Hello Europe: MMM 0.7 is Here

There won't be a version 0.6.8 as suggested earlier.  For whatever reasons several people seem to want another version numbering scheme to be used, one that exposes the build number.  So now we're at MMM 0.7!

New Version 0.7

I wasn't quite ready to put out a new MMM version but then over the past three days I got two bug reports I couldn't ignore.

Both of these involved a problem with "comma as decimal point" in some international locales.  A very strange coincidence, but right after fixing this the first time a second report of the same problem came in.  This was enough to get me to pull a new release from the MMM codebase now that I have changed it to use the current decimal point character.

Along with the first report a second issue was raised.  Some people actually do compile into folders other than the Project folder it seems.  So MMM will follow the Path32 key in the .VBP file now instead of simply requiring that the compiled EXE be located in the Project folder.  And yes, this appears to be the same issue raised in a comment to an earlier blog post here... that I sort of blew off because I thought MMM was already handling the matter.  Doh!

The bigger changes I have coming along for MMM are not ready for beta release yet.  So only a few additional changes are present in this MMM 0.7 version.  These should not matter much to most users, but details can be found in the readme.txt file in this package.

ZIP Archive, Not EXE

This version has been posted as a simple ZIP archive instead of a self-extracting EXE.  The tools for extracting from a ZIP are extremely common and even Windows has been capable of doing it alone for some time now.  Some people are running MMM on Win9x systems (??) and the self-extractor I was using requires NT crypto libraries, so it could be a problem for these guys.

On the plus side the download is only about half the size as before:  MMM 0.7

As always, let me know about any problems.  Be sure to keep MMM version 0.6.7 or earlier around in case of problems with the new one.

ADOX 2.8 TypeLib in Vista SP2

Wow, it took me some time to notice it but Microsoft must have been listening.

One of the headaches to watch for in Vista was that DAC 6.0 (and MDAC before that) was not including the compatibility typelibs for ADOX the way they do for ADO.  Suddenly I see we have an option now though: msadox28.tlb is there, which implies that msadox.dll now exposes both sets of interfaces.

Now programs compiled on Win2k or WinXP against ADOX 2.8 should work under Vista SP2 unlike previously.  I had been changing my habits to use late binding for ADOX objects but someday (once all Vista in the world is at SP2?) I won't have to anymore.  We can hope that Win7 RTM ships that way too.... right?

Of course any programs compiled against something like ADOX 2.6 are probably still screwed.  Microsoft was more thorough about ADO compatibility typelibs even on Vista.  Either there is a problem doing this for ADOX downlevel (interfaces too different?) or more likely they want everyone on more secure DAC/MDAC levels anyway.  This means some programs will still need recompilation for Vista.

This also means you can early-bind to ADOX 2.8 when developing on Vista SP2 and expect your programs to work on Win2K or XP as long as MDAC 2.8 is installed there.  That was the other side of the ADOX coin previously: if you used early binding to ADOX 6.0 in Vista your programs would not run downlevel.

Nice theories anyway.  Now to test and verify them!

But Microsoft's error lingers and I'll be late binding ADOX for some time to come.  I just don't trust the whole world to install Vista's SP2 overnight... maybe for years considering that Windows Service Pack Blocker Tool Kit is loose in box jockey land.

Maybe we can hope this change was part of some Windows Update fix and not part of the SP2 package?  Does anyone know?  But I guess that still doesn't mean I can start early binding ADOX again anyway I suppose.

Looking Toward 0.6.8 Soon

Early feedback has been full of small feature requests.  Some of these seem odd, like requests to make MMM into a general purpose resource editor or some sort of 24-bit color icon embedder.  Others are just off the wall, like asking that MMM support non-VB development tools (huh?).  Still others make a bit more sense, like requesting that MMM fully install as a development topol and add a "Package with MMM" shell verb for .VBP files.

Other programming tools already offer their own ways to generate isolated applications.  MMM is targeted at VB6 to help make up for Microsoft's failure to support the community.

