My Love / Hate relationship with Deluge

My Love / Hate relationship with Deluge

Ok... so I should first say that I very much have an appreciation for all of the awesome things that I can do with Deluge.  It really can be quite powerful in a variety of ways, and allows for all kinds of customization that otherwise would not be possible.

Admittedly however, I've had days (and sometimes late nights that turn into early mornings) that I end up feeling like my head is going to explode when coding in Deluge.  Now let me emphasize something here... Deluge is a terrific language... but... it suffers enormously by the glaring lack of basic functionality within the web-based IDE.

So some of my gripes include:

1.  There are several variations of Deluge running across the various Zoho applications, and with various degrees of functionality.  Some are better than others - the best of these being being almost tolerable, the worst being barely usable.

2.  Depending on context and the relevant module, I can usually enter in an item ID, or a PO ID, or whatever other ID to run a test execution of my code with.  This is great, except that I have to enter the ID in every single time I want to run my code (CRM being one notable exception).  It's not a big deal, until you're testing and making changes in your code and end up having to deal with it 100 or 500 times... so much as to the extent that I've found myself writing key macros just to automate entry of the IDs while I run test executions.

3.  Depending on the module, error reporting is frequently misleading, often without providing line numbers (or frequently the incorrect line number), or using language that's either too obscure or written such that it really is a chore to decipher what it's even saying.  AppleSoft Basic provided better errors in 1976.  Granted, there are appreciable differences, but I stand by the fact that in 2020, even the most rudimentary basic ways of developing code should always give you a line number.  Always.  Always.

4.  In addition to specifying the line number, why not just highlight the point in the code in red so that you can just go right to the problem area and get down to business.

(Feel free to pass points 3 & 4 to the Sites and Commerce Face teams as well.)

5.  How about incorporating break points to halt the code where you can evaluate variables?

And so after contemplating the various issues, thought I'd put forth one possible approach that I would see as a way that could potentially catapult Deluge into the next level and beyond, while also reducing the anxiety experienced by seasoned programmers who relentlessly find themselves pulling their hair out, wondering why this otherwise useful language is so unbearably painful to develop with. (Granted, I can't speak for others, but I know there are others who have voiced similar sentiments.)

So if I were to imagine a path for redemption for Deluge, it might be by way of using Visual Studio Code as a catalyst.  Visual Studio Code has quickly and increasingly become one of the most commonly used code editors in recent years - largely because it's a Microsoft product vetted through years of development since Visual C++ was initially launched around 30 years ago.

It's become so ubiquitous that there even already exists a very basic code formatter for Zoho's Deluge as one of the available extensions - and could provide a starting place for more substantive integration to begin to take things a step further.

What could really take Deluge to the next level in this regard would potentially incorporate the use of a "live" connector that could operate between a user's Visual Studio Code installation and the Deluge Runtime Engine.  In essence, it could serve to automatically upload the most recent versions of an edited Deluge script from VS Code into whichever relevant Zoho module is in context, as well as invoke test executions of your code directly from the VS Code IDE.  Furthermore, the DRE would subsequently be able to report back error codes (with line numbers and relevant code to be highlighted) in realtime across the link. 

Taking it even a step further, such a link could also serve as means of proving a data connector to providing context while working on your Deluge code.  In other languages (and their related development environments), an ODBC connector can often be instantiated... not only during runtime, but also "live linked" during development so that you can develop your code while contextually aware of the data and relevant data types you're coding against.  

And because the aforementioned functionality has already been previously incorporated into VS Code for other languages, the UI in VS Code is already primed to be able to handle these tasks without reinventing the wheel.  Things like breakpoints, watch variables, data connectors are already either in place, or can likely be adapted.  This of course would dramatically shorten the time and effort needed to make something of this sort feasible. 

In effect, hardware debuggers for embedded solutions (like a microcontroller in a microwave oven or a cable TV set-top box) work the same way.  The execution of code, breakpoints, uploading of code, etc, are all traversing a simple link.  Typically, such hardware debugging in this regard can even be run remotely - even across the Internet over port forwarded IP addresses.

Ultimately my point is not to educate anyone on how debugging works, as I'm sure that Zoho's engineer's are already well versed in these concepts... but only as a means underscore that the model of debugging over IP is commonplace, and could probably easily be applied to the Deluge Runtime Engine as well.

Now I could be wrong, but if I were to guess... I'd be inclined to believe that much of the functionality that I've highlighted above is probably already in existence.  I say this not because I know of some secret codebase I've stumbled across or have some sort of secret insider knowledge that there's some stash of advanced tools lying in some hidden Zoho vault.

Rather, I say this only because so many of the aforementioned issues that I point out here would have been addressed long ago if the software engineers at Zoho were forced to use the same web-based tools as its client base.  I can't think of a single engineer that go to such lengths as to create a language like Deluge, and then not build in the most basic rudimentary means of providing error codes, debugging, and usable feedback.

