Mastering PowerBuilder

Connection Object Properties

The following explains connection object properties:

Application: The server application name to which the client is connecting. This value depends on the communications driver used. For WinSock, specify the port number, for NamedPipes specify in the \\Location\PIPE\Application format. This value is ignored for the Local driver. Please note that OpenClientServer driver is no longer supported from version 6.0.

Driver: This value should be one of the WinSock, NamedPipes, Jaguar, Local. Please note that OpenClientServer driver is no longer supported from version 6.0.

ConnectString: Any text value that you want to pass to the ConnectionBegin event at the server. PowerBuilder doesn’t validate this value. It is something like a CommandLine argument to the application. This property is ignored for Jaguar and Local drivers.

Location: The server application’s location. Provide LocalHost while testing the application on the same machine otherwise specify either the host name (name specified in the hosts file) or the IP address when you use WinSock driver. For NamedPipes driver, use the same format listed for the Application property. Jaguar driver has different format and supports multiple protocols.

Protocol://Host.Port where protocol can be iiop or http or iiops or https. In those four protocols, the last two protocols that have the letter 's' suffix are corresponding secure protocols of the former ones. Since Jaguar supports load balancing, you can specify multiple servers separated by semicolon.

UserId: You know what it means.

Password: You know what it means.

Options: One or more communication options. For example, the buffer size. When you specify more than one option, separate them by semicolon.

Option Name	Description	Restrictions
BufSize	Specifies the buffer size.	WinSock driver only
MaxRetry	Specifies the maximum number of times the client application tries to connect to the server application when the server's listening port is busy. You will not get an error if the connection is made before the max retries.	WinSock driver only
NoDelay	Specifies that send each packet with no delay between each packet. The default is 1. I don't think you ever want to change this option.	WinSock driver only
RawData	Specifies that the data should be passed in raw format. It defaults to 1. I think it is better to leave this option to default for two reasons, reason one being performance and the second one is good when the client and server are located on different platforms.

Trace: you can use this option while debugging the application to ask PowerBuilder to display more information.

Trace Name	Description
Console	Specifying 1 to this option opens a MS-DOS session kind of console window and displays all the activity in that window. This option is ignored on Windows 3.x platform.
DumpArgs	Specifying 1 to this option logs parameters and their values to the log file.
Level	Specifying 1 to this option is equal to turning on Console, ObjectCalls and ObjectLife options. I don't find any use of this option.
Log	Logs all the specified activity to the log file specified in this option. Unless you are using a single global connection object, specify a unique file name for each connection object. If the file is not there, PowerBuilder creates the file. If the file is already existing, the log will be appended to the file.
ObjectCalls	Logs each object method call including method status — success or failure.
ObjectLife	Logs every attempt to create and destroy a remote object —proxy object.

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