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Preparing a local development environment

In order to quickly get started with PowerServer, we will use a local development machine for all roles (development PC, client, server, and database).

"A local development environment" does not mean the development PC only; it means all roles in one machine, as illustrated in the following graph. And this represents only one supported environment (not all), for example, the built-in Kestrel web server is used as the server here (although IIS etc. is also supported), the SQL Anywhere database is used as an example (although PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle etc. can also be used), Chrome is used to browse the app (although Firefox and Edge can also be used). For all supported environment, refer to Installation > Installation requirements.

"A local development environment" aims to help you get started and get successful results quickly. It is not intended for production use.

After you have a successful result in Guide 1, you can proceed to Guide 2 to learn more about the various environment setup such as configuring IIS as the server.


The following steps will guide you through preparing "a local development environment".

Step 1: Prepare a Windows 11 or 10 (64-bit) machine.

PowerBuilder IDE can only run on Windows 11 or 10.

Step 2: Make sure this machine has the Internet connection.

The machine will need to access the NuGet site and the Appeon license site.

Step 3: Set up each individual role in this machine by installing the following software.

Role

Requires the following software

Server

  • Kestrel (Kestrel is automatically included in the PowerServer Web APIs, so nothing needs to be installed here)

    In the development environment (for quick running and testing purpose), you can directly deploy and run the installable cloud app on the ASP.NET Core Kestrel server (a light-weight web server automatically integrated and enabled in the ASP.NET Core project); and as Kestrel is by default included in the PowerServer Web APIs, there is no need to install any other software.

    For more about the server setup such as configuring IIS for hosting the installable cloud app, refer to Guide 2.

Database
Development PC

Development PC

Step 1: Download the PowerBuilder Installer executable from the Downloads page on the Appeon User Center (login is required) and then run the PowerBuilder Installer.

Step 2: Select the Programs tab and make sure the following programs are selected:

  • PowerServer Toolkit 2025

  • PowerBuilder IDE 2025

Step 3: Select the Components tab and make sure the following component is selected:

  • PowerBuilder Runtime 2025

Step 4: Select the Additional Options tab and make sure the SQL Anywhere engine is selected.

A 32-bit ODBC driver is required as PowerBuilder IDE is a 32-bit program.

If you select to use the PostgreSQL engine for running the PowerBuilder demo database, make sure both the PostgreSQL client (included in Command Line Tools of the PostgreSQL Windows installer) and PostgreSQL ODBC driver (32-bit) are installed.


The demo database file is automatically installed to %Public%\Documents\Appeon\PowerBuilder [version]\ and the corresponding ODBC data source is automatically created during the PowerBuilder installation.

  • If SQL Anywhere engine is installed and selected, the demo database file is pbdemo2025.db and the ODBC data source is PB Demo DB V2025.

  • If PostgreSQL engine is installed and selected, the demo database file is pbpostgres2025.dmp and the ODBC data source is PB Postgres V2025.

  • If SQL Server engine is installed and selected, the demo database file is pbsqlserver2025.bak and the ODBC data source is PBDemoDB2025.

Client PC

  • Install Google Chrome (or Mozilla Firefox, or Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based))

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