Uniface®

(Original creator: adriang)We’re at the final stages of preparation for this year’s North American User Group (aka NAUUG), which for the second year in succession, will be in Las Vegas. From a personal perspective, last year was very significant for me, I got married there. Besides Zulayka, who was best man, maid of honor, dress consultant, etc, etc, nobody, not even our parents, knew about it (it was planned!). So the NAUUG will always be significant to me. I really enjoy the US event, the customers are great and I really like the conversations that happen during and after the event, and as it’s always a 3 day event, we have some fun and games in the evenings also, and some of us have more fun than others, I guess there is more to do in Vegas than in Denver… I always view the North American event as the beginning of the ‘new season’ of user events, with new presentations and demo’s. (Admittedly we have the German user group a week o

(Original creator: adriang)We had our first user group sessions in India over the past couple of weeks. Great fun, great people and we had some great feedback from the attendees. It’s always great when people take the time to contact you afterwards to give their thanks and feedback, and it was especially important for us as it was our first sessions which were open to anybody who wanted to attend. First up was Mumbai. The weather was hot and sticky, an awesome venue, and we really had a good event. It was an unknown for us, because our distributor Techshire is based in Bangalore, so it was not on their home turf.

(Original creator: bolarotibi)Guest Post by Clive Howard, Principal Practitioner Analyst, Creative Intellect ConsultingRead Part 1: Enabling the Mobile App?A new architecture for a new worldAs seen in the previous post the real challenge is what lies behind the app. The solution, for many, is to move to a new type of architecture where code can be shared and re-used across many different use cases. Business logic needs to be contained in one place which all client applications reuse. Client applications become essentially UI developed for the specific environment in which they run (phone, tablet, desktop and so on). Developers only need to ma

(Original creator: JamesRodger) I’ve been interested in large scale computing ever since I was introduced to it at the University of Southampton where the Computer Science department was heavily involved in Data Mining and Grid Computing research, which obviously influenced the courses on offer and what the lecturers liked to talk about. My dissertation looked at how these techniques could be applied to protein folding research, which generated much more data than could be handled effectively with the technologies available at the time. We are producing more and more data at an ever increasing rate each day, so these challenges are becoming relevant to more and more businesses and sectors. Of course things have moved on in recent years. The buzz words today are Cloud Computing and Big Data, evolutions on those older concepts that I’ve followed with great interest. Given this I was happy to recently have the chance to do some research into SAP&rsq

(Original creator: bolarotibi)Guest Post by Clive Howard, Principal Practitioner Analyst, Creative Intellect ConsultingSince the launch of the iPhone in 2007 organisations have gone from taking their first baby steps into the world of “Apps” to today’s Mobile First approach.  Early iPhone apps were built as “native” apps with software and programming languages supplied and supported by Apple. Today’s apps need to support multiple platforms such as Android, Windows Phone and BlackBerry which can mean numerous different tools and technologies. In addition they must now contend with multiple “form factors” in the guise of different size phones and tablets requiring new User Interface (UI) design skills. Whereas those early apps were stand-alone, green-field appli

(Original creator: Jasper)TabEx WidgetThe new TabEx widget has so many properties that I thought that it would be nice to have an overview what is possible and what the default behavior of this modern widget is.HistoryThe tab widget implementation started in the UNIFACE lab after many requests from customers to have different colors on the tabs. The Windows tab control cannot handle this option. To see whether it was feasible to write a control from scratch I started to program at the max for one hour a day to see whether this would work. After half a year there was something what could be shown to product marketing and so the story started. There was enthusiasm and this caused the start of an official project with extra developers, testers and a technical writer.  During this complete project, even from the trial, I looked at hundreds of tab widgets on the Web and other Windows applications and each time I found something the new tab could not d