Version 0.6.8 will probably be an even more minor update than 0.6.7 was.  The main difference will probably be delivering it as an MSI package for full installation, instead of as a self-extracting archive.  This should calm the noise about not knowing "where to put MMM" and "why doesn't MMM show in my Start Menu" and so on.

What I could really use is some feedback about the changes that went into 0.6.7 though.  In particular I'd like to know if the XML encoding changes have solved problems with components having Unicode characters in Descriptions and so on, and whether the new handling of interface versioning is helping those who don't manage component Binary Compatibility closely.

MMM 0.6.7 Ready For Testing

New Version 0.6.7 As described earlier MMM version 0.6.7 is ready for testing and use.  Download it here. While I have put it through some extensive testing nobody else has taken a look at it yet so there may be serious imperfections.  More importantly some application manifest XML changes have been made that might need further tweaking to avoid breaking cases that worked fine earlier.  Please report any problems, and fall back to version 0.6.6 if necessary. That may seem a little alarming, but everyone should keep in mind that MMM remains a work in progress.  There has never yet been a "final release" version at any ... (read more)

December Security Update woes continue

I see there is another attempt to release a Security Update to VB6 SP6: Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Service Pack 6 Cumulative Update dated 5/4/2009.  See KB957924 for details. I have not tested it myself yet to determine whether it fixes the problems the earlier attempts have (breaking MSChart20.ocx for one thing, Winsock control for another).  However but I see that other users say it has not fixed the Winsock control that was also broken in earlier attempts. So far all of the problems I've seen look like bonehead "off by one" errors in the code. Thus I still recommend this "critical update" be avoided - almost 6 ... (read more)

Degraded progress: better than no progress?

Hello Again Yes, it has been quite some time since my last post here.  Progress has been disappointingly slow, probably for the same sorts of reasons you experience in your own projects: Other priorities such as family, health, finances in the present economy, and programming efforts with much higher priority. Laptop that was being used to squeeze in time to work on MMM died, it now appears permanently.  All I'll say is there is a brand of computer I won't trust again soon as well as a certain chipmaker. An amazingly large number of feature requests for MMM, and a few minor and serious glitches that finally have been ... (read more)

KB 926857 and KB 957924

I was able to confirm a problem another user uncovered in the MSChart20.ocx (version 6.0.98.13).

I am holding off installing the Security Update myself until we get further news, and I hope a corrected Update.

Servicing Reg-Free COM Applications: Ideas?

No news, but so far so good on MMM.  No new release ready yet I'm afraid, and it may be late February 2009 before we see one.  Sorry. For now: MMM 0.6.6 is still current. Servicing XCopy Deployments One of the issues we face when creating XCopy deployments with Registration-Free COM is a new challenge in servicing our applications. Installing applications conventionally means that we use a great many components stored in central locations locatable via the registry.  It also means that Windows Update, downloaded Microsoft patches, etc. all update our applications as a matter of course when users install them.  Not so for our ... (read more)

Version 0.6.6 does not expire

The new version of MMM has almost no changes except for eliminating the expiration date. As I mentioned previously this utility is now stable enough that I am no longer concerned about having seriously imperfect versions floating around in the field.  So to eliminate worries about relying on a tool that will stop working suddenly this feature has been taken out.  MMM is still incomplete and I still consider its status to be in extended beta test release.  I hope to produce a true 1.0 release by the second quarter of 2009. As with any new release I'd appreciate early feedback about any problems encountered so that I can get them ... (read more)

Upcoming release

There has been little activity on MMM for some months.  A new version will be posted by December 1st however, and while it will not contain many changes it will remove the time bomb from the program.  MMM is stable enough at this point that I feel quite comfortable doing this. No new features are expected to make the December release, and there is only one minor bug fix that should be fully tested and included by then.  Most users wil only notice very minor cosmetic changes.   The positive feedback has been very encouraging.  I hope to have some time to get the two major new features finished: online Help and command line ... (read more)