After see a crude but amazingly effective demo of PHP for the Web, I was convinced we needed to have an easier way to access U2 from the environment. Well, after searching for many hours on the web I found PHP Java-Bridge.
This open source software allows you to access any Java code without a lot of hassle. Within a few hours U2logic's Java programmer had a fully working interface. Installation is a bit more complicated because of our use of Apache's Tomcat but that is really nothing in the big scheme of things.
Our U2WebLink(tm) product has another way of accessing the U2 databases using PHP instead of HTML/JavaScript. This means that Python can use this system as well. More back for the buck, you can not really beat that.
I hope those of you reading this blog will try it out and give us some feedback.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Scope is either local or global, but not here
Having an animated discussion with a Java programmer is not always the best way to start or finish you day. Java programmers have a valid point about the strong typing of variables that Java requires. This was no contest with Java and UniBasic, because I have spent the better part of the last two weeks changing our Java U2WebLink. I really know what scope is after trying to figure out why Eclipse editor kept pointing out to me that I had my code in the wrong area for the try/catch loop to work.
Had I not been programming in UniBasic so long, I should have known what variable scope is. All of the variables you create in UniBasic are global, so what is the local scope thing anyways. Wikipedia defines local scope as: “…a variable that accessible only from the function or block in which is declared.”
In UniBasic a variable is assigned through a couple of ways. It must be on the left side of any operation such as math or string manipulation. You can introduce variables through Common statements, includes or my perennial favorite Subroutine calls.
So now you ask yourself how a UniBasic programmer keeps track of all of those variables. Surprise I don’t. That’s right I don’t. If the programmer before us was good or bad I don’t sometimes care with how prior programmer handled the variables. If the program is working then the variables are handled correctly. When the program starts malfunctioning then I have to care and must trace the problem.
That is where the fly is in ointment. UniBasic programmers have no tool to show us where all the variables are assigned or re-assigned which Java programmers have built into the Eclipse Java Editor.
U2logic has begun to approach this problem in our XLr8Editor that is based on the Eclipse IDE. Hopefully, in the next few months I will have something positive to show that UniBasic programmers can control their scope as well.
Had I not been programming in UniBasic so long, I should have known what variable scope is. All of the variables you create in UniBasic are global, so what is the local scope thing anyways. Wikipedia defines local scope as: “…a variable that accessible only from the function or block in which is declared.”
In UniBasic a variable is assigned through a couple of ways. It must be on the left side of any operation such as math or string manipulation. You can introduce variables through Common statements, includes or my perennial favorite Subroutine calls.
So now you ask yourself how a UniBasic programmer keeps track of all of those variables. Surprise I don’t. That’s right I don’t. If the programmer before us was good or bad I don’t sometimes care with how prior programmer handled the variables. If the program is working then the variables are handled correctly. When the program starts malfunctioning then I have to care and must trace the problem.
That is where the fly is in ointment. UniBasic programmers have no tool to show us where all the variables are assigned or re-assigned which Java programmers have built into the Eclipse Java Editor.
U2logic has begun to approach this problem in our XLr8Editor that is based on the Eclipse IDE. Hopefully, in the next few months I will have something positive to show that UniBasic programmers can control their scope as well.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
My way or the Indian Highway
A recent discussion prompted me to contemplate about whether we should be worried about all of the out sourcing that is being done in our industry. We believed we have not had to worry about this to much because our UniBasic knowledge is not easily transferred because of the vast differences in architecture, language, programming styles, and the lack of modern tools. If outsourcing companies are offering anywhere from 10 to 30 per hour for programming services we should be worried about our livelihood.
Then again from a recent article about developers using the Salesforce.com platform called Force.com. In that article it stated that developers are 4.9 times faster at building Web applications then conventional .Net and Java methods.
If we, using our latest tool set from U2logic called XLr8 or Rocket Software’s U2 tools, can build Web applications 4.9 times faster we can compete. We know we can.
We have built Accounting, Alpaca Herd Management, CRM, Distribution, Document Management, Payroll, Transportation (Broker, Food Service, and Moving and Storage), and Warehousing that are all Web based and run multi-tenant. We did do it.
Let’s do the math. For example, the outsourcer is getting 20/hour. We can charge 4.0 times or 80/hour, if we are more efficient or nearly 100/hour if hit the average. Now with our business process knowledge, our 20 plus years of expertise in the MV world, and other accumulated skills, we can get our chargeable hourly wage justifiably so.
There have been companies such as Nucor in the steel industry that figured out how to compete against cheaper rivals. We can too.
