Altova Updates Db2 for i Support Across Product Line
July 14, 2021 Alex Woodie
IBM i shops that use data and development tools from Altova will be happy to know that the software vendor has added support for the latest release of Db2 for i among several of its tools.
Altova is a Beverley, Massachusetts, company that develops a series of software tools and utilities for developers. The company is arguably best known as the creator of XMLSpy, an IDE that allows developers to create XML-based Web services using standards like WSDL; it later added support for JSON data and the modern SOAP protocol.
In 2010, Altova added support for IBM i in MissionKit, its comprehensive suite of tools that includes XMLSpy, UModel (for UML modeling), StyleVision (for forms and report), and MapForce (graphical data mapping and conversion for databases, EDI, and other data types), among others. Then in 2012, it bolstered its IBM i support with support for Db2 for i database logical files, which it supported across its MissionKit line.
Last week, Altova announced a new release of MobileTogether, its rapid app development platform for iOS, Android, and Windows. The offering, which features a visual programming environment with an integrated debugger, enables developers to build native applications for mobile platforms that can access data residing in enterprise databases, such as Db2 for i (among others).
Among the new features in MobileTogether is support for the latest release of Db2 for i version 7.4, which IBM unveiled in the spring of 2019. The big new database feature in IBM i 7.4 was Db2 Mirror, which Altova customers could be using. But more likely, MobileTogether customers will benefit from being able to access the collection of pre-built database services called IBIM i services (which IBM previously called SQL Services).
In addition to Db2 for i, MobileTogether supports Db2, Informix, MariaDB, SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, Sybase, SQL Lite, Progress OpenEdge, and Teradata.
Altova is also including support for in-app purchases with MobileTogether version 7.3. The vendor says that giving developers the ability to enable in-app purchases in the native iOS, Android, and Windows apps they create using MobileTogether provides a powerful way to monetize apps.
Customers can now embed their MobileTogether Windows client in their own Universal Windows Platform. A UWP, of course, is a new feature that Microsoft debuted with Windows 10 that enables the same app and development effort to yield apps for Windows Mobile, Xbox One and HoloLens, the software giant says.
Altova also has brought support for tooltips to MobileTogether. The company says that tooltips can be assigned to buttons, labels, checkboxes, and other elements, giving users the ability to get information by hovering over the UI element (or conducting a “long click” in a mobile environment).
MobileTogether also brings support for Android 11. Subscriptions for MobileTogether run about $1,000 per user per year, which gives customers unlimited access to the product.
In March, Altova quietly updated a number of other products support Db2 for i 7.4 as well, including the 2021r2 releases of MapForce Server, StyleVision, UModel, and XMLSpy. DiffDog Server, its diff report generation tool, and Authentic, its XML forms tool, have also been enhanced with Db2 for i 7.4 support. For more information see the company’s website at www.altova.com.
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