mrc Bolsters Web UI, Launches Cloud Program for ISVs

September 11, 2012 Alex Woodie

Web application development tool maker mrc has upgraded the templates it uses to generate Web pages, resulting in pages that load faster, are easier to maintain, and will give users more flexibility going forward. The new templates will be available to software vendors who sign up for mrc’s new cloud enablement program.

m-Power is a Web application development tool that uses a template-based approach to enable rapid delivery of new programs and functionality. After configuring new programs from pre-defined templates, m-Power generates Java code that runs on IBM i and all Java-enabled platforms.

The Chicago, Illinois, company last week announced that it has bolstered the templates that govern how the Web apps present themselves on the screen. The company says it has compressed and optimized the JavaScript files that are used in the m-Power templates, which reduces the Web page size in the generated applications.

Mrc also tweaked the CSS files in the templates, which will allow developers to update the pages without logging onto m-Power or recompiling the program. Finally, mrc says it updated the templates to take advantage of the most modern HTML syntax and layout structure, which boosts the flexibility in layout and design of m-Power-ed apps.

“These updates keep m-Power applications up-to-date with the most modern structure and syntax,” states mrc lead developer Tyler Wassell in a press release. “But more importantly, they set the stage for some exciting new enhancements coming to m-Power in the near future.”

We’ll have to wait and see what mrc has in store. The company has been at the forefront of modern development trends for years, with its support of Web 2.0 interfaces, reliance on open source middleware like the Apache server, its rapid software release cycle, and its software exchange for m-Power users.

One more program that mrc has rolled out is its cloud enablement program, which the company announced in August. As part of the program, mrc will work with existing software vendors to help modify their applications to work in a cloud or software as a service (SaaS) environment; to add new Web or mobile interfaces; or to create new Web-based business intelligence and reporting offerings.

The new cloud enablement program helps to formalize the work that mrc has already done with ISVs. One ISV that has worked with mrc to develop a cloud application is ComPair Data, a company that helps shipping companies understand what services are available in oceanic trade lanes. ComPair Data created a new reporting app with assistance from mrc, an mrc spokesperson says.

“Moving from a traditional software distribution model to a cloud-based distribution model is no easy task,” Sal Stangarone, mrc’s senior product consultant, says in a press release. “I truly believe that our new cloud partnership program will ease the transition, and help keep these traditional software companies from falling behind.”