About TCB

Introduction

First, TCB is a new technology. Only two other companies ever seem to have seriously tried to create programs without coding. The Competition section has a brief description of them.

TCB runs on any computer system running a MS Windows operating system. TCB also runs on Linux systems with WINE, Bordeaux, Crossover, or PlayOnLinux installed. TCB will run on Apple machines with OSX or better and with any version of WINE, Bordeaux, WineBottler, Wineskin, or PlayOnMac installed. TCB will run FreeBSD, PC-BSD, Solaris, and Opensolaris systems with Bordeaux installed. TCB seems to run better and faster on MAC and Linux systems than on native Windows systems.

It is anticipated that a scaled-down Java version of the TCB run-time will add Android and iPhone based systems to the list of systems TCB runs on. TCB is designed to work with OpenSource, cross-industry softwares and there is a distribution of a TCB "computer on a chip," a TCB Avatar that can be ordered now.

Below is a graphic showing an XP screen with several open windows in it.
                                      click to enlarge

All of the open windows are individual TCB programs running. At the top of the screen is a top-mounted, stay-on-top task bar. It provides access to other task bars and menus as well as selected Portable Applications. Just click buttons and see what happens.

In the center of the screen is the TCB main menu window. Behind the main window are two other TCB ap As you can see, TCB can be used to create programs that function like any hard-coded computer program. The terms process and TCB program are used interchangeably throughout these documents. TCB programs can be stored as disk files but TCB is designed to store and run TCB programs from a database. Most of the processes used in this distribution are stored on disk to make it easier for the initial user of the system to modify them while developing a system.

The TCB programs can be stored in a database after the application is complete. The complete TCB system is comprised of a development system for creating TCB programs and a run-time system for running those TCB programs.

The development system consists of several hard-coded computer programs and a set of TCB programs that aid the development effort and help set up an enterprise.

The run-time system consists of tcb.exe, a single hard-coded program, and a small set of special purpose programs utilities to facilitate running target application or system. Of course there is/are the TCB program(s) and the set of methods that comprise an application or information system designed for a particular purpose. A TCB application may only require the main TCB run-time and a single process that is the application.

What is it For?

TCB can be used to replace hard-coded programs with TCB processes that are easily modifiable. The cost of creating a TCB application is easily a small percentage, less than 10%, of the cost of a traditional coding effort. The time needed to develop an entire information system with TCB is measured in weeks not months or years. The time needed to develop a single program is measured in hours not weeks or months.

Furthermore, since the end user can have the ability to modify a TCB program, the responsibility for maintenance and support shifts to the end user when he/she customizes the application you sold them. They own it! A TCB program can be a document viewer, a calendar program, an address book, a graphics library, a video and sound console. TCB programs can be created to create and entire accounting system or a retail store system,.

TCB is for most anything you can think of wanting to do with a computer. So maybe you want your address book to be able to dial a phone number or compose and send an email. Maybe you want to create some custom task bars, track your medications, track current files and folders. Whatever!!

Who is it For?

TCB is designed to create most common business and personal computer information systems and programs. Anyone who has a need to create those kinds of applications would find TCB extremely useful. TCB docs stress that what is needed to create an application with TCB is someone who has expert knowledge about the application or business, and someone who is or can become familiar with navigating a computer system and is or can become familiar with using the TCB development system tools. This TCB version is free for business or personal use

Getting Started

Using TCB is simplicity itself. Most distributions are completely contained in a single folder. TCB is very portable and installation is simply the act of copying the TCB folder from the distribution media to a drive. The user then navigates to the folder and executes tcb.exe. TCB.exe will look for the file prcs\main.prc as its start up process. If it is not there nothing happens. TCB can also be run by specifying a process file or database record containing a process from the command line or a script. The user can change main.prc to do what ever they want. For more information about the distribution this doc is part of check About This.

System Integrity

The way TCB accesses databases is probably the safest way to access data. First, SQLite is a command-line executable library that is completely standalone. Second, a set of SQL tables is completely self-contained in a single file. Third, TCB only sends SQL queries to the library and receives data through a file structure. That means the data and the code that provides the data is completely separate from the TCB program code. The only time the database is "open" is when the library accesses it to run a query.

This means that the database is never really opened in TCB at all! Even a power interruption will not cause data corruption using this method of data access.

More Information

The best way to understand TCB and what it can do is to just start pressing buttons. Some buttons are obvious, many others look like graphics. Even a text object can be a button! The documentation for the development application is still in progress. The documents TCBfunctions.htm and TCBPrc.htm contain information critical to using TCB. A TCB process specification must contain a window specification and at least one object specification. The previously mentioned documents provide information about process specifications and the functions that can be used with the objects in the process.

Except for the development processes, most of the almost 100 TCB programs included were not developed as part of anything in particular. They were developed to test TCB and provide useful applications for myself. Except for cross-industry software such as a word processor, all of the software I use to manage my personal data is TCB. And that has been for about 4 years now and no problems.












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TCB Avatar

An Avatar is a bootable flash drive, USB drive, CD or external hard drive containing TCB integrated with a complement of 2 - 4 gigabytes of the best OpenSource PortableApps software. It includes OpenOffice office suite, FireFox web browser, Thunderbird emailer, GIMP graphics, and from 100 to over 300 other music studios, video editors, graphics editors, media players and more.

An Avatar doesn't even need a hard drive installed in a system. Everything needed to access and run all your programs and data is "in the box." The target system only needs to be able to boot from an external drive and have a monitor, mouse and keyboard. Alternatively, copy two folders from the Avatar to a hard drive and the entire system will run from your hard drive with no changes.

Todays Avatars are free. Pay postage and handling, and the cost of the Avatar device ($12 - $$$) itself. Send us a device or we will purchase for you.












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Competition

First, TCB is a new technology. Only two other companies ever seem to have seriously tried to create programs without coding. One is Microsoft with its Project Siena. It only runs on Win8 tablets. It was introduced in the last quarter of 2013. However, Siena is more of an idea than something that can create an information system or a really serious business accounting application.

The other is something called PWCT or Programming Without Coding Technology. The Technology part is just another complex programming language! It does create scripts that average 29k in size vs 7k for a TCB app. It has to be installed. The installer is 55mb. TCB's ZIP file is 3.4mb. PWCT uses 396mb installed. TCB resides in 7mb and doesn't have to be installed.

The minimum level of knowledge to use PWCT is at least a batchelor's degree in computer science!

plications, a contacts manager and calendar application.












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Contact: Fred Pierce, makpiya@aol.com, makpiya@gmail.com, 831.240.9969