AppStudio 9.0.0 released!

News
1

We’re pleased to announce that 9.0.0 has been released.

Major New Features

You can download the new release from within AppStudio or from our site.

Important! There are changes in how we license AppStudio 9. Please read this to understand how it affects you. Let us know at support@appstudio.dev if you have questions.

Here are the changes in detail…

IDE

General

  1. AppStudio icon updated to a modern squared circle.
  2. Registration and validation now uses new backend stem.

Code Window

  1. New AI Coding Assistant icon added.
  2. Code formatting updated to use Prettier instead of jsBeautifier
  3. Switching between tabs is now faster.
  4. Format Code is now in sync with Check Syntax.
  5. Format Code now uses the latest JS best practices.
  6. Changed indent preference takes effect immediately.
  7. Using the Functions window to navigate code has been improved.
  8. eslintRules can be used to fine tune syntax checking.

Design Screen

  1. Stability of dragging controls improved.
  2. Avoid adding control to container it already is in.
  3. Fix underlining and reporting of syntax errors in code.
  4. Design Screen: Add warning for mixed frameworks (like BS4 and BS5 in same project)

ToolBox

  1. SQLite WASM added
  2. Bootstrap 5 controls added

Runtime

  1. Change delays in startup to improve import of SQLite databases.
  2. SQLite error messages improved.
  3. Option to use SQLite WASM added to libraries.

Deploy Methods

Local Deploy

  1. Deploy: fix error on Windows local deploy when using Hebrew.

VoltBuilder and Cordova

  1. Cordova: remove option from Run menu.
  2. VoltBuilder: Rename “VoltBuilder and Cordova” to “Cordova”
  3. VoltBuilder: Remove “Cordova command” property.
  4. VoltBuilder: Add “Release” and “Platform” properties.
  5. VoltBuilder: properties renamed to be consistent with VoltBuilder docs.
  6. VoltBuilder: Use utf-8 encoding to handle extended characters in Arabic, Hebrew, etc.
  7. VoltBuilder: Improve handling of special characters in “description” property.
  8. VoltBuilder: Update “config.xml” property template for latest requirements.
  9. VoltBuilder Status: Works gracefully if job not submitted yet.

Electron

  1. Packages listed in package.json are now deployed with your project.
  2. isElectron set earlier in startup – fixes possible runtime error
  3. Updated to latest version.

ToolBox

  1. SQLite WASM added

PhoneGap

  1. PhoneGap dropped – no longer in business.

Frameworks

Bootstrap 5 has been released. The developers continue to support Bootstrap 4 as well: both are supported by AppStudio.

Bootstrap 3 is no longer supported. We recommend converting to Bootstrap 4 or Bootstrap 5.

jQuery Mobile is no longer supported. While the controls still work, for the most part, they throw error messages in Chrome for using insecure libraries. We recommend converting to Bootstrap 4 or Bootstrap 5.

Bootstrap 5

  1. Complete new framework. Read about Bootstrap 5.

Bootstrap 4

  1. Select: name and required properties are now implemented.
  2. New themes: morph, quartz, vapor, yeti and zephyr.
  3. Toast – Add z-index property

Common

  1. Forms: iScroll no longer used – use native scrolling instead.
  2. QRCode: setValue added to autocomplete in Code Window

Bootstrap 3 (Obsolete)

  1. Now marked as Obsolete in the Toolbox and Samples.

jQuery Mobile (Obsolete)

  1. Now marked as Obsolete in the Toolbox and Samples.

Samples

  1. BootStrap 5 samples added.
  2. SQLSample1, 2 and 3 updated to use SQLite WASM
  3. Add missing descriptions to some samples.
  4. Fix JS Northwind sample.
  5. HeaderBodyFooter: Add comment to app describing what it is for.
  6. Splitview: Add comment to app describing what it is for.
  7. PictureBox – fix image not showing
  8. StudentsLocalStorage – Add a message if record not found

Installer

  1. Windows installer now shows 9.0.0.0
  2. Windows Installer: use new icon

Internals

  1. jQuery updated to 3.7
  2. Python updated to 3.8.10.
  3. Node updated to 20
  4. Many, many internal libraries updated.
  5. PDFMake updated to fix unsafe-eval issue.

Breaking Changes

  1. Calling Cordova to build your project locally is no longer supported. Use VoltBuilder instead – it’s much easier and is mult-platform. (If you need to build locally, you can use the files in the VoltBuilder folder which is created on a deploy to VoltBuilder)