DroidDB Tip of the Month
DroidDB® Tip for January 2013
Using mEnable with DroidDB
Normally, when it comes time to synchronize, the end-user needs to go back to their desktop/laptop, make a USB connection between their handheld and their desktop/laptop, and then start synchronizing by either:
- Running DroidDB on the desktop and selecting FILE | SYNCHRONIZE | GO, or
- Running DDB_SYNC.exe on the desktop.
mEnable allows the end-user to synchronize remotely/wirelessly over any TCP/IP network (including the internet). This eliminates the need for the end-user to go back to their desktop/laptop and make a USB connection between their handheld and their desktop/laptop in order to synchronize.
mEnable has a client/server architecture. The clients are the handhelds, the mEnable Server is some Windows machine that can "see" the desktop/server database via ODBC. It is not uncommon that the mEnable Server runs on the the same machine the database is on. The clients and the server communicate over a TCP/IP connection (perhaps the internet).
Before the end-user starts an mEnable synchronization, an mEnable Server must be running.
When using mEnable synchronization, all the end-user has to do is press a button or run a macro that the form designer has put on the form, enter the IP address of the mEnable Server machine, enter the database username and password (if needed), and press OK.
Prior to the end-user synchronizing, the form designer makes the synchronization settings using DroidDB's FILE | SYNCHRONIZE. These settings are saved on the handheld that is currently attached. The synchronization settings are transmitted to the mEnable Server at the time of the synchronization.
As mentioned above, the form designer has to put a button or macro on the form that the user can use to start the synchronization. The form designer sets this button or macro to do a "mEnable synchronize" action.
The mEnable client software is included and installed as part of the DroidDB End-User Runtime license. The mEnable Server, once installed, runs as a Windows service on the mEnable Server machine. mEnable Server licenses can be purchased from the SYWARE store.
Top rated! I needed a solid database application development tool for mobile devices. I chose DroidDB for Android OS because it provided a way to get a strong product to market quickly. DroidDB is relational, gives me control over form layout, handles macros, and supports events. It works on all Android versions I have tried and is a great companion product to SYWARE’s VisualCE.
Mark Read, President
SyntegraTech, Inc.
