137 replies to this topic

[Brito]

WinBuilder 080

A new version is available on winbuilder.net: http://winbuilder.ne...oad.php?view.51

wb is getting more reliable in many senses, a lot of bugs were addressed by Peter and many other nuisances were finally corrected. So it's fair to say that focus was given on fault correction rather than adding new features.

Of course there is still a very long way to follow before we get to version that is completely free from all possible bugs (if ever) and a lot of work has been done to ensure that they get solved sooner than later.


While reporting bugs, don't forget to visit the respective forum sections: http://www.boot-land...hp?showforum=96

They can also be used to propose new features that you want to see included and are the best way to exchange feedback back and forth with developers.


As always, thank you for supporting winbuilder. It's been 5 amazing years since we've began doing these crazy projects and there's always something fresh and new to explore.

Here is the full log of changes since version 078:

[080]

date=2010-01-15



fixed - Bug ID #238: new scripts added to server not seen on download list

fixed - bug: command line 'If, ... ,If, ... ,Begin' causes double indent in log.html

fixed - bug: Some RegWrite errors have been logged as successfully processed

changed - RegWrite 0x1 tolerates syntax error (comma in string rather than escape)

added - If,EXISTMACRO command

added - Error when StrFormat calculates with uninitialized variables (gave accesss violation right now)

changed - Make GUI in Download Center simpler mit respect to 'Dummy User'

added - detection of Win7 to %HostOS%

changed - Set command: replace comma and space by escapes

added - AddInterface can optionally define an alternate interface

fixed - bug in RegRead multi_sz

added - StrFormat,CTRIM and StrFormat,SPLIT now can have escapes as 'single character'

added - Variable %WBExe%

fixed - bug in DirDelete,FAST left temp files in root

fixed - bug in download center: On first show tree was allways built, regardless of 'green arrow' definition

added - RegAddMulti command

changed - improved syntax check with warnings / errors in RegAddMulti command

added - RegAddMulti,HKLM,Section,Key,INDEX,SubVal,%Var%

added - If,EXISTREGMULTI,HKLM,Section,Key,SubVal,Command

added - %RegDataType% variable set on every successful RegRead operation

added - RegWriteBin command to write wide strings

added - RegReadBin command to read wide strings

fixed - bug in scriptline parameter count check

changed - improved syntax check with warnings / errors in RegWriteBin / RegReadBin command

changed - Desktop path now read from registry

fixed - untranslated #$x in script [Main] description

fixed - smaller bug with source editor autosave

added - error in RagHiveLoad when the hive is already mounted

changed - copy commands accept 'null' arguments instead of COPY, PRESERVE, SHOW, NOREC

changed - renamed RegAddMult command to RegMulti command (it handles also non-adding tasks)

fixed - show Options and Proxy tabs in initial download in Download Center

changed - Interface Bevel min size to 4 x 4

fixed - disabled 'Add new web server' in very fresh WinBuilder installation

added - RegWriteBinEx command to unchecked write any type from binary data

fixed - Bug ID #245: Dircopy - different behavoir under xp and vista/7

fixed - Bug ID #246: Dirdelete,FAST

fixed - Bug ID #250: endless lop defining variables

fixed - In ShellExecute,Explore distinguish between file and directory.

fixed - Bug in RegWrite empty string

fixed - Bug in RegWrite command introduced by Copy Command 'Null' argument change

added - Set command also stores macros

revised - handling of empty values in RegWrite

revised - some more changes in handling of empty values in RegWrite







[078 SP6]

date=2010-01-03



fixed - bug: Access violation on setting interface variables

fixed - bug in log.html generating. Loop,BREAK can bring "Index out of bounds" and lets WinBuilder hang

fixed - IniRead now translates comma in value to escape (troubles with TXTAddLine)