(Original creator: eknochs)For a definition of Polyglot Programming I refer the reader to the 2006 definition from Neal Ford, which basically says that you should use the appropriate language to solve some specific problem, and that modern applications are becoming more complex, which in turn leads to the use of more than one language within that application.  This helps avoid stretching the abilities of a single language to perform all tasks, at the expense of needing an additional skill (knowledge of other programming languages). In practice, most of us have learnt more than one programming language.  The Polyglot Programming concept can also stretch to scripting languages like shell scripts. Thus we have probably been Polyglot Programming since well before 2006.  Those applications which might be driven by DOS .bat (or Unix C-Shell) scripts to manipulate some simple files, build Uniface batch program command lines, execute them and then initiate some other b

(Original creator: aschetse)Java became known many years ago with the statement “Develop once, Deploy anywhere”. After a while the hardcore 4GL developers liked to taunt the Java community by claiming that this was actually different and should “Develop Once, Debug Anywhere”. They were too kind… A recent research of Bit9 revealed that IT administrators have essentially been lied to for 15 years. They have been told that to protect themselves from the latest security vulnerabilities in Java they should apply updates and apply them frequently. What they didn’t know is that  for many years applying updates to Java left the older versions still present...Hackers are able to use those older versions. “Develop Once, Fail Everywhere…” http://adtmag.com/blogs/watersworks/2013/07/java-security-issues.aspx

(Original creator: bolarotibi)Guest contributor, Bola Rotibi from analyst firm Creative Intellect ConsultingTwo Pillars Underpinning the Foundations for Accelerated DeliveryLaying the groundwork for solid foundations: Attributes supporting accelerated deliverySo “how” does one go about laying the foundations for accelerated delivery? Of course it is not always easy when one already has processes and tools already in place

(Original creator: michaelrabone)Once upon a time (otherwise known as when I first worked in analysis) it was possible for the guardians of the purse to call for a set of numbers indicating the cost of procuring a new application.  Much activity would take place, usually lasting months or even years, whilst information on operational, technical and, most importantly, economic feasibility was gathered.  Thereafter estimates were produced and, in due time, formal plans.  With luck, during this process, the users of the proposed application were consulted and a list of all that would be included in the development was drawn up and formally signed off.  At this point the users knew what they thought the application would include; those involved with development knew what they considered was expected of them (even if they were unsure how to produce it) and, most significantly, the guardians of the purse knew exactly how much money had to be set aside for the ta

(Original creator: bolarotibi)Guest contributor, Bola Rotibi from analyst firm Creative Intellect ConsultingTwo pillars underpinning the foundations for Accelerated DeliveryAt the start of 2013, I and the rest of the CIC analyst team carried out some research which involved talking to a mix of end user organizations from Europe and the US from across a number of industry verticals e.g. Government, finance, retail, manufacturing and healthcare. We spoke to senior practitioner roles to get an understanding of the existing operational and development processes,

(Original creator: Jasper)I recently read this article on Does Mobile Technology Ruin Vacations? That is the question and it all depends. Suppose you really need your vacation to recharge your battery? In that case, it is probably already too late and a sign that you waited to long to take vacation in the first place.To add to this, vacation organization also always gives some extra (healthy?) stress. So if you find yourself in this shape and then add to your company smartphone to your hand luggage, you may ask yourselves, is this good or bad? Do I really need to see the e-mails going around and react on them when lying on the beach? At least you show total commitment and the boss will be impressed. Yes I’m reachable day and night and even on my vacation.  It is very likely that you will receive an email which needs action at the office and you feel yo

(Original creator: bolarotibi) Guest contributor, Bola Rotibi from analyst firm Creative Intellect Consulting Most organizations that I and my analyst team have spoken to over the last few years desire an IT environment where software can be delivered quickly, reliably and with greater stability. They want repeatable predictable delivery processes that can easily and quickly deliver software changes, new requirements or feature or product variations to satisfied happy customers. It is a notion of industrialized software delivery that will help deliver greater competitive advantage on a more continuous basis, the results of which will lead to more customers, an improved customer base and the potential for greater revenue. So, who wouldn’t want this type of environme

