This thread describes the last batch of updates to the 9.0.174.x series of builds which were merged to 9.0.175.

This batch of updates also applies to SQL for ArcGIS Pro, which is a new product based on Manifold 9 technology with the development synchronized with that of Manifold 9. The thread also describes changes made in the new build of Manifold 8.

The builds can be downloaded from the Product Downloads page.

Activation

Activation logic has been reworked to be simpler and more generous. You are free to upgrade to the new activation model or to continue using the old model. The changes below apply to Manifold 9, Manifold 8, and SQL for ArcGIS Pro:

The Activation dialog is reduced to only ask for a serial number. Activation keys and system IDs are reworked and removed from the UI.

Each serial number starts with 4 activations, with each of these activations regenerating perpetually. Activating the serial number on a new system spends an activation. Attempting to activate the serial number on the system that the serial number has been activated on last does not spend an activation, since the use of the license on that system has already been authorized. Attempting to activate the serial number on a different system asks the user if the license should be moved to the new system. The move spends an activation. In order to protect the user from quickly spending all activations by mistake, there is a forced 24-hour waiting period between activations. Activations also regenerate over time so that in any given 365 days the user can move the license between systems up to 4 times.

Activation is always done over the web. Activation of Manifold 8 using the Manifold 8 license server is not supported. In the future we are going to provide means to activate Manifold products on systems that have no direct access to the Internet, which will also do what the license server was doing for 8. For now, users who have no direct access to the Internet or need to use the license server should continue to use older builds: 9.0.174 and 8.0.30. Also, users of Manifold 8 who are using Manifold 8 as a web server have to make sure that the user account used for web sites can be logged in interactively so that they can launch Manifold 8 under that account interactively to activate it for the first time.

Activation does not need admin rights on the system. If the product is used from multiple user accounts, it will have to be activated separately for each user account, but since repeat activations on the same system are free, this spends just one activation for the first user and doesn't spend any more activations for other users.

The product periodically checks the status of the installed license over the web. The check is performed at product startup. The check is infrequent, fast and tolerant to slow or disappearing connections. Each successful check authorizes the use of the product on the system for multiple weeks. The user can explicitly check the status of the installed license and refresh authorization using the Check License button in the About dialog. If the product is started as an interactive session (normal use), the check is performed in a background thread, to minimize startup time. If the product is started as a non-interactive session (a call into an ODBC driver or into an object model, from a third-party application), the check is always performed in the calling thread, to avoid spawning new threads because the calling application might not be prepared for them. If there are multiple copies of the product being started simultaneously, they coordinate access to the license data between themselves to minimize the number of checks, and if a particular copy cannot access the license data for a prolonged period of time (10 seconds or more), eg, because the copy performing the check takes a long time to do this, it fails to start.

Activate and Activate Extension commands in the Help menu are removed. Command line activation switches are removed. The About dialog no longer displays the initial part of the serial number. The API calls in the Manifold 8 object model that return various hashes of the serial number for the installed license return empty strings.

Compatibility with older builds

Each Manifold 8 and Manifold 9 serial number may either continue using the old activation model or switch to the new model. If you install 8.0.31 or 9.0.175 and launch it, it will ask for the serial number. You can pass the serial number for the Manifold 8 or Manifold 9 license that you already have, and if you do this, the build will switch the serial number to the new activation model and activate it on your system. The switch will reset the number of available activations, so you will have 3 activations available = 4 granted at the start minus 1 used to activate on the system. Builds that use the old activation model will continue to function on systems that have already been activated using the old model, but you will not be able to get any new activation keys for the serial number that you switched to the new model. If you want to continue using the old activation model and want to use builds that use that model on new systems, do not use the serial number to activate the new builds.

For more on activation, with examples, see the New Activation page.

Suppose one has m8 8.0.30 on 2 machines. If he upgrades to 8.0.31 in the 1st machine, the serial number is upgraded to the new activation model. Meanwhile, 8.0.30 can and is legal to continue to run on the 2nd machine, until an activation is needed in that machine. Then, if m8 (any version) is activated on the second machine, m8 gets deactivated from the 1st machine. Do I get it right?

When the serial number is switched to the new activation model, it can no longer be used to fetch activation keys. So, after the serial number is switched to the new activation model -- "Then, if m8 (any version) is activated on the second machine, m8 gets deactivated from the 1st machine." -- (a) if you try to use the serial number with the old build, the old build will refuse to activate because it will not be able to get the activation key, and (b) if you try to use the serial number with the new build, the new build will be able to activate and will interpret the activation as the license being moved between the machines (the build will confirm that you want to move the license before moving it).