Then again from a recent article about developers using the Salesforce.com platform called Force.com. In that article it stated that developers are 4.9 times faster at building Web applications then conventional .Net and Java methods.
If we, using our latest tool set from U2logic called XLr8 or Rocket Software’s U2 tools, can build Web applications 4.9 times faster we can compete. We know we can.
We have built Accounting, Alpaca Herd Management, CRM, Distribution, Document Management, Payroll, Transportation (Broker, Food Service, and Moving and Storage), and Warehousing that are all Web based and run multi-tenant. We did do it.
Let’s do the math. For example, the outsourcer is getting 20/hour. We can charge 4.0 times or 80/hour, if we are more efficient or nearly 100/hour if hit the average. Now with our business process knowledge, our 20 plus years of expertise in the MV world, and other accumulated skills, we can get our chargeable hourly wage justifiably so.
There have been companies such as Nucor in the steel industry that figured out how to compete against cheaper rivals. We can too.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Twitter me this, Batman
No matter whether you are a fan of the new Batman movies, they do have a lot of cool "toys". Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, through his many companies custom builds all of those cool toys. Bruce Wayne is worth billions so he can afford to build anything he can think up.
We in the multivalued world cannot afford to do this, but we do anyway. You can continually see that with everyone building this tool or that tool to do what Unidata and Universe do not offer. Somewhere on the Internet there was talk of the "dead" multivalued tools such as Cubic, Redback IDE, Toad, and APT are the ones that come to mind. We know of a lot of others, but the point is that they were all built on proprietary code and environments.
We are just a guilty as the rest of the industry. There is one important difference: we use open source. All of our XLr8 Tools and our middle-ware U2Weblink incorporate some or all open source. Then, we have to write a piece or two of code to talk to our database usually in Java through UniObjects for Java. For example, we use Eclipse, jabsorb, log4j, quartz, and many Java libraries.
What open source would we find in your applications or tools? Probably none because it is that not invented here mentality. We multivalued programmers must start embracing the open source world more and more if you want to compete effectively and have technology that is not stagnating.
In the next Batman movie when you hear bad guy say "Twitter me this, Batman", you heard it first.
We in the multivalued world cannot afford to do this, but we do anyway. You can continually see that with everyone building this tool or that tool to do what Unidata and Universe do not offer. Somewhere on the Internet there was talk of the "dead" multivalued tools such as Cubic, Redback IDE, Toad, and APT are the ones that come to mind. We know of a lot of others, but the point is that they were all built on proprietary code and environments.
We are just a guilty as the rest of the industry. There is one important difference: we use open source. All of our XLr8 Tools and our middle-ware U2Weblink incorporate some or all open source. Then, we have to write a piece or two of code to talk to our database usually in Java through UniObjects for Java. For example, we use Eclipse, jabsorb, log4j, quartz, and many Java libraries.
What open source would we find in your applications or tools? Probably none because it is that not invented here mentality. We multivalued programmers must start embracing the open source world more and more if you want to compete effectively and have technology that is not stagnating.
In the next Batman movie when you hear bad guy say "Twitter me this, Batman", you heard it first.
Monday, July 27, 2009
U2 the database not the band
In 2001 when IBM acquired Universe and Unidata when it bought Informix, I thought about how we could differentiate ourselves with a unique moniker. Since both of the databases began with a “U” it was fairly easy to see that U2 was a way to tie the databases under an easy to remember name. I was an Informix/Ardent/Unidata VAR and we need a new name.
A problem arose, however, with this slightly popular band from Dublin, Ireland called U2. Hype, the band, as they were originally known settled on the name U2 in 1978 and they signed shortly there after with CBS Records and came out with debut album called U2:3. So how could we use that name I asked myself?
Oh, but if we used part of the U2 moniker in our name we would be part of Unidata and Universe without a lot of effort, so we thought. Our company officially changed it name in 2004 officially to U2logic, Inc. Around 2006 IBM adopted the “U2” name as well in their branding effort and on their web sites.
U2logic need name recognition and by end of 2006 I came up with idea to create a full screen editor. One of our programmers wanted based on Microsoft’s Visual Studio. I, however, had been to an Eclipse demo that IBM gave on Rational a company they has just acquired. I found the Eclipse platform amazing in it depth and the commitment that IBM gave the open source community in programming support was unsurpassed.
U2 editor was born in November 2006. U2 editor would be renamed to XLr8Editor and was given away free to our U2 community. Our on the fly marketing effort did work. U2logic, the company, is known around the world for the U2 editor we gave away free for 2 ½ years. Over 700 users registered to use the XLr8Editor and we were very thankful for that tacit approval.
