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Testing, building, and using applications
Testing applications
You can run your application within FCAS before it is built, to check for errors. This avoids the need to continually rebuild and reinstall applications in order to test them. You can run the application at various stages of development (for example, after you have added all your forms), and it will respond based on the amount of code you have written for it at that time.
To test your project:
1 Click Run on the Project tab of the Project Manager.
If an error message appears, click OK and check the code in your code module.
2 Click Stop to stop testing your application.
Building applications
After your project has been fully developed and tested, you can build the application from it.
Building the application creates an FCX file, which contains everything needed to run the application after it has been installed in FirstClass. FCX files are encrypted to protect your source code from outside users. This means you can distribute an application to someone to run on their server without them having access to the code you used to create the application.
FCX files are stored in the Clustered Services/FCAS Config/Online Applications folder (when FCAS is the name of the gateway) and are automatically loaded when either the application is compiled or the server is started.
 NotesApplications run during the build will continue to use any existing older project build configuration. Applications run subsequent to the build will use the new FCX application template.
If you built this application previously, the new FCX file will overwrite the old one.
To build your application:
1 Click Build on the FirstClass Project tab of the Project Manager.
The compiled application file (FCX) is added to Online Applications.
2 Restart the server to load the FCX file.
Distributing applications
Installing applications in FirstClass
After you have built your application, you need to install it in FirstClass so others can use it. To install your application:
1 Create stationery for the application.
This is only required for applications that will be launched from an icon.
2 Distribute the resources (forms, icons, and so on) used by your application.
For details, see the information about FirstClass resources in our administration and Internet Services help.
Creating application stationery
To create stationery so that users can launch your application from an icon:
1 Log in as the administrator.
2 Open the conference where you want the application icon.
3 Choose Admin > New Stationery > RAD Install Form.
4 Fill in the FCAS Install Form.
5 Open the stationery's properties.
6 Name the stationery and choose the icon you want.
7 Select "Read only".
Note You can install multiple instances of this application by creating stationery in multiple containers and following the above steps.
Loading and unloading applications
You can unload an application that is in Online Applications to make it unavailable. You can also load an unloaded application to make it available again.
To load or unload an application, select it on the FCAS Application Monitor, then click the Load or Unload button.
Unloading an application with no active sessions will make the application unavailable immediately. Unloading an application with active sessions will make the application unavailable after the last user has quit the application.
Loading an application will make it immediately available. This means that you can build an application on a separate server, then put it on your production server without having to shut down the production server. You can also revise an application, unload the old copy, and load the new copy, without any down time.
Logging usage statistics
Making applications log statistics
To track application usage, you can make your application log the events generated by FCAS when users start the application. These statistics are sent to the server by default.
If you want your application to log these statistics, you must enable logging before starting FCAS, because logging begins on application launch.
NoteBe aware that turning on statistics logging increases the amount of traffic sent to FCAS. In some cases, this can degrade performance on large sites.
To enable logging, update the Logging tab on the FCAS Configuration form in the FCAS Config folder.
Statistics log format
FCAS statistics are logged in this format:
Application,5000000000,3/1/2005,4:28:54 PM,admin,radspeed,Stationery
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