Aldon Eases Project Management with Update to Affiniti

by Alex Woodie

New change management capabilities released by Aldon Computer Group last week should make it easier for companies to manage application development projects across a range of operating systems. The Version 4.1 release of Aldon's Affiniti software configuration management (SCM) system includes two new features: a shortcut that launches the correct Windows development tool for OS/400 development and new project management capabilities.

First released in 2000, Affiniti extends the change management capabilities that Aldon developed for the OS/400 server, with Aldon/CMS, to client/server, Java, and Web-based development work. No matter whether development occurs in RPG, COBOL, C++, HTML, or Java--or is deployed on OS/400, Unix, Windows, or Web application servers--Affiniti can manage the development and distribution processes.

A new feature in Affiniti 4.1 should make it as simple to work with iSeries objects as it is for other environments. Developers can now double-click an iSeries object from within the Affiniti GUI to automatically launch the appropriate Windows development tools, such as WebSphere Development Studio client (WDSc). Aldon says it included this feature to increase development speed and to decrease the chance of errors when working within multiple environments.

Affiniti 4.1 also now allows users to manage any set of objects as defined by the user, across any number of platforms or applications. With this new feature, users can apply Affiniti functions to projects, including change management and deployment processes, just as they had previously applied functions to individual objects and groups of objects. Affiniti also automatically replicates these projects and links them to the project created in the target development environment.

Affiniti 4.1 is available now. The company does not publicly release pricing. For more information, go to www.aldon.com.