Why Stay With Rocket® D3: The Future

Technology decisions are never easy, especially when it comes to mission-critical systems like Rocket^® D3. That's why we want to reaffirm why Rocket D3 remains a smart, strategic choice for your business. With our continued commitment to reliability, security, and long-term value, you can be confident in the success of your operations both now and in the future.

The smart choice: Why you chose D3
For years, Rocket D3 has been the backbone of your operations. Whether you've relied on it for several years or decades, D3 has delivered proven stability, reliability, and flexibility. From managing large volumes of transactional data to providing unparalleled performance for your business-critical applications, Rocket D3 scales alongside your business needs.

D3 Delivers: Continued ROI and proven value
Choosing Rocket D3 means you've already built a solid foundation. Over the years, you've experienced a significant return on investment (ROI) as D3 has enabled your business to streamline operations, optimize productivity, and minimize downtime. We're confident that your investment continues to deliver returns today and will do so for years.

The future of Rocket D3: What's next?
We want to assure you that Rocket D3 is here for the long haul, and we're committed to supporting the future success of your business. Here's what you can expect:

D3 in 2024: Ongoing support and enhanced performance
In March 2024, we released D3 10.4.0 for Windows ^®, which includes a major refactor of the underlying code to align the Windows and Linux ^® platforms. This will allow for smoother and more efficient releases moving forward. Additionally, D3 10.4.0 includes more than 25 bug fixes, performance improvements, and upgrades to Python, delivering better performance and flexibility for your applications.

D3 in 2025: Expanding capabilities
In 2025, D3 10.4 will introduce an update to Python 3.13, along with other high-value customer-requested features. This ensures your system remains secure and fully compatible with the latest technologies.

D3 in 2026 and beyond: Security and compatibility
Looking further ahead, we'll focus on expanding security compliance features and ensuring compatibility with third-party tools such as Python and OpenSSL. We'll also continue to provide improvements and essential bug fixes to ensure D3 meets your business's evolving needs.

Version support and lifecycle
We know some of you have inquired about the future of D3 10.3 and earlier versions. While we'll continue supporting these versions according to our standard product lifecycle, we want to clarify that future enhancements will only be available in D3 10.4. To ensure you continue receiving the best possible performance and support, we encourage you to consider upgrading to D3 10.4.

Here to support you
Our team is always here to assist you. If you're currently on maintenance, you can easily order Rocket D3 v10.4 for Windows or Linux via Rocket Business Connect (RBC) and download it from our Community Portal. If you don't have an active maintenance contract, please don't hesitate to contact our sales team to get started on your next steps.

Thank you for your continued trust and loyalty. We look forward to supporting your future with Rocket D3.

Thanks for the update Chris, but it was only in February you wrote...

Our progressive data servers-UniVerse, UniData, and jBASE-are at the forefront of innovation, receiving ongoing enhancements that drive industry-based modernization and deliver cutting-edge features.

If you're using mvBase, we highly recommend considering an upgrade to jBASE or UniVerse. These platforms offer advanced capabilities, improved scalability, and future-proof technology to support your evolving business needs.

For D3 users, while we continue to provide maintenance, bug fixes, and some enhancements, the latest version of jBASE introduces significant advancements that offer a seamless upgrade path from D3. This transition provides a natural opportunity for mvBase users to migrate to jBASE, ensuring long-term sustainability and access to modern features.   

I am a little confused.  Has there been a change in policy by Rocket?

Thanks

Richard

Thanks for the update Chris, but it was only in February you wrote...

Our progressive data servers-UniVerse, UniData, and jBASE-are at the forefront of innovation, receiving ongoing enhancements that drive industry-based modernization and deliver cutting-edge features.

If you're using mvBase, we highly recommend considering an upgrade to jBASE or UniVerse. These platforms offer advanced capabilities, improved scalability, and future-proof technology to support your evolving business needs.

For D3 users, while we continue to provide maintenance, bug fixes, and some enhancements, the latest version of jBASE introduces significant advancements that offer a seamless upgrade path from D3. This transition provides a natural opportunity for mvBase users to migrate to jBASE, ensuring long-term sustainability and access to modern features.   

I am a little confused.  Has there been a change in policy by Rocket?

Thanks

Richard

Hi Richard,

This post specifically addresses the future of D3 and there has been no change in policy.  We will continue to support and maintain D3 into the future.  

