Tag Archives: C12

Clarion 12 news

Clarion 12, Clarion News, Clarion Win32,

The Clarion 12 release was delayed past our initial January 1st target as we maintained our traditional end-of-year break, I had planned for us to work straight through but decided we needed the break to recharge. Here’s something else that is new in this release.

Microsoft SQL Server Driver Updates

We’ve rebuilt the Microsoft SQL Server driver with some new capabilities:

Security

  • TLS 1.2/1.3 support with related configuration options
  • Column-level encryption
  • Support for Server Certificate validation (including self-issued certificates)
  • Improved error handling for security operations

Note: these features require the Microsoft ODBC Driver 17+

Version Support

  • SQL Server 2005 through 2022
  • SQL Server on Linux
  • Azure SQL Database
  • Existing connection strings and configurations remain valid unchanged

Azure SQL Database Support

  • Azure Active Directory and Managed Identity authentication
  • Failover group support
  • Region-aware connectivity
  • Elastic pool connections

Backward Compatibility

As with all our releases, Clarion 12 maintains 100% backward compatibility. Existing applications will work without modification, and all new features are opt-in.

General ODBC Driver Improvements

The SQL Server driver improvements extend into our entire ODBC stack:

  • Refactored connection handling
  • Enhanced custom connection string support
  • More detailed error handling
  • Full compatibility with existing applications

PostgreSQL Support

Our ODBC driver layer provides enhanced support for the official PostgreSQL ODBC driver:

  • Improved connection string handling
  • Enhanced error reporting
  • Full compatibility with PostgreSQL’s native ODBC capabilities

SQLite Updates

And we’re working on new SQLite features:

  • In-memory database support
  • Improved transaction handling
  • Better concurrent connection management

Next

We’ll soon provide a web application where developers can sign up to test upcoming AI features in the IDE. The database improvements in this release are complete and are in final testing. We need a few more days of testing before we announce C12 GA. Thanks for you support and patience!

Clarion 12 – Upcoming release

Clarion 12, Clarion News, Clarion Win32, IDE, RTL,

Embracing the Future

We’re excited to announce the upcoming release of Clarion 12. While the release timeline has extended beyond our initial projections, we’ve used this additional development time to implement improvements that will benefit our entire developer community.

A significant improvement emerging from this extended development period involves our string handling architecture. While we had previously announced the introduction of a USTRING type to handle Unicode alongside the traditional STRING type for ANSI strings, we’ve arrived at a more elegant solution. Clarion 12 will feature a unified, enhanced string type that provides superior Unicode support while maintaining complete backwards compatibility. This streamlined approach not only simplifies development but also paves the way for an easier transition to 64-bit compilation in the future.

Beyond this architectural refinement, much of Clarion 12’s development has focused on building a solid foundation for future capabilities. We’ve made important internal improvements that, while not immediately visible, strengthen the platform’s core and prepare it for upcoming features.

Introducing AI-Powered Development

Clarion 12 marks our entry into AI-assisted development with a flexible, pragmatic approach. While our initial focus was on local LLM integration, we’ve built the system to accommodate any external LLM as we progress. During testing, we recognized that even machines well-suited for traditional software development might not handle local LLM processing efficiently. We’ve conducted extensive experiments with the LLaMA 3 series and various smaller models as local options, keeping the default choice flexible to accommodate different development environments.

This isn’t just another code completion tool – it’s a comprehensive coding assistant that truly understands (with your help) your application’s context and needs. For developers who prefer or require cloud-based solutions, we’ll also offer commercial AI integration options. This dual approach ensures everyone can access these powerful features, regardless of their local hardware capabilities.

Business AI: Today and Tomorrow

Clarion 12 introduces AI capabilities starting with practical IDE enhancements that streamline your development process. This is just the beginning of our AI journey. Just as websites became essential for business success in the 1990s, AI integration in business applications is becoming crucial for maintaining competitive advantage today. We’re laying the groundwork for you to capitalize on this opportunity.

Current IDE Intelligence

In this release, Clarion 12 includes AI tools to analyze your existing applications and suggest potential enhancements:

  • Comprehensive application scanning and analysis
  • Intelligent feature recommendations based on your specific business domain
  • Vector database creation for deep application understanding
  • AI-powered development assistance and code insights

Future Application AI

In upcoming releases, you’ll be able to integrate AI directly into your business applications:

  • Ready-to-use semantic search capabilities
  • Vector database integration with standard SQL databases
  • AI features that don’t require machine learning expertise
  • Templates and frameworks for easy AI integration into your applications

This phased approach ensures you can start benefiting from AI immediately in your development process while preparing for the next wave of AI-enhanced business applications.

System Requirements

For local AI features:

  • Minimum 16GB RAM
  • Modern CPU (12th gen Intel or AMD Ryzen 7000 series or newer recommended)
  • Windows 11 recommended (Windows 10 compatible but not officially supported for all AI features)

Standard Clarion development requirements remain unchanged for non-AI features

Looking Ahead

The release of Clarion 12 represents more than just an update – it’s a strategic step toward empowering our development community with next-generation capabilities. By focusing on practical AI implementation and maintaining our commitment to efficient business application development, we’re ensuring that Clarion developers are well-positioned to meet evolving market demands.

The release will be available before year-end, with updated documentation. We are also pushing hard to complete additional training resources, including videos and detailed blog posts, to help you make the most of these new capabilities. We’re exploring the possibility of featuring Clarion 12 on the ClarionLive channel. Stay tuned for specific release date announcements and early access opportunities.

Get Ready

We encourage all developers to begin planning their upgrade to Clarion 12. The improvements in this release, combined with the foundational work for future enhancements, make this a crucial upgrade for staying competitive in today’s rapidly evolving software development landscape.