• The Four Hundred
  • Subscribe
  • Media Kit
  • Contributors
  • About Us
  • Contact
Menu
  • The Four Hundred
  • Subscribe
  • Media Kit
  • Contributors
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Spectrum Manages ‘E-Assets’ with SCM Tool

    November 4, 2008 Alex Woodie

    System i shops looking to upgrade their development processes with better accountability and more automation may want to take a look at Spectrum Software, a Georgia developer of source code management tools. The company’s flagship product, called SpectrumSCM, is a process-centric SCM tool based in Java that’s designed to help teams of people from all walks of life manage the lifecycle of various types of “e-assets” from the comfort of a Web browser.

    Such e-assets managed by SpectrumSCM could refer to the source code for a custom-built Java CRM system, the working blueprints for a new factory, or a 1,000-page legal contract undergoing revisions. As such, Spectrum casts a wide net for customers ranging from the traditional consumers of SCM–software companies, in-house programming teams, and help desk operators–to non-traditional SCM customers, such as architects, lawyers, accountants, and even desktop publishers.

    From an IT perspective, SpectrumSCM helps augment the application development and code maintenance process with a series of integrated capabilities, including issue and bug tracking, version control, code branching, and release management. And since it’s based in Java, the product is platform independent and has no dependency on the underlying operating system, the company says.

    Everything in SpectrumSCM starts with the change request. Whereas other SCM products tackle problems from the perspective of a version control system, SpectrumSCM takes the opposite approach and views everything through the lens of issue tracking.

    The integrated, task-based approach of SpectrumSCM lends itself well to managing the lifecycles of business objects, and makes complying with regulations like Sarbanes-Oxley easier than other non-integrated SCM suites, says Sarathi “Srini” Srinivasan, president and CEO of Spectrum Software.

    “Nothing gets changed or edited unless a problem statement is associated with it, ensuring traceability,” Srinivasan says. “You will never able to deploy a release unless all the tasks associated with the project are completed.”

    As a change request works its way through the various stages of the development lifecycle, the product keeps track of everything, and sends e-mail notifications to appropriate users to notify them of the progress. As change requests gain approval from project managers and developers move on to fix other problems or develop new features, SpectrumSCM’s release management module prepares them for final distribution while simultaneously keeping track of the inter-dependencies of multiple change requests. In other words, it keeps track of the juggling balls in the air, so the developers don’t have to.

    SpectrumSCM is based on ObjectStore, an object-oriented database from Progress Software that’s designed to provide very fast performance for Java and C++ applications that demand reliable, transactional object persistence. Each new project in SpectrumSCM gains its own database, while groups of projects are linked through database federation.

    Groups of programmers can work on the same project through SpectrumSCM’s support for parallel development and branch management capabilities. Users can use the tool’s unique project-level branching features. These features are based on the concept of a “generic,” which refers to a piece of code that shares all of its files with the generic that it was derived from. The generic concept is one of the product’s strengths, according to Spectrum, and gives customers more control over an application’s lineage. Alternatively, customers can use SpectrumSCM’s classic file-based branching and source merging techniques using its color-coded diff-merge tool.

    Two Web-based interfaces are available. The full client is written using a combination of pure Java and Java applet technologies, and provides fast performance against the SpectrumSCM server, even over relatively slow WAN or Web communication lines, the company claims. There is also an HTML-based interfaced used for submitting change requests and viewing reports. Users can also access SpectrumSCM’s capabilities through Eclipse-based IDEs, such as IBM WebSphere Studio Application Developer, and Microsoft Visual Studio.

    SpectrumSCM was launched about six years ago, and today has about 150 customers, Srinivasan says. One customer, NASA, consolidated four separate change management products onto SpectrumSCM, which manages development across Unix, Windows, and VMS environments.

    Several System i shops are currently evaluating SpectrumSCM, according to Srinivasan, who notes that the tool can manage RPG and COBOL as well as it can manage other source code. “We’ve been getting many inquires in AS/400. Now that they recognize it offers more than green screen, it gets their attention,” he says.

    The System i shops are looking at version 3.0, which shipped in June. Version 3.0 added a new dashboard that displays enterprise-wide metrics, such as process trends and quality efficiencies.

    Spectrum positions its SCM product as a low-cost alternative to proprietary, feature-rich SCM products and as a more feature-rich and customizable product than the popular open source SCM products on the market, such as CVS.

    SpectrumSCM 3.0 is available now. Single-seat software licenses start at $800 per client. Implementations involving more than one client require purchase of the SpectrumSCM server, which costs $1,500. For more information visit www.spectrumscm.com.



