Midrange Stuff, OS/400 Edition

Business Computer Design Int'l last week announced the immediate availability of WebSmart Java Servlet Edition, a new version of its WebSmart product line that serves Java servlets instead of CGI scripts. At the same time, BCD announced the availability of WebSmart Original Edition, the new name given to BCD's traditional CGI-based Web application server software. With these announcements, BCD enables customers to develop once and to deploy the same application using either Java or CGI.

BCD originally announced the beta version of WebSmart Java Servlet Edition in April. Now the Chicago company is delivering on its efforts to develop a truly cross-platform version of the WebSmart platform.

The WebSmart family includes an application development tool, which it calls an Interactive Development Environment, and the two deployment components, Original Edition and Java Servlet Edition. One of the cool features that BCD and its development arm, ExcelSystems Software Development, of Vancouver, British Columbia, have built into the product is the capability to deploy the same Web or wireless application that developers built in the Interactive Development Environment, using Program Macro Language (PML) and the more than 70 prebuilt application templates, in either the Original Edition or the Java Servlet Edition. This capability gives companies considerable flexibility in their deployment options.

For example, previously, after writing an application with the WebSmart Interactive Development Environment and PML, developers would load the generated CGI scripts onto a separate WebSmart component, called the WebSmart Web Application Server. The WebSmart Web Application Server required an OS/400 Web server, either HTTP Server or Apache.

Now, with the introduction of WebSmart Java Servlet Edition, users have the choice of deploying their creations using CGI (via WebSmart Original Edition) or Java (via WebSmart Java Servlet Edition). Since Java isn't tied to a specific operating system, users can run applications developed with WebSmart Interactive Development Environment 3.02 on any server platform that can support Java, including OS/400, Unix, Linux, FreeBSD, Windows.

WebSmart Web Application Server required an HTTP server beneath it; WebSmart Java Servlet Edition requires a Java-based Web application server as well. Any of the popular ones on the market--such as IBM's WebSphere, BEA Systems' WebLogic, or Apache Software Foundation's Tomcat--will suffice. For database access, WebSmart Java Servlet Edition uses JDBC, providing support for DB2/400, Sybase, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, FreeSQL, and a range of others. Additionally, WebSmart Java Servlet Edition gives organizations the added benefit of providing direct access to OS/400 data and applications, even if the WebSmart Java Servlet Edition application is running on a platform other than OS/400.

BCD has also delivered new capabilities in the Version 3.02 releases of WebSmart Interactive Development Environment and WebSmart Original Edition. The new WebSmart Interactive Development Environment capabilities include a reengineered text-editing component that, BCD said, makes it more powerful and easy to use. These enhancements include new bookmarks that allow developers to move around within a program more easily; HTML color-coding that is syntax-sensitive; automatic spell-checking of HTML keywords; and error highlighting for PML. WebSmart Original Edition enhancements include block indentation support, which allows developers to indent several lines of code with a single key stroke, and keylist prompting, which presents developers with a tool tip window from which an existing keylist can be selected.

BCD also announced the general availability of a new version of its report distribution tool, Catapult, which allows users to distribute OS/400 spool files electronically as PDF, RTF, and HTML documents. Enhancements in Catapult 3.2 include the capability to send OS/400 spool files as links within an e-mail. Previous versions of Catapult sent the content of the spool file within the body of the e-mail, or as an e-mail attachment. Another new feature allows users to add headers and footers to the e-mail, in either text or HTML format. Catapult 3.2 also allows users to specify the priority of e-mails, including low, normal, or high priority, and to request a read receipt for the e-mail. Multiple spool files can now be sent in one e-mail. Lastly, the Catapult Poller component has been enhanced to work as a multiple thread job. This change was made to separate the formatting process from the e-mail process, which tends to run slower.

Catapult licenses range from $2,500 to $4,500. Pricing for the WebSmart Interactive Development Environment starts at $6,000 and ranges up to $9,500. WebSmart Java Servlet Edition and WebSmart Original Edition both range from $4,500 to $9,500, based on the server model and number of processors. For more information, go to www.bcdsoftware.com.