Profound Logic Streamlines Development with RPGsp 3.0

by Alex Woodie

RPG programmers will become proficient Web developers even faster than before with the new release of Profound Logic Software's RPG Smart Pages, the Dayton, Ohio, company says. Version 3.0 of the RPGsp development environment, which combines RPG and HTML into a single editor, features a more intelligent RPG/HTML compiler, new "IntelliSense" code-completion capabilities, support for CL and DDS editing, and improvements to the Apache Web server configuration wizard.

Profound launched RPGsp a couple of years ago with the goal of eliminating the hassle that programmers face when they're forced to use two separate code editors--one for RPG and one for HTML--when writing Web browser-based applications using RPG. With this tool, RPG is embedded directly into HTML content, in a manner similar to other scripting languages, like Active Server Pages (ASP) or JavaServer Pages (JSP). In this way, the company says, iSeries programmers are free to develop Web applications using the language they know best (RPG), while the new applications are kept resident on the user's most secure and scalable server (the OS/400 server).

Profound says that the new IntelliSense feature will make language references more easily accessible. Programmers no longer need to leave the development environment to search for specific language elements, and the IntelliSense code-prompting feature can also finish typing the code for them. RPGsp 3.0 features IntelliSense for RPG operations and built-in functions, HTML tags, RPGsp add-on functions, CL commands, and other language elements relevant to RPG-based Web development, the company says.

The RPGsp 3.0 IDE also includes a new editor for CL and DDS source members. Profound says that the editor includes a "robust" CL prompter that supports many common iSeries commands. What's more, shops can extend the editor's prompting capabilities by providing definitions for rare or for custom commands, the company says.

Users can also gain a greater degree of control over the compilation of iSeries Web and traditional objects, the company says. "For example, the developer can now override individual database files during the compile, redirect the compiler listing to a specific output queue, or alter the character sets used for transferring information between the iSeries and the RPGsp development environment," the company says.

The RPGsp development environment includes several components, such as a scripting language, editors, wizards, pre-written templates, compilers, and runtime components. Depending on the components selected, pricing for RPGsp ranges from $4,000 to $20,000. Free trial downloads of RPGsp are available on Profound Logic's Web site, at www.profoundlogic.com.