U2 database now has one of the premier tool sets in the world. The U2 database is no longer third class when it comes to tool sets for our programmers and users. U2logic has not sit still and continues to improve and extend the XLr8Editor. I should note as well that IBM now supports Eclipse based tools as well for the U2 databases.
A problem arose, however, with this slightly popular band from Dublin, Ireland called U2. Hype, the band, as they were originally known settled on the name U2 in 1978 and they signed shortly there after with CBS Records and came out with debut album called U2:3. So how could we use that name I asked myself?
Oh, but if we used part of the U2 moniker in our name we would be part of Unidata and Universe without a lot of effort, so we thought. Our company officially changed it name in 2004 officially to U2logic, Inc. Around 2006 IBM adopted the “U2” name as well in their branding effort and on their web sites.
U2logic need name recognition and by end of 2006 I came up with idea to create a full screen editor. One of our programmers wanted based on Microsoft’s Visual Studio. I, however, had been to an Eclipse demo that IBM gave on Rational a company they has just acquired. I found the Eclipse platform amazing in it depth and the commitment that IBM gave the open source community in programming support was unsurpassed.
U2 editor was born in November 2006. U2 editor would be renamed to XLr8Editor and was given away free to our U2 community. Our on the fly marketing effort did work. U2logic, the company, is known around the world for the U2 editor we gave away free for 2 ½ years. Over 700 users registered to use the XLr8Editor and we were very thankful for that tacit approval.
U2 database now has one of the premier tool sets in the world. The U2 database is no longer third class when it comes to tool sets for our programmers and users. U2logic has not sit still and continues to improve and extend the XLr8Editor. I should note as well that IBM now supports Eclipse based tools as well for the U2 databases.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Horse Blinders for U2 Programmers
Over the course of many years we have wondered why U2 UniBasic programmers still insist on coding with vi, notepad, ED or AE. The latter two are line by line editors that were developed in the 1980's and are installed with the database. So coding with horse blinders on seems to fit some of our esteemed colleagues.
Many programmers believe ED or AE keeps them focused on what is in front of them, encouraging them to pay attention to the code rather than other distractions. ED or AE programmers are commonly seen to help keep them from being distracted or spooked. See the real Wikipedia explanation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blinders and not the satirical piece that was co-opted in this paragraph.
That not to say they cannot do the job or that the job they do does not have value with those tools. The point really here is that some U2 programmers are stuck in the 1980's coding with those tools or have some hybrids that have been cobbled together from various open source projects. Why should we not be programming like millions of Java, C#, and VB programmers that have great tools.
We can have state of the art tools with full screen editors, reserved word colorization, syntax completion, cognitive help, local or database editing, search, local history change log, and version control to name a few of the new features. Bugzilla or other connectors can be attached to some editors an allow you to see what bugs you have to fix or software you have to enhance.
Some enlightened programmers live all day in their tool set and very rarely wander into the world of TCL (terminal control language). Of course, we know a few of them.
Eclipse platform is what IBM, the former owner of the U2 databases, believes is the integrated development platform of the future. Eclipse is used by hundreds of thousands of programmers. There are plug-ins for many languages such as Java, PHP, Cobol, C++, and C# to name a few that come to mind. There are thousands of other plugs-in to do whatever you can think of.
The Basic Developer Toolkit that is part of client software for U2 databases since 2008. The Basic Developer Toolkit is free when you upgrade your database. The other Eclipse developer is from U2logic, Inc. and it is called XLr8Editor. XLr8Editor has been on the U2 market since late 2006.
It time to change old habits and move to the 21st century.
Many programmers believe ED or AE keeps them focused on what is in front of them, encouraging them to pay attention to the code rather than other distractions. ED or AE programmers are commonly seen to help keep them from being distracted or spooked. See the real Wikipedia explanation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blinders and not the satirical piece that was co-opted in this paragraph.
That not to say they cannot do the job or that the job they do does not have value with those tools. The point really here is that some U2 programmers are stuck in the 1980's coding with those tools or have some hybrids that have been cobbled together from various open source projects. Why should we not be programming like millions of Java, C#, and VB programmers that have great tools.
We can have state of the art tools with full screen editors, reserved word colorization, syntax completion, cognitive help, local or database editing, search, local history change log, and version control to name a few of the new features. Bugzilla or other connectors can be attached to some editors an allow you to see what bugs you have to fix or software you have to enhance.
Some enlightened programmers live all day in their tool set and very rarely wander into the world of TCL (terminal control language). Of course, we know a few of them.