Based on that assumption, it's almost a certainty IMHO that there are in-house tools in existence that provide this type of feedback, but few within Zoho's customer base have expressed enough dissatisfaction so far in order to warrant the efforts that would be required to bring such functionality to web-based Deluge IDE used by Zoho's client base. Naturally this just comes down to priorities, and would be the case in most any organization, these priorities are typically determined by the collective voice of its customer base.

Sometimes however, these needs might be a step removed from what the customer states vs what they don't know they should be asking for.  A business owner might, for example, choose one platform over another... not because of the degree of feedback provided by the web-based IDE used to implement customizations, as that's not even on their radar.

What might be on their radar however is that one platform has vastly more third partly customizations available, which might be the case if developers are much more inclined to develop for it, which can a directly impacted by the tools they have available to work from.

So all that to say... if it's the squeaky wheel that get's the most oil, "SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK".

Thanks for consideration of the aforementioned issues.,
Bryan

    • Recent Topics

    • Zoho Books and Zoho Projects Task Status Update

      How can we create an automation using custom functions for the following scenario. When our zoho books invoice status changes to paid. I want a task in Zoho projects to change to completed.

    • Default Sort Order in Project Tasks View

      It should be possible to specify a default sort order (or have the last explicit sort order restored upon reload) for the tasks in the project tasks view. Currently the sort order must be manually re-selected for each sub-group whenever any changes are

    • Assigning Tasks and Requests to Groups... how do I?

      Guys, I've spent many hours exploring Zoho Support and we are generally satisfied with the system.  I'm trying to understand how a system that has so much to offer can be missing GROUP assignment and queue functionality.  I am hoping that there is a way

    • Parsing of SQL query failed. Please check the SQL syntax.

      I am trying to have Zoho Analytics recognize that if the a Deal is in Stage "Need Docs" it should also be counted as a Deal in the Stage "New Lead" /*New Lead*/ SELECT "ID" 'New Lead' AS "Stage" From "Deals" Where "Stage" = 'Need Docs' Union All Error

    • Where is the setting to enable/disable 2FA?

      The following links show where enable/disable 2FA is supposed to appear, but neither appear for me: https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/zohosites/faq/account/articles/how-do-i-enable-or-disable-two-factor-authentication-for-my-account shows Security >

    • How to Assign Record Ownership in a Custom Form via API?

      Hello everyone, I’ve created a custom form in Zoho People and I’m using the API to manage its records. I would like to know how I can assign ownership of these records to specific users via the API. Is there a specific parameter or field in the API request

    • Customer Statement Template not matching when sending

      Hi everyone! So when I send statements to our customers via Zoho Books, the message that appears by default does not match what I have written on the template Under settings -> email notifications -> sales -> customer statement We have a single default

    • Working with keywords

      Hello everyone, first time here so I will try to be brief. I am working on my company's data set. I have a table with all the images we have on line. For each image we hava a cell tha contains all keywords related to that image. I would like to explore

    • Peppol Malaysia API

      Hi Zoho Books, my country Malaysia will going to implement "Peppol" (E-Invoicing), starting 1 Jul 2025 for all businesses. The government intends to provide API for accounting app. The workflow involves creating an invoice from accounting app, triggers

    • Re-emitir facturas con nueva dirección de facturación

      Hola, necesito saber si es posible que las facturas ya emitidas, pueden ser re-emitidas con el cambio de dirección de facturación, realizado el día de hoy 02-01-2025, para efectos contables. Espero su ayuda, Gracias

    • Zoho Learn vs. Trainer Central

      Hi, I'm currently using Zoho One with a WordPress-based website and WooCommerce to manage my online courses. I would like to know what is the difference between Zoho Learn and Trainer Central and if it's possible for these two platforms to replace WP

    • Map Plan to Different Income Account for Some Subscriptions via API

      We have a plan that has a default Plan Account of "Sales". Can we override the account for a specific subscription via API? In some instances the same exact plan should map to a different income account. When we create stand-alone invoices in Zoho Books,

    • Flow with CRM

      Hello, I have a simple flow that uses a web hook to enter data into a Sales Order. I have the web hook sending Flow data which has a PO field. If the PO has a special character like - or / or \ the task fails. How can I get the flow to be okay with the

    • Chrome browser issues. Anyone else?

      I am suddenly having multiple issues with Chrome browser interpreting the Zoho Mail interface.  Anyone else?  Any known problems? Thanks, Todd

    • Zoho Payroll US?

      Good morning, just reaching out today to see if there's any timeline, or if there's progress being made to bring Zoho Payroll out to be available to all states within the USA. Currently we're going through testing with zoho, and are having issues when

    • Set up multiple IMAP email addresses

      Hi, I just started using CRM and its great, but I just found out I can only add one imap email address for incoming mail in the included salesinbox ...this is ridiculous. All companies have different email such as sales@domain, info@domain , personal@domain

    • Function 58: Custom calculation in item table of invoices (2 fields)

      Hello everyone, and welcome back to our series! In Zoho Books, the Item Amount in invoices is calculated by multiplying the Quantity and Rate fields. Previously, we shared a function to include a custom field in this calculation. Today, we are taking

    • Tracking new lead response time

      Hi, I have a team of Sales Development Reps, who have a KPI of responding to a lead within 20 mins or less once it hits the system.  I seem to recall that Zoho CRM had the capability to track this in a previous version, but don't see it anywhere.   It's

    • Pushing Data from One CRM account to another.

