issue:
Synergex releases Synergy/DE xfNetLink .NET 7.5.3…Start making your move to Microsoft® .NET® today!
Attention Synergy developers: We are recruiting beta testers for Synergy/DE 8.0. Find out why you should participate…
Synergex is launching a new Web site in November!
SPC 2003 is going on the road! Read more…
Monette Information Systems' Synergy/DE-based ULTRACare version 9 advances productivity for healthcare workers. Read more...
Do you know what Web protocol uses Netscape's Secure Socket Layer (SSL) as a sublayer under its regular HTTP application layering? Find out in the Synergy/DE Technology Center.
Where in the World is Synergy/DE Now? New York-based Security Delivery Service, Inc. Delivers the World...
Support Tech Tip: Interfacing your Synergy/DE code with Microsoft® Outlook®? Find the solution to a common problem.
Take advantage of Synergex education!
   


SYNERGEX RELEASES SYNERGY/DE xfNETLINK .NET EDITION 7.5.3
Now available on Synergex.com, xfNetLink .NET 7.5.3…

- gives you the ability to access Synergy logic from .NET applications, which enables you to take advantage of Visual Studio .NET's development capabilities and a variety of languages, such as C#, ASP .NET, and VB .NET.

- enables you to create natural .NET assemblies that are easy for .NET developers to use.

- supports object pooling, which improves performance by creating a pool of pre-initialized objects that are ready to use when the client sends a request.

- provides extensive client-side logging capabilities.

- provides configuration flexibility by supporting Synergy methods residing on any Synergy/DE xfServerPlus supported platform.

Read the xfNetLink .NET 7.5.3 Fact Sheet for more information.

Obtain your copy of xfNetLink .NET 7.5.3, along with a special 7.5.3 version of the "Developing Distributed Synergy Applications" online manual today!
(Synergy/DE HelpDesk customers only. Password required.)

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SYNERGY/DE 8.0 BETA TESTERS, STEP RIGHT UP!
We are currently looking for beta testers to evaluate Synergy/DE 8.0. The highlights of this version include…

- an XML parser/assembler that will enable you to parse and assemble XML documents.

- HTTP API extensions, such as HTTPS support (HTTP over Secure Socket Layer).

- xfODBC enhancements that will provide new performance improvements.

- installation program enhancements that will improve your installation process.

- general enhancements that will provide new capabilities for UI Toolkit, Workbench, and other Synergy/DE products.

The beta test for Synergy/DE 8.0 will start November 18. If you are interested in participating, please sign up before November 12 (HelpDesk customers only, password required). See the Beta Test Center for more information, or send us an e-mail message.

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SYNERGEX IS LAUNCHING A NEW WEB SITE IN NOVEMBER!
Extending your applications …Start from where you are.

Even successful, well-established applications need to embrace new technologies to maintain their value. As you explore our new Web site, you will learn how Synergex products and services can help you extend the power of your software investments.

New Features
You will immediately notice an improvement in site navigation and usability, comprehensive searching capabilities, and direct, self-administered access to the Synergy/DE Resource Center via personal IDs. This Web site release lays the groundwork for future enhancements that will include complete online customer service automation and customizable navigation based on a unique log-in. Synergy/DE HelpDesk customers: Synergex will be contacting you shortly to set up your new log-ins and passwords to the Resource Center. The launch is planned for November 2002…stay tuned to Synerg-E-News for details!

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SPC IS GOING ON THE ROAD!
For over fifteen years, you have been traveling to us to attend the annual Success Partners Conference. Well, next year, you get a break! Based on customer feedback, we are trying a new format in 2003. Instead of holding one 5-day conference in Sacramento or on the East Coast, we are taking our show on the road! During the first half of 2003, Synergex will be holding a series of mini-SPCs. Dates and cities are being finalized, so stay tuned to Synerg-E-News for specifics!

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MONETTE INFORMATION SYSTEMS' SYNERGY/DE-BASED
ULTRACARE VERSION 9 ADVANCES PRODUCTIVITY FOR HEALTHCARE WORKERS

Monette Information Systems (Monette), a leading provider of integrated healthcare solutions, announced the release of ULTRACare Version 9 for Windows. Based on Synergy/DE, ULTRACare for Windows is an integrated financial and clinical software application designed specifically for the long-term care industry. The new version of ULTRACare contains more than one hundred additions and enhancements, including many significant Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-related changes.

Read the entire press release.

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SYNERGY/DE TECHNOLOGY CENTER
HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer, or HTTP over SSL) is a Web protocol that uses Netscape's Secure Socket Layer (SSL) as a sublayer under its regular HTTP application layering to encrypt and decrypt user page requests as well as the pages that are returned by the Web server.