Release as 078 SP6 on 2010-JAN-09



[078 SP5]

date=2009-11-23



fixed - bug: Unresolved *.Link brought crash with 'invalid filename'

fixed - bug: Dependencies and Excludes did not work on *.Link files

fixed - bug: No section shown in log, when started by button

fixed - removed senceless "Download disabled" message when file exists on "WebGetIfNotExist" command

fixed - bug in syntax check of "txtAddLine"

added - optionally run WinBuilder only in CPU / core #1

fixed - bug: changed ISOFile and TargetDir are not written to script.project



[078 SP4]

date=2009-11-02



fixed - bug: double comma when generating updates.ini

fixed - bug in download when path contained 'Updates'

fixed - bug in interpreting download levels

fixed - bug: no download tree on a fresh installation



Release as 078 SP4 on 2009-NOV-08



[078 SP3]

date=2009-09-25



added - AddInterface command

fixed - Bug ID #214: Deselection by keyboard produces error

changed - New Component Dialog now in center of WB window, rather than in center of desktop

fixed - Deselecting a complete folder containing a mandatory script lets build crash

fixed - Bug ID #222: wb078 sp2 - Depend not working

added - Optional log at WinBuilder exit

changed - In download center, there is an option whether selecting an additional server rebuilds the complete tree.

fixed - bug in RegRead / RegWrite multi_sz

fixed - bug in If,Online when running from command line

fixed - Bug ID #209: User-agent - Windows Update: EmbeddedWB bug, using newer package

added - RegWrite 0x3 accepts one %Variable% as input value



Release as 078 SP3 on 2009-NOV-01



[078 SP2]

date=2009-09-06



changed - sepatate TNodeData unit with 'read on demand'

added - Download center now can select by Version, MD5, Certification

fixed - RegWrite multiple strings with comma in argument

fixed - Bug ID #217: Set,%var%,NIL,PERMANENT

fixed - Smaller issue with resolving nested variables

fixed - Bug ID #216: Access Violation when trying to trim empty string

reanimated - CheckListBox

added - change event to ComboBox

added - change event to RadioGroup

fixed - terrible bug with strFormat cutting long lines. Changed all according AnsMidStr Delphi commands to length of MaxInt



Release as 078 SP2 on 2009-SEP-24



[078 SP1]

date=2009-09-02



fixed - source indenting disturbed certification

fixed - CopyOrExpand of single *.ca_ file does not work

fixed - leading and trailing spaces in variables were lost.

fixed - download issues when proxy does not allow DNS

fixed - Bug ID #211: Access violation

changed - certification issuer shown in log, when applicable

added - in Tools >> Upload tab, write certification string into updates.ini 



Release as 078 SP1 on 2009-SEP-06

Have fun!

[MedEvil]

I've grabbed number 14.

Thanks to Peter and the whole team.

[Galapo]

Yes, thank you! It's been a crazy week of development and testing.

Regards,
Galapo.

[Brito]

I've grabbed number 14

Nice catch.

It's been a crazy week of development and testing.

And there's a lot more coming next..

[Lancelot]

[Shirin Zaban]

Hi all
I Do not know how to thank from all friends that work hard and free
and result of their work makes our needs to be done easyly

thanks a lot

shirin zaban

[MedEvil]

Warning! Do not use!
Sorry to have to issue a warning, but WinBuilder080 has a serious bug in regard of writing registry entries and can not be recommended for use right now.

[Brito]

Sorry to have to issue a warning, but WinBuilder080 has a serious bug in regard of writing registry entries and can not be recommended for use right now.

No problem, we'll just update the stable executable now that this specific bug is corrected since it has only been a couple of days.

I understand your worry about finding a bug but as we will always have bugs that are reported and corrected. This is actually a good sign that people are using wb to the extreme and that development is still ongoing.

Deadlines are important to ensure that we don't drag for several months the release the updated wb versions that incrementally address the reported bugs.

This way it is also simpler for everyone to report and identify a bug as belonging to a specific version.

[MedEvil]

Sorry Nuno, but i can not share the positive attitude of the spin you put on this.
This is was not a itty bitty buggy. This was a serious one that prevented projects from successful build.
Serious bugs should not, under any circumstances, show up in anything declared stable.

[paraglider]

Have to say I don't understand how a build can be declared final when you have a series of internal builds named trash. Which given the name should be avoided by everyone as they are assumed to be trash. The without any public beta versions there is a jump to the final version.

[Brito]

Sorry Nuno, but i can not share the positive attitude of the spin you put on this.

Come on.. It's not the end of world as we know it..

In every wb version there was always something like this, it's not the first time nor will be last. If we only worried about releasing stable when no bugs are discovered, we'd still be using beta versions since 2005.

