System iNetwork

May 2008

May 13, 2008 4:08 PM

CNX Takes RPG to the Web with Valence

At RPG World in Las Vegas, CNX hung out a shingle to tout its Valence Web Application Framework for the System i product. Valence is a development environment that lets RPG programmers and developers create Web 2.0 browser interfaces with RPG. The product controls System i library lists and security for all programs and lets users access options via a navigation tree. Richard Milone, managing partner of CNX, revealed that the RPGers he spoke to were excited about adding to their RPG skills – they wanted to learn about JavaScript, ext JS, and JSON (JavaScript Object Notation).

Milone, an RPGer himself, said his team tried other options (e.g., WebSphere, Java, etc.) to webify its green-screen apps, but none of the available tools really fit the bill. "We wanted to use RPG as the core language, we wanted to provide the best browser, and we didn't want to use a middleman, so we created Valence," says Milone.

CNX provides four main components to the Valence Framework: ext JS, Valence RPG toolkit, charting capability, and the Valence viewpoint portal. The CNX team built the toolkit and portal from scratch, but the company pays the licenses for the ext JS and charting components. According to Milone, the Valence RPG toolkit is the only one that provides a JSON front end.

The product is aimed mainly at organizations with a well-established RPG base that want to take/develop RPG apps to the web. Although the folks at CNX embrace RPG, they do provide training on new skills to help you move your green screens to a sharp-looking, interactive browser interface.

Posted by cbushong on May 13, 2008 at 4:08 PM | Comments (0)

May 12, 2008 11:18 AM

PostgreSQL: The Next Open-Source Friendly Giant?

MySQL is the most popular open-source database for PHP and other web applications. PostgreSQL is favored second but still lags behind MySQL in number of installations. However, many applications can use either database, and PostgreSQL's reputation for feature abundance, standards compliance, and bullet-proof dependability makes it a good choice for mission-critical development.

Last year IBM teamed with MySQL AB to support the open-source MySQL on i5/OS -- good news for System i developers who want to port PHP and other open-source applications. Sun's acquisition of MySQL AB early this year, however, complicates IBM's MySQL support because Sun competes directly with IBM for e-commerce and other server business.

IBM added pepper to the pot in late March by investing in EnterpriseDB, a PostgreSQL vendor (but not the owner of PostgreSQL development). The EnterpriseDB's Postgres Plus product line is a value-added package that combines the free PostgreSQL database with proprietary management tools and an interface to Oracle. If supported by IBM for its AIX and System i users, it could be an alternative to MySQL.

Although open-source fans are undoubtedly glad to see serious financial support for projects such as MySQL, it probably makes them nervous when a big player such as Sun steps in as owner of it all. With its popular Open Office project, its recent move to make Unix variant Solaris open, and its opening of source code for many Java components, Sun shines in open-source territory.

It can't hurt, though, to have another friendly giant with a free database on the landscape. IBM and PostgreSQL make a good combination and will keep Sun on its toes. If IBM fully integrates PostgreSQL with the native System i database engine, PostgreSQL will emerge as a robust, fully supported hardware package perfect for acute enterprise applications. System i will win by becoming a broader, more bewitching development platform leveraging its most important asset -- the firmware-integrated DB2 database.

Posted by vhamende on May 12, 2008 at 11:18 AM | Comments (0)

May 5, 2008 1:28 PM

CYBRA Goes Viral

Another company in our industry has gone mainstream by launching its new viral advertising videos on YouTube. Last week, CYBRA unleashed a new marketing campaign for its barcode and RFID software, MarkMagic, on the web. The company posted all seven chronicles of “The 2,000 Year Old Programmer” (a.k.a. “2K”) and his cool and hip counterpart, “Auto-ID,” on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/cybratv), its own website (http://www.cybra.com), and a new mini-site highlighting MarkMagic (http://www.markmagic.com/MarkMagic_single.html).

The videos showcase 2K’s conversion from the difficult and ridiculous ways of creating barcodes and forms to the use of MarkMagic at the advice of Auto-ID. Auto-ID even introduces 2K to the wonders of RFID and how one can quickly and easily create the tags with MarkMagic. The videos are extremely entertaining. An 80-year-old retired school principal plays “The 2,000 Year Old Programmer,” who even dances at the end of one of the videos after exclaiming, “MarkMagic rocks!” Pretty silly stuff! My favorite moment in the videos is when 2K holds up a live mouse and asks, "How do you click a mouse?"

If you like seeing System i and System i applications rising in popular culture, check out the videos and support CYBRA for their efforts.

Posted by cdeemer on May 5, 2008 at 1:28 PM | Comments (0)