For example, if you are using a browser to order from an online catalog, you will be given a Web page order form with a URL that starts with https://. When you submit the order form to the retailer, your browser's HTTPS layer will encrypt it, and the server will reply on the same connection with an equally encrypted acknowledgment. The acknowledgment will then be decrypted for you by your browser's HTTPS sublayer.

HTTPS and SSL support the use of X.509 digital certificates from the server so that, if necessary, a user can authenticate the sender. A digital certificate is an electronic "credit card" that establishes your credentials when doing business or other transactions on the Web. It is issued by a certification authority, and contains your name, a serial number, expiration dates, a copy of the certificate holder's public key (used for encrypting messages and digital signatures), and the digital signature of the certificate-issuing authority so that a recipient can verify that the certificate is real. X.509 is a widely used standard for defining digital certificates.

Since Synergy/DE 7.5.1, Synergy developers have been able to make requests of non-secure Web servers using the Synergy HTTP document transport API. The next Synergy/DE release, (version 8.1, which is scheduled to be released in February) will include extensions to this API that will enable users to make requests of secure Web servers using HTTPS.

SSL is an open, nonproprietary protocol that Netscape has proposed as a standard to the World Wide Consortium. For more information about HTTPS and SSL, visit the following Web pages:

Introduction to SSL

Understanding Encryption and SSL

Securing Access to Web Servers

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WHERE IN THE WORLD IS SYNERGY/DE NOW?
New York-based SDS Delivers the World

Security Delivery Service, Inc. (SDS), with their slogan "We Deliver the World," is true to their word. Located in Long Island City, New York, SDS has the capacity to deliver anywhere in the world. This single source provider of a wide array of quality transportation services uses the Synergy/DE-based software solution LADS (Local Area Delivery System) from LADS Network Solutions, Inc., (LADSnet) to manage everything from taking orders and communicating job updates, to billing their customers and paying their drivers.

LADSnet customized their LADS system to meet SDS' needs, which included order entry, automatic pricing, dispatch to drivers using wireless communications (Web-enabled cellular phones) to communicate job updates, invoicing/billing (including electronic invoices sent via e-mail to customers), driver settlements, accounts receivable, collections, management reporting, Web order processing, and Caller ID integration with order entry.

As for delivering the world, SDS had the honor of shipping steel pieces of the former World Trade Center to the Florida city of Parkland for use in commemorating September 11. Vice Mayor Robert Marks requested and was granted by Mayor Giuliani the receipt of artifacts to be used in the new construction of municipal and religious buildings as a sign of unity with the people of New York and a tribute to the victims and heroes of September 11. Marks' request stated, "As the walls of our new building rise, so symbolically shall the World Trade Center also rise." Marks said, "The City of Parkland greatly appreciates the highly efficient work performed by SDS to facilitate our receipt of these special and now historic pieces of the World Trade Center."

SDS was honored to participate in this special delivery. John Zahorodny, SDS Vice President of Domestic and International Logistics comments, "In all my years' experience of shipping items around the world, these steel pieces were the most reverent."

For more information about SDS, visit their Web site.

For more information about LADSnet, visit their Web site.

Have an interesting story about Synergy/DE? Tell us about it! Don't worry, we'll do all the writing—just send your ideas to Liz Marmins or give her a call at +1-800-366-3472 or at +1-916-635-7300. If your story is published in Synerg-E-News, you'll receive a Synergex golf shirt.

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SUPPORT TECH TIP: INTERFACE TO MICROSOFT® OUTLOOK®

SYMPTOM
We interface our Synergy code with Microsoft® Outlook® to send our reports as attachments. The Outlook message dialogue appears with a subject, some text, the attachment, and a blank "To" address that the user types in. We have a problem when we try to use the same code on a Windows NT server with Citrix Metaframe or on a Windows 2000 server with Citrix Metaframe XP. The program fails as soon as it tries to access the MSMAPI control. The line in the code is:

mapisession_id = %ax_load(axwid, "MSMAPI.MAPISession.1")

Cause:
The MSMAPI control needs a license.

Solution:
1). Use the ActiveX diagnostics tool, provided by Synergex, to locate the Microsoft MAPI control in the list.

2). Press the test button. In the pane below, you will see the license string.

3). Pass the license string as the 7th argument.

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SYNERGEX EDUCATION
Are you new to Synergy Language or the UI Toolkit? If so, sign up for one (or both!) of these classes today.

* Synergy Language Essentials, Dec. 2-6 in Gold River, California

* Synergy/DE UI Toolkit Essentials, Dec. 9-13 in Gold River, California

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Trademarks: Synergex, Synergy, Synergy Development Environment, Synergy/DE, and all other Synergy/DE product names are trademarks of Synergex. All other product and company names in this newsletter are trademarks of their respective holders.

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Copyright © 2002 Synergex International Corporation. All rights reserved

Synerg-E-News 10302002