Please Note: this is a review of BackFlash 3.1 and the latest version (4.5) has many more features.

BackFlash

(Article from Feb 1998 issue of Clarion Online)

One of the most overlooked functions that a finished software product needs, besides, of course, great documentation, is a quick and easy way to backup the data files. You may turn blue in the face telling your clients that doing a backup is their responsibility, but when something goes wrong and they lose data, it looks bad on you as the developer. When I think of programs that have an easy to use backup utility, I think of Quicken or Money. These products have a no-brainer backup system. It is smooth, elegant and the end user doesn't even have to remember to backup because the system reminds them. This type of polished look is what we all should strive for.

Sure, there are tons of backup systems out there with the most prominent being a tape backup. But if your client doesn't have one, do you really want or even need to suggest that they get one? On the other end of the spectrum you have the venerable OS backup system. If you are using Win95 there is Backup (or MS Backup if your system uses DOS). These are not the easiest systems to use, nor do they remind your clients to backup.

The solution? BackFlash! A well thought-out, easy-to-implement Clarion template and program that will give your products a polished look. Let's take a look at it.

Installation

BackFlash comes with it's own installation. Upon running the installation, you need to confirm the location of your Clarion template directory and the location where you wish to install BackFlash. One nice touch is that after installation, in case you clicked continue before you looked at the default installation locations, it again displays where both the template and the program were installed. You also have the option of looking at the help file at this time. To complete the installation you must register the template. Overall, very well done and quite simple.

Documentation and features

The documentation comes as a Windows help file. It has an easy to understand contents page and I found it to be informative and to the point. I found that by reading the help file starting with the first option of the content section, the Introduction, and following it in its logical procession, using BackFlash is practically foolproof. The documentation for installing templates assumes that the user knows how to register the template and what name was given to it. Although this is elementary stuff for using Clarion, a good adage is to "never assume".

The main feature of BackFlash is to perform backups of the developer defined files. This allows the developer to choose the important files versus the entire directory. In certain file structures, this can be appealing because all the data files may fit on a few diskettes or on a zip disk. BackFlash also has built-in compression in its backups. To gain optimum compression, it is completely compatible with LSPack compression from Linder Software. Using the built-in compression of LSPack is as simple as choosing which one in the Global extension of the Backer.app.

Integrating BackFlash with your app

BackFlash is designed as a standalone EXE. It was purposely created in this manner in case your Main app became corrupt or wouldn't run for some reason. The application is sent to you as an app, allowing for any changes.

Figure 1: BackFlash "Backer.App" main window

I followed the help file letter by letter, attempting to integrate BackFlash with an existing application that desperately needed a backup facility. The nice thing about the Backer.app is the fact that it is sent to you as an application. It contains all the functionality needed to perform backups, but its interface can be changed to match your programs, giving you an integrated look. So, following the help files suggestion, I loaded Backer.app into the CW IDE. The help file suggests distributing Backer.app as a stand-alone EXE file that is called by your application. Because it is a separate program, BackFlash gives you the option to use DDE to tell if your main application is still open or, if it’s a multi-user system, a reminder to shut down all applications, since the files must be closed in order to be backed up. Since the application I planned to use it in is a single user app, I decided to use DDE. Under the Main Frame Menu in Backer.app, I told it to use DDE and told it the name of my application. In the Backer.app I opened the ReadInf procedure.

This procedure is the heart of the application. It is here that all the grunt work is done to specify which files will be backed up. To make it easier, you have four helpful functions, presented as four buttons. They are as follows:

1. Specified Files – here you can individually specify each file you wish to include.
2. Wildcards – here, too, you can specify groups of files. If you entered *.tps, then Backup would backup all the tps files for the application.
3. Specified files to be excluded – This is useful when combined with Wildcards. It allows you to exclude a file that would never need to be backed up (e.g. a file used for temporary storage).
4. Wildcards to be excluded - At first, this one seemed almost useless. But, when combined with the Wildcards, and if you have a group of temporary files with similar names, it might save you from typing in a bunch of file names. For example, if all of your temporary files started with TEM and were TopSpeed data files, TEM*.tps would save you excessive typing.

Figure 2: BackFlash 'ReadInf' Procedure Properties

Another useful item found in this procedure is the ability to tell the system not to compress very small files. If, for example, a file is under 5000 bytes, it might take the system longer to compress it than it would to simply back it up. The templates let you specify the size below which files won't be compressed.

There are also some embed points if you are using a user-defined path for your data files. To aid you in making sure this code works, you have a "testing" switch in this procedure to allow you to test your embed code. That's a nice touch.

Using DDE

The first thing I thought of when I read that it used DDE to communicate with my package was the hassle it was going to be to include this functionality in my program. Jeez, all I want to do is add backup functionality to my program, not spend time integrating DDE (assuming your app doesn't have that functionality already). BackFlash has given you an easy way to take care of this. In the Main Frame of your application (your Main one, not the Backer.app), you must add the DDESERVER extension. It even has a checkbox that will automatically include the required DDE.CLW file into your global declarations. Again, nice touch.

Compiling and testing

I compiled both my application and the Backer.app, which I then copied to my applications directory. Whoops, Backer.app has a few CLW include files which need to be copied with it. I also copied all the icons for Backer.app into the directory where I keep all my icons. This time it compiled fine. Running the Backer.exe, I found I needed a few additional files in my directory (RunBkx.pif, RunBkx.bat, Bkk.exe). After copying these to my directory, everything went fine. (Of course, if I had gone to the help file under "What do I need to distribute", I would have had this listing.) I even had the choice to choose a directory on the backup location, which is necessary if backing up to a zip drive or another hard drive. I even decided to test if the DDE worked correctly. I opened my application and then the Backer.exe, only to be told that my application was still running. Everything works as specified in the manual and advertisements.

So let's try to make the program fall on its face. I told it to backup to a directory that wasn’t there. It asked me if I wanted to create it. Okay, let's try again. I'll delete one of the files it is supposed to backup. I was immediately told that an essential file was missing and the backup aborted. I think I would prefer it asking me whether I wanted to do the backup without this file rather then simply aborting, but it was handled okay.

Support

Technical support can be handled through e-mail, phone, or letter. I found the template so simple that I really never needed tech support. But, ah what the heck, this is a review; so I sent a problem any way. The response time was same day. So I tried again. This time it was the next day. My questions were answered with precision and accuracy, and the response time was great.

Overall impression

BackFlash is a well thought-out addition for your Clarion arsenal. It fills the gap for the often-overlooked feature of giving your users an easy way to secure their data. With a little effort, it would be easy to modify your main app to perform backup upon exiting (like Quicken or Money). This polished effect will gain you many points from your clients. It shows that you care about their data, not just your wallet. Now, if someone would create a template that automatically creates a user manual…

BackFlash 3.1 lists for $149 US, and can be purchased directly from Sterling Data via their web site (www.sterlingdata.com), from TopSpeed Sales at (800) 354-5444, or your local authorized TopSpeed distributor.

More information on BackFlash and a demo are available at www.sterlingdata.com. The demo can also be found on the TopSpeed Clarion 4 CD-ROM (final release, not betas) in the \THRDPTY\BACKFLSH directory.

This product was reviewed using CW 2.003. For Clarion 4 (C4) users, BackFlash 3.1 also contains C4 compatible versions of Backer.app and its dictionary (called BackerC4.*). The template BACKER.TPL is the same for CW2002/2003 and Clarion 4.

This article and the contents of Clarion Online are copyright 1997,1998 Online Publications, Inc.

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