If you wish to move off mvBase, we recommend an upgrade to one of our progressive data servers to ensure access to modern features.  

Happy to have a chat with you about your options and what best fits your business needs.

Hi Richard,

This post specifically addresses the future of D3 and there has been no change in policy.  We will continue to support and maintain D3 into the future.  

If you wish to move off mvBase, we recommend an upgrade to one of our progressive data servers to ensure access to modern features.  

Happy to have a chat with you about your options and what best fits your business needs.

I'd like to thank Chris Rizza for this well-worded clarifcation. I've recently been getting phone calls and private emails from my D3 friends who are confused about the future of D3. I've told everybody that D3 is NOT going away. It will continue to be updated and bugs will continue to be fixed. D3 is here to stay, and so am I (well, you know, unless I get hit by a bus).

If any of you out there are planning to upgrade to D3/Linux 10.4, please reach out to our Support team or me personally to discuss the advantages, differences and caveats associated with that upgrade. We're happy to help.

I have no intention of hijacking this thread, but I think this is related to the original question. If D3 is here to stay, are there any planned enhancements to the existing REST web service capabilities that could help modernize the user interface and move away from the antiquated green screen? Will the upcoming updates, including the D3/Linux 10.4 upgrade, support our web modernization efforts? Additionally, we do not intend to purchase more terminal software licenses (currently around $150 per user), especially since our vendor continues to rely on outdated ciphers-which I believe is no longer acceptable. Thanks!

------------------------------
Eric Estrella
IT Specialist
Medical Data Exchange
Glendale CA US
------------------------------

Eric, may I call you to discuss this on the phone?

I have no intention of hijacking this thread, but I think this is related to the original question. If D3 is here to stay, are there any planned enhancements to the existing REST web service capabilities that could help modernize the user interface and move away from the antiquated green screen? Will the upcoming updates, including the D3/Linux 10.4 upgrade, support our web modernization efforts? Additionally, we do not intend to purchase more terminal software licenses (currently around $150 per user), especially since our vendor continues to rely on outdated ciphers-which I believe is no longer acceptable. Thanks!

------------------------------
Eric Estrella
IT Specialist
Medical Data Exchange
Glendale CA US
------------------------------

I have no intention of hijacking this thread, but I think this is related to the original question. If D3 is here to stay, are there any planned enhancements to the existing REST web service capabilities that could help modernize the user interface and move away from the antiquated green screen? Will the upcoming updates, including the D3/Linux 10.4 upgrade, support our web modernization efforts? Additionally, we do not intend to purchase more terminal software licenses (currently around $150 per user), especially since our vendor continues to rely on outdated ciphers-which I believe is no longer acceptable. Thanks!

------------------------------
Eric Estrella
IT Specialist
Medical Data Exchange
Glendale CA US
------------------------------

Using MVSP Java/Net you could develop any sort of interface into D3 from whatever you want to run as your client. Works extremely well IMO.

I agree with Bryan.  The MVSP interface will let you do anything you want.

I've got Java code running on our D3 Linux host that handles pulling data out of my system and throwing it at both an iSeries/DB2 instance and a system running Postgres.  Works fantastic.

I've also been using it since it came out with all of my .Net desktop applications.  (They changed something that broke the D3VBODBC functionality I was using....many bad words were said. :) Now it only works with VB6 or "traditional" ASP (not ASP.Net) pages.)

Being able to pull in an order or customer record and easily encapsulate it as an object is fantastic and makes life a lot easier.  Leveraging D3-side subroutines ("Rule Modules") is super easy too.  Flash compile them and call.  (I just checked and I've got 943 rule modules in place right now... Yikes. :D )

The only negative about MVSP I have to say is that it doesn't have an iconv or oconv method available.  That means I'm either using homegrown equivalents, or having to make a rule module call to get access to conversions I haven't built myself.  (Psst!  Brian!  Fix this! :D  (and DON'T make it a server call.. :) )

g.

g.

[The only negative about MVSP I have to say is that it doesn't have an iconv or oconv method available.]

I agree that it would be nice to have some of those, but the only one really needed is date conversion. Everything is a string in D3, so numerics get parsed into BigDecimals or Integers, and can be easily manipulated from there.

Dates are the only intrinsically D3 data type. I've got a routine that converts a D3 date to/from a Java LocalDate type. I have made a request to Rocket that a similar routine should be part of the MVSP package.