How to use and master Sybase PowerBuilder .NET V12.0 and how to migrate an old version to it

I am new in Sybase PowerBuilder and I noticed a big difference between it and old versions as it follows the .NET Visual Studio style and concentrates the user interface look, plus having the web version of it and using new web technologies like XML, AJAX, C# and .NET.

It seems that Sybase is on its way to migrate totally to Microsoft and maybe one day开发者_StackOverflow社区 we hear it is sold and owned by Microsoft Corporation.

Anyhow, how I can learn and master Sybase PowerBuilder .NET V12.0?

What are the major parts I should know? What are the free web resources, e-books, references, web sites and tutorials that will help me?

How I can migrate the old versions we had to this new version?

What are the difficulties I will face and what are the advantages I will gain?

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That's a lot of questions :)

PowerBuilder 12 is a big release and the documentation that ships with it is complete and comprehensive. It is also available online - perhaps a good place to start would be the New Features guide or the .NET features guide.

Unfortunately there aren't any printed books on the subject but there are a few websites with some good resources:

• Sybase PowerBuilder 12 Tutorials - various workthrough tutorials, video tutorials and a four part migration tutorial.
• SybasePowerBuilder YouTube channel - lots of videos, practical walkthroughs and up to date content. If you learn well from videos, this is the first place to visit.
• Sybase PowerBuilder blog - has been running a series of webinars/webcasts recently covering new features. These are probably archived somewhere but I've not found them yet.
• PowerBuilder Developer's Journal: Twenty-Four Reasons To Consider PowerBuilder 12 - this is a good overview of the new stuff in PowerBuilder 12.

We found migrating to be straightforward, even with a very large application. The WPF Window Application target wizard will walk you through the process, after which it is a matter of fixing all the incompatible areas of your application. How much work is involved with that is dependent on your application.

After that your best approach is start coding and explore what is available.

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How I can migrate the old versions we had to this new version?

First convert to PowerBuilder 12 Classic (create work space, create target), then compile it. Fix any bugs the compiler pops up. Those bugs are incorrect code which does not bother the older version. However, they will pop up in this version. I have converted two big apps and never find something else.

Then run PowerBuilder.net to migrate automatically. There will be more bugs which pop up. You need to fix them and you may need to rework some unsupported features.