(Original creator: Jasper)It is always good if the UNIFACE lab invents beautiful widgets like the tabEx or extends the command button. But what if you have an existing application running and you don’t have the means to break it open to change it? This blog post's focus is on changing the look and feel of an existing application without opening the sources. Further in the post, I give a sample on color inheritance which also can be used in combination with the newly introduced options for styling. In the past the UNIFACE lab introduced new ini file settings for “window”, “defentity” and the “shell”. The idea behind these logical widgets with their properties is that an existing UNIFACE application can be styled after it is implemented without breaking open the sources. This enables a value added reseller to deliver an application in the colors of a particular customer while for another customer logos can be added to forms or application shell. In UNIFACE 9.6 this approach of

(Original creator: adriang)I found this article online about the productivity of developers which I found quite interesting. Basically developers spend more time on ‘admin’ than on actually writing code.  Although the definition of ‘admin’ can be taken in a few ways, including what was in the article, I wasn't shocked by it to be honest. I would estimate that in the Uniface Lab, we would get about a 1/3rd  pure code cutting from our developers, but we always have at least 2 open code lines that need to be maintained, meaning that merging and building takes additional effort. (So, for example,  right now we have a Uniface 9.6.03 and a Uniface 10.01 code line open)

(Original creator: JamesRodger)Hi, my name is James Rodger and I've spent the last 8 years working on Uniface applications as a Uniface consultant. I really enjoy the challenge of writing enterprise software so I thought I would tackle a nice light issue for my first blog post.One of the areas of software development that I've been trying to become more familiar with is software design patterns. These describe techniques for addressing common development challenges and are hugely helpful in designing good software. Sadly there seems to be a perception that patterns require an object oriented programming language so we don’t see much discussion of them in the Uniface world. While it's true that some patterns don't translate well into a non-OO language there are many which will apply to architectures written in any type of language. It's also true that Uniface specific features mean we don't need a lot of these patterns since we get a lot of the functionality for f

(Original creator: chillebrink)I was visiting one of our VAR customers in Lille, France this week to talk about modernizing their ERP packaged application.  It’s been around for over 20 years, and they’ve undergone several modernization projects.  What struck me though was their thoughts about moving the application to the web, or making parts of the application web enabled—well actually, their decision to not do this. Their customer base is primarily made up of factories, and of course their ERP systems are mission-critical to their manufacturing process.  What is also critical is that their ERP app works as productively as possible—and having it on the web doesn’t allow that.  I think everyone knows, even by today’s standards, that only working on a browser can be frustratingly slow. Especially in a factory/manufacturing type environment, they don’t have the time t

(Original creator: bolarotibi)Guest contributor, Bola Rotibi from analyst firm Creative Intellect ConsultingA question of evolution: Are IT Architects equipped for the next generation?It should come as no surprise that the roles a software architect must take on are fairly representative of recognizable job functions already in play. Some readers might attribute different job names to the functions I outline below. I’m cool with that since the descriptions could certainly apply to a number of job titles. So, in homage to William Shakespeare’s famous monologue “All the world’s a stage” from the play As You Like It, which catalogues “the Seven Ages of Man

(Original creator: pietervandijk)I was reading Gerton’s blog on  The Struct and its references, and I realized that he skillfully danced around some complex topics to avoid being distracted from his main focus. It is the only way to get your message across of course, but I was tempted to tackle one of those other tricky topics so I would like to show what happens exactly on struct assignment. Let’s borrow one of Gerton’s structs and assume we have a struct variable myStructVar1, pointing to a struct in Uniface memory:Now, the following two assignments have

