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[Reuben B.]

On the support desk, we are getting a number of issues relating to older versions.  Our support policy has a simple mantra, “current plus two”.  That is we support the current version plus the two previous versions.  At the time of writing this article (July 2024), the current version is 5.00, and the previous versions supported are 4.01 and 3.21.
 
As a rule of thumb, it takes us approximately five years to cycle through three release cycles, and at a minimum we would expect you to have to upgrade FGL, GAS, GRE at least once every 5±1 years in order to remain on a supported version.
 
There is a sizeable proportion still where developers are asking questions involving the previous supported versions or even earlier versions before that.
 
We would expect most support questions to involve the latest release of our product.
 
If you are not coding in version 5, I would encourage you to move up.
 
Read more at https://4js.com/ask-reuben/ig-236/

[Enrico S.]

Hi, Reuben.
I'm sorry but I disagree with you when you write "If you are not coding in version 5, I would encourage you to move up.".
Before encourage users to move up you should encourage 4Js project team to make GM4+ working and usable as GM3.
GM4 is defective by design and it don't allow migration from GM3.
So I encourage 4Js to keep undefinitely the support of Genero 3.21 and GM3.
Best regards.
Enrico

[Leo S.]

Hi Enrico,
Could you please elaborate more in detail what you mean with "GM4 is defective by design" ?
What are the biggest show stoppers for you to migrate ?
Regards, Leo

[Enrico S.]

Hi, Leo.
One year and some months ago we subscribed an agreement with a multinational company to migrate our WMS from Genero 3.10 to Genero 4 (latest).
Our WMS was entirely based on GM App with a mix between native and GAS applications.
During the migration the first great problem we encountered was the conversion of the forms: it was very hard to make the forms working and appearing similar to the original of G3.
Aside from the enormous conversion difficulties, the result was often unwatchable, and in some cases it was impossible to fit all needed widgets inside the form.
Moreover the interface was unsmooth when showing tables and scroll-grids or unproposable with split views.
And more, the stretch often didn't work as expected.
And more, the topmenu was horrible and impossible to use (forgot to implement and test ??).
And more, the default gbc template was really inadequate and we would need to create a specific gbc project to try giving to the form an acceptable aspect.
And finally, when using a barcode reader as input device in keyboard emulation, the whole castle collapsed miserably because each time an edit field get the focus the virtual keyboard is shown and the user has to tap to let it disappear. Do you know what it means not to be able to use a barcode scanner in a logistics application?

Support guys tried to work around some issues (see SUP numbers 30351, 30370, 30417, 30420, 30422 for instance and the e-mail of Lyonel with subject "GMA 1.40 to GMA v4" 24/5/2023 14:23 and 25/4/2023 17:18 as well) with poor or no results at all.
All that means 4Js released a Version of GM that's "not working" first of all.
Moreover the support was not able to fix the problems, and this means that GM4 has several project holes and therefore it is "defective by design".
Behind this disaster there is the foolish decision to switch from Native Rendering to Universal Rendering with consequences of having not working mobile applications that appears to be a bad copy of web app instead of real Mobile Applications with native widgets.

Consider that when key users seen the prototypes of migrated apps they immediately rejected the new version, and we had to fastly revert the project to Genero 3.20 to save the agreement and to keep the customer.

All that is well known by 4Js managing board and by 4Js project team since G4 EAP as well, but nobody was interested to.
This also means that in logistics GM ends with Genero 3.20 and G3.20 should be supported undefinitely against the policy of latest -2.
Otherwise In logistics applications Genero is dead.

Hoping to explained the reasons why i say GM4 is defective by design.
Best regards.
Enrico

[Leo S.]

Hi Enrico, thanks for the details.
I hope you were at least successful with version 3.20 in your project !
I will arrange internally a re discussion of the cases you raised and let the status of those check.
Of course it's not our intention to break your code/forms with universal rendering, but sometimes the reality tells the opposite...
Be assured we do the best what we can to make your programmers life a bit easier!

[Enrico S.]

Hi, Leo.
I want to be honest with you.
We are writing new extension of our WMS strictly with V. 3.20
In the meantime we have stopped any new Genero front-end and mobile project and we are evaluating other platforms.
We are tired of suffering from 4Js strategic and technicals mistakes and product limitations in front of price increases.
Frankly speaking I don't see any future for GM against other platforms very very powerful and multi-thread.

In my limited opinion It doesn't matter if you try to patch up this or that problem as well, because you all have a wrong vision of mobile applications and you failed your goal with GM.
Thanks and regards.
Enrico

[Enrico S.]

Hi, Leo.
You probably know I've always been a big fan of Genero.
However, next Monday it will be one month since you said you would internally discuss the fatal issues I brought to your attention.
I understand that all you are busy organizing WWDC during this time, but I feel like my instances have fallen on deaf ears again.

Maybe I could publish a couple of Unsuccess Stories of Multinational Companies on the forum, so that other developers know what really happens behind 4Js' self-celebrations at WWDC.
Or is this also useless ?

Regards.
Enrico

[Leo S.]

Hi Enrico, be assured that you complaints didn't fall on deaf ears again,
I started a hot  internal debate a while ago, but it's unfortunately not  on me to contact you.
I did check the cases you mentioned and some seem meanwhile to have been fixed (for example scrollgrids in mobile GBC aren't flickering like hell anymore...),
some are still on hold because they seem very specific...It depends a bit on you if those cases should be re evaluated .
If you are anyway not willing to continue with Genero mobile then it makes no sense to us.
Generally I totally agree with you that we must get better in the mobile area compared to what you got with native.
So if you would do a re evaluation with the latest version this would help us all.

>>Maybe I could publish a couple of Unsuccess Stories of Multinational Companies on the forum, so that other developers know what really happens behind 4Js' self-celebrations at WWDC.
Or is this also useless ?
Well learning from mistakes is never a bad thing, so as long as the unsuccessful covers interesting technical details , you should share it definitely with the support .
Regards, Leo