ARTech awarded the GXOpen's Most Valued Member recognition
to Eduardo Dilena at the recognition award ceremony that took place during the
XIII GeneXus International Meeting. GXOpen is a site that fosters the exchange
of GeneXus or GeneXus-related developments. Although it was the icon library
that made him popular, Dilena claims that, among the projects that have been
published in GXOpen, he attributes greater value to his knowledge-base backup
proposal. His icon library has been downloaded by more than 3,240 people so far,
and it is still the most popular project on the site.
Dilena, 30, lives in Río Cuarto, Córdoba (Argentina) and
has worked at ON SRL Informática since 1998. "I don't have a university degree;
I would say I'm more of a self-educated expert. I have been in contact with
GeneXus since 1997, and have developed many applications using all the
generators," he says.
Before GXOpen came into existence (http://www.gxopen.com), he had developed a
modification to the Fox Pro generator standard programs for Windows so that the
menu would show in the Windows' traditional menu bar. This became the MenuBar in
GeneXus version 6. In order to share his idea, he sent it to GeneXus Spain,
which published it on their Web site's tool section.
What is your experience with
GeneXus?
My experience in using GeneXus
goes back to 1997, with GeneXus 5.03. Little by little, I started learning more
about the tool and about each of the improvements that were made on it. I ended
up going through all the platforms and generators, by using each of the versions
in the different works I had to do. I have mainly used the Fox Pro for Windows,
Visual Basic, Visual Fox Pro, and Visual Basic C/S. I have also used the Cobol
and Java generators for Web developments. When I
learnt about the GXOpen site, I became a frequent user. I got information and
also learned a lot based on what others published.
Why did you join GXOpen?
At first, I was curious about it. Then I developed an interest in
publishing stuff that could be useful for others.
Could you tell us how you have used GXOpen and
what projects you have shared?
I have
published an icon library, a backup project, a progress bar, and I also joined
the GeneXus games project. The project that I value the most is an application
for knowledge-base (KBs) backup. It was developed with GeneXus in Visual Basic,
and has an automatic KB browser.
The project
originated from a personal need, because backing up KBs and additional files
manually was quite a burden for me. I was looking for a way to automate the
process, so I started to develop my application based on an idea that I got from
a similar project. I also incorporated the GXZip from another project that was
published there. After seeing the final version of the application, I decided to
share it so that others would be able to use it, but I don't think it became
very popular. After that, I published a series of icons sorted by topic (icon
library), and I was shocked to see how, little by little, it grew to become the
most downloaded and permanent project. I have to admit that I'd rather have
received the Most Valued Member Award for my backup project than for the icon
library, which doesn't involve any programming or analysis; it is just a bunch
of files put together. I have also joined a GeneXus games project and developed
some new ones, but I haven't uploaded them to the site yet.
What do you think are the advantages of this work
style?
I think that this is something very
positive; exchanging knowledge and experience is key for professional and
personal growth.
Have you downloaded any projects?
Yes. I have downloaded many projects, mainly those
that have to do with security, Internet, tools, etc. In GXOpen, I have found
ideas or suggestions that I can later apply in my own projects. The zipping
libraries have also been useful.
Do you recommend joining GXOpen? If so,
why?
Yes, because it is a chance to have
access to other people in a very simple way. Something that one person may give
little importance, may turn out to be very useful to others. Besides, it is an
opportunity for programmers to get in touch with each other and exchange
knowledge and opinions.