                         Post this story to del.icio.us
                   Post this story to Digg
        Post this story to Slashdot

    Share this:

    • Reddit
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Email

    Tags:

    Sponsored by
    Cozzi Research

    Application Development Productivity for your IBM i platform.

    Providing the solutions for IBM i for over 35 years. From the original Modern RPG Language books to today’s SQL tools, we’ve got you covered.

    We created three of the most famous tools in the OS/400 and IBM i market:

    • SQL iQuery, updates and replaces the 1980s-style Query/400 by allowing SQL-based queries and reports, with output to a variety of file formats.
    • SQL Tools, provides SQL-based access to virtually all IBM i interfaces (APIs) on any release starting with IBM i. Use them in RPG-IV, ACS RUNSQL Scripts for Admin work, or create awesome reports to distribute to your users via SQL iQuery.
    • Cozzi Tools is our pervasive CL tools, now free for all IBM i users to leverage.

    Compatible with IBM i V7R2 and later. Contact us now.

    Share this:

    • Reddit
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Email

    Sponsored Links

    PowerTech:  Incorporating real-time security events from the System i into a security program
    Seagull Software:  Update your System i apps with LegaSuite GUI
    COMMON:  Join us at the 2009 annual meeting and expo, April 26-30, Reno, Nevada

    IT Jungle Store Top Book Picks

    Easy Steps to Internet Programming for AS/400, iSeries, and System i: List Price, $49.95
    Getting Started with PHP for i5/OS: List Price, $59.95
    The System i RPG & RPG IV Tutorial and Lab Exercises: List Price, $59.95
    The System i Pocket RPG & RPG IV Guide: List Price, $69.95
    The iSeries Pocket Database Guide: List Price, $59.00
    The iSeries Pocket Developers' Guide: List Price, $59.00
    The iSeries Pocket SQL Guide: List Price, $59.00
    The iSeries Pocket Query Guide: List Price, $49.00
    The iSeries Pocket WebFacing Primer: List Price, $39.00
    Migrating to WebSphere Express for iSeries: List Price, $49.00
    iSeries Express Web Implementer's Guide: List Price, $59.00
    Getting Started with WebSphere Development Studio for iSeries: List Price, $79.95
    Getting Started With WebSphere Development Studio Client for iSeries: List Price, $89.00
    Getting Started with WebSphere Express for iSeries: List Price, $49.00
    WebFacing Application Design and Development Guide: List Price, $55.00
    Can the AS/400 Survive IBM?: List Price, $49.00
    The All-Everything Machine: List Price, $29.95
    Chip Wars: List Price, $29.95

    JDA Shakes Off the Bad Economy, Sets Sales Record in Q3 OPNQRYF Has No “If” But You Can Fake It

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Volume 8, Number 40 -- November 4, 2008
THIS ISSUE SPONSORED BY:

LANSA
Databorough
Seagull Software
Maximum Availability
RJS Software Systems

Table of Contents

  • Seagull Unveils New LegaSuite Reporting Tool
  • Spectrum Manages ‘E-Assets’ with SCM Tool
  • ProData Expands Database Support in DBU
  • Micro Focus Works on COBOL Standardization, Training
  • Oracle Launches ‘Best Practice Center’ for SOA-Enabling JDE EnterpriseOne
  • Aldon Streamlines Coding for Health Insurance Company
  • Cowabunga, Dude: O’Neill Standardizes on Lawson M3 for European Operations
  • XAware Plugs Integration Tooling Into Latest Eclipse Release
  • Magic Updates iBOLT For Salesforce
  • Classic Software and System i Power World’s Largest Truck Stop

Content archive

  • The Four Hundred
  • Four Hundred Stuff
  • Four Hundred Guru

Recent Posts

  • Kisco Adds DUO Support to i2Pass, Okta Up Next
  • Power10 Upgrade Considerations You Need to be Aware Of
  • Eradani Debuts DevOps Suite for IBM i
  • Four Hundred Monitor, October 4
  • This Is Your IBM i Market, And Therefore Your Annual Survey
  • 40 Years Of DB2, But Even More For That No-Name Database Embedded In The System/38
  • API Dev Tool Delivers For Trucking Outfit
  • Guru: TryIT – You’ll Like It
  • It’s Time To Tell Us How It Is And What You’re Doing
  • IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 25, Number 40

Subscribe

To get news from IT Jungle sent to your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.

Pages

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Contributors
  • Four Hundred Monitor
  • IBM i PTF Guide
  • Media Kit
  • Subscribe

Search

Copyright © 2023 IT Jungle