      We have business partners that want to collaborate through the CRM. Other than pre-planned data migrations what are the options for Zoho Users to transfer data between the accounts. For instance, could I create a webhook that is sent from our CRM and then is picked up in the partner's Flow?

    • Search function not working anymore

      Hi! The search function is not working anymore. How can we solve this problem?

    • When converting a lead to an account, the custom mandatory fields in the account are not treated by zoho as mandatory

      In my Account module I have a number of custom fields that I have set as mandatory. When I enter a new customer as a new account they work, I can't save the record without populating them. However when I convert a lead, my CRM users are able to save the

    • Expand Zia's Language Support and AI Capabilities

      Dear Zoho Desk Support, I would like to submit a feature request to improve Zia, the AI-driven support assistant in Zoho Desk. Currently, Zia only supports the English language, while other AI agents such as Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude can work with a

    • get gettting the days number between two dates with deluge

      I am trying to calculate the days number between 2 specific dates but its not working. PLease help me.

    • Limit excceding issue in zoho creator

      I am transferring data from Zoho Books to Zoho Creator using a Deluge script. However, I am frequently encountering a "limit exceeding error," which seems to be related to the Deluge statements limit. I reached out to Zoho Support, and they informed me

    • How do I add more schedules to Zoho Creator?

      At the moment, the number of schedule calls we have in Zoho Creator are 1800 per month and I was wondering if it was possible to upgrade that amount to something higher. I'd like to know my options as well as the pricing.

    • Conexion CREATOR x CRM

      Buenas tardes, Tengo un problema con un código que crea un registro en CRM. Revisé el CRM para eliminar los campos obligatorios, pero cuando ejecuto el programa, aparece el siguiente mensaje de error: {"code":"MANDATORY_NOT_FOUND","details":{"api_name":"data"},"message":"required

    • Invoices with billable time and expenses

      I cannot seem to get a straight answer. We are looking to create an invoice to send to our clients, but it needs to have the following on it: 1. Billable hours for each employee. All hours for the pay period on one line, by employee. 2. Expenses for each

    • Search Bar Improvement for Zoho Commerce

      Hey everyone, I've been using Zoho Commerce for a bit now, and I think the search bar could really use an upgrade. Right now, it doesn't show products in a dropdown as you type, which would make finding items a lot faster. On Shopify, for example, you

    • Send Whatsapp with API including custom placeholders

      Is is possible to initiate a session on whatsapp IM channel with a template that includes params (placeholders) that are passed on the API call? This is very usefull to send a Utility message for a transactional notification including an order number

    • Can't get form response to populate custom PDF template

      I've created a template and set it to default but can't figure out how to get the response to populate that template. It keeps giving me the default summary.

    • Zoho Sheets not compatible with Excel/Google Sheets

      In order to share a copy of a Zoho sheet with someone that does not use Zoho, it must be downloaded as MS Excel format and then added to an email.  This is a labor intensive, and frankly confusing process.  I have forgotten to do this before, only to

    • Add Ability to Designate Decision Branches as "Error Branches"

      Zoho Flow gives the ability to track down, troubleshoot, and fix errors with the Status and Filter dropdowns in the History tab. This works well for when a "normal" Flow action registers with an error. However, there are other times where it would be

    • Visitors sending message via Whatsapp are not saving on contacts

      Visitors who sends me messages from Whatsapp when i finish the chat do not populate on contacts, how can I add them as contacts?

    • ChatGPT only summarize in English

      Hello i' v enabled chatgpt in salesIQ, it works great inside conversation (revise, Rephrase etc) add tags works well with another language than English. But when I want to summarize it render only in English, despite sales IQ is set to another language.

    • Brand with multiple facebooks pages

      HI, We are a small publisher that has different FaceBook pages for each of our product lines. All are within the same FB account.   Is it possible to add all of these pages to our one brand in zoho social so I orchestrate the posts between the different products?    Cheers, Joe

    • How do I connect Sales IQ to Shopify

      How do I connect Sales IQ to Shopify.    

    • DORA compliance

      For DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act) compliance, I’ll want to check if Zoho provides specific features or policies aligned with DORA requirements, particularly for managing ICT risk, incident reporting, and ensuring operational resilience in

    • Stock Count - Does it really work?

      We have been trying to use the new Zoho Inventory stock count feature. It seems great at first glance.. ..but what we can't get our heads around is if a count doesn't match you can't simply set up a recount of those that are unmatched, which just seems

    • Create Ticket from Chat with Rest API

      Hi to everyone, is possible to create a ticket from Chat with Rest API? In user interface is possible by clicking on the button "Convert chat as a ticket". Anyone know how to do that? Thanks

    • How to send binary data in invokeurl task?

      Hello, I am using Adobe's Protect PDF API. Source: https://developer.adobe.com/document-services/docs/overview/pdf-services-api/ Everything works fine in Postman. But for some reason after encrypting the file, it is empty after password protecting the

    • Next Page