J42 for NOMAD/Front & CenterProduct AvailabilityThis product is based upon NOMAD and Front and Center from SELECT Business Systems. J&B Computing Services were Benelux distributers of these products from 1986 until 1999 and J42 for NOMAD was part of their commitment to the NOMAD product line. If you already own NOMAD or Front and Center then there are still many good reasons for purchasing J42 for NOMAD. If you do not already own a NOMAD product then we recommend you take a look at J42 for Data Access which is written in Java and uses the same philosophy in a more modern setting.IntroductionAs next-generation client/server systems are created to provide core-business functionality, the development process has become substantially more rigorous. J42 Application Development Environment helps manage that complexity with an integrated solution that delivers the control and capabilities for developing enterprise-scale applications via a common user interface designed for both novice and sophisticated users across a variety of platformsCombining the strengths of case and 4GLJ42 Application Development Environment is a computer software generator tool that integrates and synchronises the data modeling strengths of Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) with the rapid application development (RAD) benefits of a powerful client/server 4GL. Its object-oriented approach provides users with a common user interface for quickly generating the computer programs required to run applications on multiple computer platforms supporting both client/server and native databases.The result is a whole new way of developing applications that can have an application up and running in only a few hours. Designed for all applications and for all levels of usersJ42 designs and generates interactive applications for SELECT Business Solution's leading 4GLs, NOMAD and Front & Center. NOMAD is a character-based 4GL that runs on UNIX, Open VMS and PC platforms; Front & Center is a GUI-based 4GL for MS Windows and UNIX Motif environments.J42's success in core-business application development projects is largely due to the user-friendly interface it generates. This interface is based on Microsoft Windows and Motif standards and incorporates those set forth by IBM Common User Access (CUA) and Digital's Network Application Support (NAS). Just as important, J42 incorporates the design feedback of numerous users involved in its testing and ongoing enhancements. Application RefinementAs business needs change, supporting strategic applications must be flexible enough for ongoing refinement to take place if they are to be of continued value. That's where J42 can play a critical supporting role in delivering long-term enterprise-scale systems.J42 can be used both for prototyping the data model and for developing the final production system. J42 supports the concept of pre- and post-processing through a series of defined user exits. This allows the continuous refinement of an application and its data model without the need to redefine the extra processing within the application. All application-specific processing is stored separately and called at generation time. J42 generates a default multi-windowed design for every object in the application. These windows can be redesigned, replaced or regenerated as required, using J42's painter facility. Development Flexibility Between Applications : In the development of J42, models and applications of increasing complexity were tested by numerous developers. One of the most useful features they discovered was J42's ability to support access to multiple applications within the development environment so they could centralise work on applications. J42 accomplishes this by being available in single-user and shared-user versions. J42 also provides unique names for all J42 objects. This gives developers the flexibility to control their work during the development process. Another feature that developers found important was J42's ability to take full advantage of the Microsoft Windows and Motif environments. While running the application, a developer can reconfigure the application object and regenerate it without leaving the object. The developer can demonstrate the application to the user and reconfigure it to the user's requirements during their discussion. Multi-line FormsMulti-line forms are particularly useful for examining detail information of a parent record. A multi-line form, consisting of a header and the multi-line detail area, can be requested for any of the one-to-many relationships. Icons are available for deleting a detail row or for updating it through a single record update form.This adherence to leading industry standards and user testing assures businesses that enterprise applications on any platform and of any complexity can be used productively by users of any skill level. Using the data model for RADToday's object-oriented user interface has the user choosing an object on the screen, clicking on it with a mouse, and then waiting for the subsequent action or actions to be performed. Yet for all the productivity benefits such ease delivers, even object-oriented technology requires developers to design and develop the underlying computer code for each object's associated action.J42 eliminates that time-consuming step by using the description from an application's data model to automatically develop the application. J42 is designed to work with the data model for any application in the major business platforms, including UNIX, PC, and Digital's Open VMS. The features of the data model or schema can be used to influence the generated user interface and application features. Hence, the more extensive the use of the data model, the more this investment is automatically repaid through the increased sophistication of the resulting application. J42 uses the paths through relational databases between the tables to identify the objects in an application. Efficient application codeFor simplified ease-of-use in today's complex client/server environments, J42 supports the concept of providing users with generalised data access. J42 works intelligently with industry-standard SQL database engines by incorporating the different facilities and performance features of each engine. So while J42 supports generalised data access, efficiency isn't sacrified because applications contain the most efficient code possible for a chosen database engine.Supported database engines include Oracle, Oracle 7, Sybase and Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase System 10, Gupta's SQLBase, Oracle's Rdb and Digital's RMS. J42 also works with any ODBC-compliant database, as well as NOMAD and Front & Center databases for local processing and testing. Data and referential integrityCore-business applications without reliable data are scary at best and business disasters at their very worst. Referential and data integrity are, therefore, important issues that J42 fully supports in generating a maintenance and reporting application for an entire database.While Front & Center and NOMAD each provide many integrity controls, J42 goes even further by providing the user with a picklist of possible values when a mistake is made during data entry as well as on demand. In addition, J42 detects foreign key relationships and provides drill-down facilities so that users can easily move from one table to another down the paths defined by the referential integrity rules. A J42-generated application uses cascading windows to show users where they are located within the database and how they arrived there. A common look and feel across platformsMost organisations have a heterogeneous mix of computing platforms and operating systems to contend with. What's useful and productive, therefore, is to have applications that deliver a consistent look and feel so that, as users move to different platforms, the learning curve is lessened and productivity is maintained.J42's adherence to IBM CUA, Digital's NAS and Graphical User Interface standards give organisations the ability to deliver applications that reflect the specific features of the operating system they were developed in, as well as a consistent look and feel across disparate platforms and operating systems. The origins of J42 for NOMADJ&B Computing Services were distributers of NOMAD from 1986 until 1999 and during that time implemented many solutions using NOMAD and Front and Center. Over ten years, J42 for NOMAD grew from an elementary program generation tools into a fully fledged application development environment which was sold and supported world-wide. The supplier of NOMAD (now known as SELECT Business Solutions) was so impressed with the product that they incorporated it into the NOMAD product line.Many users were involved in the testing of J42's design and functionality before its release and that involvement continues as enhancements are made. A central database is maintained to register all ideas about J42. These are added to the ongoing program of refinement and enhancements, all of which help to ensure that J42 continues to play a vital role in the development of enterprise-scale client/server systems.
Today J42 for NOMAD and the applications it created are still in use and are likely to remain so until those customers replace their legacy systems.
Go to Products menu.
© 1998-2005 J&B Computing Services BV |