(Original creator: bolarotibi) Guest contributor, Bola Rotibi from analyst firm Creative Intellect Consulting IT is changing and disruption is at its heart. Is it a time of “survival of the fittest”? Are IT Architects equipped for enabling disruptive innovation that will drive the next generation? On 25th to 26th April 2013 the UK Chapter of the International Association of Software Architects (IASA UK) hosted its first UK Software Architect Summit. It was a two day conference packed with a broad range of sessions from leading industry and market practitioners with a single goal: To help Software Architects and their peers within the IT architect spect

(Original creator: eknochs)We accept that touch interfaces are already a part of the application user experience.  We like using them most of the time, and so we might be considering whether to design them into our own application development projects.  Perhaps there is a logical and intuitive reason that begs for a touch interface, or you might want to indulge your creative side to add some new functionality to your application.  Did you ever think that an application development tool vendor might find themselves in this situation?  Can a touch interface help make a better IDE? My son used to use a Windows 7 Phone, and last year he showed me a new app he was playing with.  He has complained before that Windows Store didn’t have enough apps , and so I shouldn’t have been surprised that he was desperate enough to try an application development tool app, i.e. develop other apps to run on his phone.  But what surprised me was that the to

(Original creator: _baterfly)On April 24 and 25 the Benelux Uniface Usergroup Face2Face met in Antwerp (Belgium) at the UZA (University Hospital Antwerp).One of the good things about a meeting in Belgium is of course large availability of Belgium Beers. Therefor the F2F team decided to have a social event at the day before the actual meeting was held. The event started with a round tour at brewery 'T Pakhuis near the Antwerp harbour, which is a very nice area to visit when you have the opportunity.The participants got a good lesson in brewing and tasting beer. The last part was obviously the most important. After dinner the group moved to "De Grote Markt" to have some Antwerp "Bollekes", not too many of course because everbody w

(Original creator: adriang) I’ve been quite open about not being a fan of Windows 8.  I’ve mentioned it in previous postings. I’m currently shopping for a new TV, and while I was in the big electronics store close to the office, I had a look at a Windows tablet running Windows 8, the first time I’d really looked at one. I have to say that when I’m using my fingers, and I’m swiping and poking (I have fat fingers!), I can see the value of the tiled interface. But as soon as it’s keyboard and mouse interaction, personally I find it annoying. I see that  there are some whispers in the market place that Microsoft are considering significant changes with the update they are calling Windows ‘blue’ at least as an internal name. There is an overview on the BBC website which caught my eye.  I wonder if this will bring the changes which will make Window

(Original creator: Gerton)  Hi bloggers, For the ones that do not know me, I'm Gerton Leijdekker, Usability Consultant and Lead Developer for the Uniface product line in the Uniface Lab in Amsterdam. My intention is to blog about technical subjects, so this first blog will be about the Struct. With Uniface we always try to keep things simple with the intention to keep it a productive tool; don't bother with complex stuff, simply plug in the features you need, some ProcScript to glue them together, and done. But simplicity also has a downside, because now and then you just need more… Some features take the enablement approach, where the functionality can be used to solve a wide range of problems. But where simplicity adds limitations, flexibility adds complexity and complex things are most of the time harder to understand. The Struct is one of them: powerful, flexible, useful … but complex. The Struct is introduced in Uniface 9.5 and can solve a variation of challenges, l

(Original creator: adriang)We wrapped up the judging of the Global Uniface Challenge this week. This  was our cloud based ‘RAD Race’,  and was an fascinating experience, with teams from Japan, India, US, Netherlands, Germany, Italy and the US registering for a 48 hour Uniface marathon. The judging was really interesting, very different application designs and very different ways of presenting.What it really bought home to me was how differently we all view the important aspects of application development. User experience, productivity, functionality, technical implementation, and so forth.Really, I knew this, we run an internal RAD Race every year, with the development teams taking part over 24 hours. And I see pretty well the same attributes, but across cultures, different levels of experience and so forth.Nowadays the whole ‘requirements phase’ of development is more than functionality, it’s also about