In this issue....

Announcing Synergy/DE 12.2 Feature Release 

A new feature release, Synergy/DE 12.2.1.1007, is now available on all supported platforms. It delivers full support for Synergy targeting .NET 6+ on Linux-based operating systems. When combined with the latest versions of Synergy DBL Integration for Visual Studio (SDI) and its powerful remote debugging, we expect Synergy .NET on Linux to open the door to improved developer experiences, increased tool and library availability, and so much more. Read about the new feature release on our blog.

We also recently released Synergy DBL Integration for Visual Studio, SDI 2023.08.1404. Read about this and other recent SDI releases on our blog.

VS 2019 Has Been Deprecated in SDI

Future Synergy DBL Integration for Visual Studio (SDI) builds will not support Visual Studio 2019. The SDI release announced above will be the last to support VS 2019. This change will enable us to focus our resources on providing you with an optimal developer experience in Microsoft’s current and recommended platform, Visual Studio 2022. We encourage you to upgrade to VS 2022 and stay current with SDI updates.

Synergy/DE 11.1 End-of-Support Date Is Sept. 30

Synergex’s end-of-support date for Synergy/DE 11.1 is September 30, 2023. After that date, Synergex will no longer provide fixes or security updates to version 11.1.  

If you’re using Synergy/DE 11.1 (or an earlier version), we strongly recommend that you update to a current version so you can continue to receive updates and thus keep your system secure and performing well.

Source control is an indispensable tool in software development. Being able to track changes in source files gives you freedom to make changes without worrying about being able to return to a stable state and allows you to review the history of changes to the software. The usefulness increases as more people are working on the same software product, as it’s important to coordinate between different developers and make sure that everyone is working on the same code base without accidentally interfering with one another. Source control systems help with these issues.

But source control systems don’t all work the same way. All systems have some idiosyncrasies that may make them difficult to work with at times, and some are better suited for some organizations than others. Even if one system is firmly established in your organization, it can be worthwhile from time to time to reevaluate your needs and see if switching to a different system might be advantageous.

What do you want to learn today? We redesigned the Learning section of our website to make it easier for you to find the educational resources that interest you. An Events page contains information from past conferences and webinars along with announcements for any upcoming events. An Online Courses page provides details about our web-based, asynchronous Synergy DBL Essentials Online course. And a new Learning Resources page offers a topic-based directory to documentation, videos, technical articles, and case studies.

Want to learn more about web services? Data management? Synergy/DE licensing? Security? Developing Synergy DBL in Visual Studio? Something else? Check out the new Learning site and spend a little time learning today!

HVAC Manufacturer Heats Up the Future of Its ERP System with Visual Studio and Modern DevOps

Our first new case study is about a customer’s move to Visual Studio and DevOps Git. By moving to industry-standard development tools and processes with the help of our Professional Services team, they significantly improved developer experience, they can more easily develop new functionality, and they have a clear path to modern DevOps.

Agricultural Supply Leader Reaps Win by Modernizing with Harmony Core

Our second new case study explains how we helped a customer update their container tracking system to meet new government requirements and replace aging scanner technology. The project included a new Android app for their new scanners and a new Harmony Core web service to replace their xfServerPlus middleware. Their updated system is more streamlined, performs faster, and positions them for easier future enhancements.

xfODBC has various features and settings that enable you to control users’ access to data. Access to a Synergy database and the system catalog is controlled either by level-based users and groups or by privilege-based users. Table access levels also play a part, though that varies depending on the type of user. See Managing access with users, groups, and table settings for a complete discussion of these features, and note the following:

• Do not use the default passwords (which can be found in the documentation for xfODBC).

• It’s a good idea to omit the password from the DSN.

• For .NET applications, we recommend storing the connection string in a data file. See Connection strings on the page “Accessing Synergy data in a .NET environment.”

• A very powerful option is to use encryption by specifying the -e option with vtxnetd/vtxnet2, so that all traffic across the network is encrypted. See Using data packet encryption for SQL OpenNet for more information, and note that enabling encryption with SQL OpenNet may affect performance.

Industry News & Articles

• Visual Studio 2022 17.8 Preview 1 Has Arrived!
• Patterns of Legacy Displacement: Effective Modernization of Legacy Software Systems
• Announcing .NET 8 Preview 7
• What Is Code Review and How It Can Save Time: A Developer Guide
• Quality Engineering Should Be an Enterprise-Wide Endeavor
• Legacy Applications Can Be Revitalized with API
• 7 Data Management Trends: The Future of Data Management
• 5 Open Ways to Help UX Designers and Developers Collaborate Better
• Using A/B Testing to Make Data-Driven Product Decisions

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