This particular bug appeared after the heavier testings were made, just before it was announced. Lesson learned, bug corrected.

We will be following a more regular release of beta, stable and RC's in the future.

[Brito]

Have to say I don't understand how a build can be declared final when you have a series of internal builds named trash. Which given the name should be avoided by everyone as they are assumed to be trash. The without any public beta versions there is a jump to the final version.

At the time and under a specific context it was needed to adopt that name convention.

Will be following a more conventional release approach for 081 as beta and 082 as stable while ensuring that the time lag between stable releases is know to everyone and shortened from the current 7~11 months onto 2~3 months.

[al_jo]

A simple question:
Which version do you (developers) recommend at the moment?
78sp6 or 80?
Is 80 ok with a Vistape or win7pe?
(Have had no problems with 78sp6)

[Lancelot]

A simple question:
Which version do you (developers) recommend at the moment?
78sp6 or 80?
Is 80 ok with a Vistape or win7pe?
(Have had no problems with 78sp6)

simple answer for some of the alive project I know:
LiveXP still recommends 077rc2 (it will change soon with next wb)
For PE2/3 projects I guess using 078sp3 to sp6 is okey. (As far as i know sp6 is better to build but have a download issue, simple workaround is downloading/updating projects with other winbuilder versions)

For none alive project, mostly use 072 and/or 074 should be okey. (check last or first posts of these projects pages)

At first times 080 was planed to be the version to fit all alive projects. Nuno made the decision to publish early with his reasons above.

[dera]

Is 80 ok with a Vistape or win7pe?

NO

[Wonko the Sane]

Just in case you had any doubt about it, Wonko the Sane DOES NOT approve of this release, and of the crazy way releases are managed.

I do understand making mistakes , but EVERYTIME, the same ones? Come on....

The plot summary in 5 easy to follow steps :

• noone knows which version is working with what
• to fix the above:
  
  • a modified .script is issued to fix the specific problem (of course making it incompatible with another version of Winbuilder)
  AND/OR
  
  • a new version is released in a haste fixing one thing and breaking a number of other things
• as soon as (after n iterations) all the bugs introduced to correct a single, usually marginal issue, are fixed, a new feature is introduced without thinking about the consequences BEFORE, and, without ANY appropriate testing, it is published as a "major" version
• as soon as this happens, a number of bugs are discovered and in a haste a new bugfix version is released, further confusing users
• at this point someone, usually paraglider or Wonko the Sane, point out the utter futility of developing without a developing model and structure and the developers say, more or less, "You are right, next time we will .... " and then go back to square #1, exactly as before.

Wonko

[PaPeuser]

Inconsistent
Multi Win7 – Vista source – 32 bit - build
new WB-8 and new download Multi Win7

Scripts run and build goes fine,, same build next time errors on deleting temp files
Errors are not always on same script,

Temp files that need deleted are found at
C:\documents and settings\USER\Local Settings\Temp

EDITED - After deleting temp files,, next build is ok,

[Lancelot]

Hi PaPEuser,

Check post 131 of Max_Real QNX, maybe related to temp thing.

Even if 080 did not have a critical bug, all active projects need to be checked and fixed first and you will probably not use 080 (or 080 NEXT) with projects out of box. You need to wait some time....

[Brito]

The plot summary in 5 easy to follow steps

Well.. it's the wb way..

Guess we need to trademark and write a book because despite all this apparent confusion, it's still fun to work with this project and amazing things get built and discovered every day.

wb 080 works well!

Just be sure to delete any temporary files and try your favorite project or use the safe version that is currently recommended and tested by each project developer.

Even if you don't want to wait, you can successfully build and run (for example) LiveXP out of the box with it.

Like Lancelot mentioned, it's normal that mismatches happen between each stable. Sometimes, project developers are also not around to update the project or see no need in doing so. It's normal to take time until they adopt newer releases.

I'm crossing my fingers that we can launch the next stable sooner to avoid this 7 months gap between stable releases and avoid the use of SP's, beta versions, etc.

[Wonko the Sane]

Just be sure to delete any temporary files and try your favorite project or use the safe version that is currently recommended and tested by each project developer.