Changes for Manifold 9 and SQL for ArcGIS Pro

GPGPU code may use more than 4 GB of GPGPU memory per processing batch. (This limit is currently pretty hard to hit, the query has to have a SQL expression that gets dispatched entirely to GPGPU and that expression has to be humongous. The change is mostly aiming at future scenarios, in which we are looking to be splitting operations into bigger chunks than we do now, using more memory for processing.)

LAS and LAS libary report the file source ID even if it is zero.

LAS library reports the file path for each point.

(Fix) Deleting a table in a GDB attempts to work around an issue that occurs when the table being deleted is locked in ArcGIS - in this case the delete cannot succeed but it still starts and fails mid-way after unregistering the table from the geodatabase structures. If the delete fails, the dataport checks the status of the geodatabase and if the table remains operable, the dataport marks the table in the metadata to execute additional logic on the side of Manifold that compensates for the table being partly unregistered.

The SQLite dataport allows loading ESRI's ST_GEOMETRY extension into an internal implementation of SQLite.

The list of subtypes for geometry data in the Field dialog for databases that require limiting geometry fields to a single subtype includes 'pointmulti'.

URLs used for Manifold sites in the product and in the install packages are switched from HTTP to HTTPS.

There is a new dataport for GEODATABASE files: ESRI mobile geodatabases. ESRI mobile geodatabases are SQLite databases with specialized ST_GEOMETRY types. In order to read and write ST_GEOMETRY data, you need to have an ESRI SQLite extension installed. The fat ZIP install includes DLLs for that extension, both 32-bit and 64-bit.

End of list.

Very pleased to see the couple of las changes. Many thanks for including these.

I am really interested to see how SQL for ArcGIS Pro develops. There has already been some interest from our pro users though the feedback was that they thought there would be a greater acceptance if there was syntax highlighting and if it looked a bit more 'Pro' as Dimitri mentions in:

https://georeference.org/forum/t157297.4#157301

Over time there is lots more integration that can be done, eventually, I suppose, getting it to where it uses Pro windows as user interfaces in addition to its own desktop command window.

Anyway a very interesting development which we will watch with interest

Landsystems Ltd ... Know your land | www.landsystems.co.nz

if there was syntax highlighting and if it looked a bit more 'Pro'

Both will happen and both will help 9 users as well.

Syntax highlighting is like better error messages in SQL. You want those in SQL whether you are using SQL in 9 or in the add-in.

The easiest way to make the add-in look more like Pro is to enable using it from within Pro windows. Implementing that requires a small tweak in Manifold that makes it easier to call the 9 engine.

At first glance that might seem to be specific only to Pro, but the ability to easily call the 9 engine will be very useful in very many settings for 9 users as well.

Changes for Manifold 8

Manifold 8 uses the latest version of the CRT (VS 2019).

Manifold 8 uses the latest version of the .NET Framework (4.8).

(Fix) Make Image works around a bug in GDI+ that shifts pixels in lines if the target image is bigger than a certain size.

System identifiers for Enterprise storages used when checking out / checking in components are synthesized using a different algorithm (from Windows public machine GUID rather than from the old-style Manifold system ID). (If you have components checked out from an older build, check them back in or undo check out before upgrading to the new build, because the new build will not recognize them as checked out to this system. If you install a new build and then learn that you have such components, no worries, you can uninstall the new build, install the old one, do check in or undo check out, then uninstall the old build, install the new one, and neither action will spend an activation.)

(Fix) Web requests no longer sometimes fail to work for HTTPS resources.

All editions of Manifold 8 are treated as Manifold 8 Ultimate x64. All extensions are enabled, the functionality of all editions is enabled, even if all you had is Manifold 8 Personal or Manifold 8 Runtime. (Thanks for staying with us!)

End of list.

Plans

Next week we are planning to issue 9.0.175.1. This build will contain improvements made in various parallel development branches, eg, for labels, that have been continuing in background as we were working on SQL for ArcGIS Pro and the new activation model in the main branch.

Update: 9.0.175.1 will arrive at the end of this week. We are running a little late, but we will have many interesting additions in different areas.

Hi Adam. Do you have an update ?

Sorry for not replying earlier. We issued 9.0.175.1 yesterday.