Eclipse platform is what IBM, the former owner of the U2 databases, believes is the integrated development platform of the future. Eclipse is used by hundreds of thousands of programmers. There are plug-ins for many languages such as Java, PHP, Cobol, C++, and C# to name a few that come to mind. There are thousands of other plugs-in to do whatever you can think of.
The Basic Developer Toolkit that is part of client software for U2 databases since 2008. The Basic Developer Toolkit is free when you upgrade your database. The other Eclipse developer is from U2logic, Inc. and it is called XLr8Editor. XLr8Editor has been on the U2 market since late 2006.
It time to change old habits and move to the 21st century.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Looking for the "one".
I have spent countless dollars and hours looking for the "one". I am not talking about the finding a significant other. What I am talking about is a tool for the Universe/Unidata world. Not a day had gone by when some programmer would announce the great tool since sliced bread. I cannot name half of them nor would I care to.
Today, except in some green screen software companies and those not enlightened, every one is looking for a way to GUI the interface for the multivalue applications. To say I found the solution for everyone is a brash statement that would need considerable facts that would be worth the effort. There are, however, some points that I have learned in this arduous process of taking code that is some cases over 25 year and moving them into our Web-enabled world.
I have a significant amount of business logic that I just do not want to lose or reinvent, so what did I do with all the Basic code. First, every program that had a user interface (UI) was removed. That's right I delete all of the UI from the Basic code. All that was left was just the basic code necessary to update the files and verify the integrity of that data or the business logic.
I found JavaScript a scripting language that is very close to Basic in many ways and unfortunately very close to Java as well. The validation of dates, numbers, codes, and even calling Basic Subroutines to verify inventory levels, was re-written in JavaScript. I, then, had a series of functions that could be called from any form and perform the data checking I needed to accomplish what I had been doing in Basic for many years.
I had not even found the "one", but I found a way to accomplish one of the goals without purchasing a product.
There is a great tutorial at W3Schools if you need help with JavaScript.
Today, except in some green screen software companies and those not enlightened, every one is looking for a way to GUI the interface for the multivalue applications. To say I found the solution for everyone is a brash statement that would need considerable facts that would be worth the effort. There are, however, some points that I have learned in this arduous process of taking code that is some cases over 25 year and moving them into our Web-enabled world.
I have a significant amount of business logic that I just do not want to lose or reinvent, so what did I do with all the Basic code. First, every program that had a user interface (UI) was removed. That's right I delete all of the UI from the Basic code. All that was left was just the basic code necessary to update the files and verify the integrity of that data or the business logic.
I found JavaScript a scripting language that is very close to Basic in many ways and unfortunately very close to Java as well. The validation of dates, numbers, codes, and even calling Basic Subroutines to verify inventory levels, was re-written in JavaScript. I, then, had a series of functions that could be called from any form and perform the data checking I needed to accomplish what I had been doing in Basic for many years.
I had not even found the "one", but I found a way to accomplish one of the goals without purchasing a product.
There is a great tutorial at W3Schools if you need help with JavaScript.
Monday, June 1, 2009
The Beginning
For over 27 years I have been involved in the "pick" world that morphed from R83 to Prime Information and subsequently morphed into IBM's Unidata/Universe databases. Along the way my company U2logic created tools for myself and my staff to use. We even sold some of them along the way to our customers and fellow programmers.
I created a programming environment called APT which was short for A Programmer's Tool. In retrospect it was not much of a tool. The competitors at that time where Toads, SB, and TPS to name a few I remember.
Funny now, I even remember creating a BASIC full screen editor that was based on my experience with the one I used in Revelation version G. That full screen editor was called S.EDT. Of course, I never sold it. That name is really awful must have been thought up by a programmer. Oh yeah, it was.
I will be on my soap box from time to time and even evangelistic about the databases I use everyday. You have to be our world is not driven by any company marketing effort on IBM's part but on the backs of the VAR's (Value added resellers) that dominate this marketplace.
I created a programming environment called APT which was short for A Programmer's Tool. In retrospect it was not much of a tool. The competitors at that time where Toads, SB, and TPS to name a few I remember.
Funny now, I even remember creating a BASIC full screen editor that was based on my experience with the one I used in Revelation version G. That full screen editor was called S.EDT. Of course, I never sold it. That name is really awful must have been thought up by a programmer. Oh yeah, it was.
I will be on my soap box from time to time and even evangelistic about the databases I use everyday. You have to be our world is not driven by any company marketing effort on IBM's part but on the backs of the VAR's (Value added resellers) that dominate this marketplace.
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