Sure , here is an example on how easy it is:
http://www.boot-land...?...c=10482&hl=

The point is not releasing a new stable every few months, is having current "stable" working with available .scripts.

In other words, what wb needs is consolidating .scripts, not having new releases.

The alternative is "forking" each project in a "stable" and "experimental" version, I have seen too many .scripts updated for the "new" engine losing compatibility with older version, but that would simply double the work for any responsible mantainer.

But don't worry, I already know it's perfectly useless to try and suggesting to put some order into this mess, as you said it is wb's way, the part I find preoccupying is that you seem to be somehow "proud" of this.



Wonko

[Lancelot]

Sure , here is an example on how easy it is:
http://www.boot-land...?...c=10482&hl=

Hi jacklaz, this example refers to vbox guys, they always add parameters that makes future versions of vbox not compatible with previous releases.

On the other hand, I fully agree with your all critics about this wb things from my wb awerness days of boot-land and made my self a lot in the past.
Only way of writing is different
You say "stable" , I say "trustable" (tomato , tomaeto)

[Wonko the Sane]

Hi jacklaz, this example refers to vbox guys, they always add parameters that makes future versions of vbox not compatible with previous releases.

Sure, but you, a presumably expert on Winbuilder and it's .scripts just posted, in reply to another presumably expert of Winbuilder that you were unable to have version 3.04 up to 3.14 working.
I don't think this is a problem on the Vbox guys (at least NOT for all versions).

If you and ctmag weren't able to run the stupid Vbox, what would a new user do?



Wonko

[Brito]

The point is not releasing a new stable every few months

The point is releasing a new stable every few months.

Otherwise:

- Project developers will use beta versions inside projects to use new features
- wb developers need to release plenty of SP versions to address bugs
- users get confused on the soup of SP's and betas
- testers have no idea what numbering is used on trash versions.

A stable is a stable. You know it's not perfect and point your finger at the faults and that is exactly what we need. We need that everyone knows where to point the finger and say "I'm using wb 08x because it works" or "I'll just keep using wb 072 because it's faster".

So, we establish a time line and decrease the time between stables. We're keeping it simpler for everyone to know what and where things need to be corrected or improved.

This allows people to be focused and know when to expect a stable version. We also ensure that important bugs or features get prioritized.

Giving some urgency and deadlines will make people more committed to see addressed what is really important instead of just focusing on perfection (which is never possible to achieve anyways thought it's so easy to lose a lot of time trying to get there)

Instead of waiting 7 months, developers get a stable every couple of months to use and at each incremental versions there is less of a gap from the previous one.

Less available time also promotes closer communication between wb and script developers as you can see right now.

So you see.. it's not a bad thing and there is a nice set of added benefits from releasing every couple months a new stable if even we can't possibly wipe out all the bugs.

Someone has to say that it's time for a stable, don't shot the messenger..

-----------------

the part I find preoccupying is that you seem to be somehow "proud" of this.

Yes, I am proud of wb's development.

Good or bad it can at times be chaotic but it's a great place for brainstorming with a lot of bright minds. And after all this time, we still hold together which is by itself even more incredible.

And shouldn't I be proud? Under normal conditions you often see projects stagnating just like BartPE, nLite, ubcd4win and Reatogo did but we are very different.

Let there be innovation.

[pscEx]

If you and ctmag weren't able to run the stupid Vbox, what would a new user do?

Use the script of nativeEx_barebone or nativeEx_win7
Both are identical and do not depend XP or Win7, and because of the %BurnISO% ctmag does not like, it does also not depend on any project internal ISOs.

Peter

[Lancelot]

Jaclaz,

Honestly, I never worked on vbox command handling. I always took it from nativeex and add it to livexp.
But since psc use special variable handling in his project, and did something (somewhere a trick! I did not search much) I could not made it easly work with livexp.

Anyway, For a long while I spend most of my time to increase trustablity (stability) of wb and could not find time to work on vbox script.
Hopefully ctmag made a script and wrote he will publish soon, and since ctmag use common variables I will be able to use directly with livexp. (and win7rescuepe, win7pe, leopard, .......) and everybody happy


As I wrote before, I feel and think the same with you about wb development. At least I reach some of my "trustablity" goals for the next release.