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ICF Update

ICF Update. Gus Bj örklund The Progress Company. How many of you know about POSSE ?. First, A Warning:. What we are discussing here today is not final, and subject to change. And this time we really mean it!

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ICF Update

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  1. ICF Update Gus Björklund The Progress Company

  2. How many of you know about POSSE ?

  3. First, A Warning: • What we are discussing here today is not final, and subject to change. • And this time we really mean it! • What we are discussing is a POSSE initiative, a starting point for collaborative development. • Plans and timetables for commercialization of the ICF are not yet completed

  4. Our Agenda • ICF and POSSE • The ICF “Kickstart” Initiative • Principles of the ICF • ICF Integration with other tools • Development Features • ICF Application Management Components

  5. ICF and POSSE • POSSE is the Progress Open Source Software Exchange • All source code for Progress 4GL-based tools was released on www.possenet.org in December 2000 • Issues, feature submissions, and discussion groups are hosted there • New features and products created there will supplement the Progress development toolset

  6. ICF and POSSE • POSSE is composed of community members: • Independent developers • ISV staff • Progress staff • It costs nothing to join • Progress does not control POSSE • We have influence, not control

  7. ICF and POSSE • ICF is the Internet Component Framework • Working name for next generation Progress 4GL tools • Developed through POSSE in collaboration with our partners • Goals: • provide additional common application components: • Security, Session Management, Customization, Design Repository, etc. • enable customers to build traditional and E-business applications for the web more quickly

  8. Internet Component Framework ADM 2 4GL “VM” Application ICF SO’s Standard“Plumbing” (Infrastructure)

  9. Internet Component Framework ADM 2 4GL “VM” • Repository • Security • Session/Context Mgt. • V-Control/Upgrade • Customization • Internationalization • UI Implementation • Logic Re-Use Application ICF SO’s Standard“Plumbing” (Infrastructure)

  10. Agenda • ICF and POSSE • The ICF “Kickstart” Initiative • Principles of the ICF • ICF Integration with other tools • Development Features • ICF Application Management Components

  11. ICF “Kickstart” Project Goals • Bring together Progress framework developers from all over the world • Share ideas and solicit contributions to POSSE • Combine the best elements of different frameworks into a common toolset • Support and extend that framework on POSSE as the new Progress 4GL standard

  12. Progress GPS Framework Vendors Unified Internet Component Framework ISV ‘Home Grown’ Frameworks POSSE Submissions POSSE Unified ICF POSSE

  13. ICF KickStart specifics • Began in February 2001-- hosted by PSC at Progress headquarters • Sponsored by the POSSE Core Review Team (Board of Directors) • Two weeks of intensive discussions, presentations, and evaluation of existing frameworks • Meeting was open to all • Internal contributions from Progress Professional Services groups • External participation from numerous Progress partners with development tools

  14. ICK Kickstart Participation • ProgressGlobalProfessional Services: Asia/Pacific, UK, EMEA, North America • MIP Holdings (South Africa) - Astra • SoftCell (Belgium) - Component Builder • ISS Group (New Jersey) - E-Framework • Applied Logic (New Zealand) - Aspen • BravePoint (formerly United Systems - Atlanta) - Free Framework • Progress 4GL ToolsDevelopment group

  15. Austria Belgium Netherlands United Kingdom United States South Africa Australia New Zealand Norway Canada Spain Brazil A very international group --Participants from:

  16. ICF Kickstart Results • Astra framework from MIP Holdings chosen as the starting point • Consensus choice of a large majority of ICF participants • Subject to final review and approval by the POSSE CRT • Components from other frameworks and Progress are being added • Resulting framework is being submitted to POSSE for collaborative development • Will be downloadable from POSSE • Progress Company commercialization plans and timetables not yet completed

  17. ICF Kickstart Status • Development team is working in Bedford hosted by Progress to integrate & extend components: • Progress Tools group, Professional Services consultants, plus developers from partners, including BravePoint and MIP • Progress will be hosting ISVs for an alpha and beta development program • ICF will be showcased at Exchange

  18. ICF and POSSE at Exchange • Progress Exchange June 3-7 2001, Washington D.C. • ICF “E-Celerator Lab” workshop Sunday • Consider registering for this full-day hands-on workshop offered at nominal cost ($99) • Get information at the corporate website: www.progress.com/exchange • POSSE breakout session track to include presentations on POSSE participation, using ADE code, and ICF

  19. Agenda • ICF and POSSE • The ICF Kickstart Initiative • Principles of the ICF • ICF Integration with other tools • Development Features • ICF Application Management Components

  20. ICF Features • Integration with ER modeling tool • Integration with Source Code Management • Design Repository for data representation of many objects, dynamic realization • Authentication and Application Security • Dynamic language translation / localization • WebClient or WebSpeed Application User Interface • Distributed backend logic with AppServer

  21. Basic ICF Principles • Application design is Repository-based to allow many objects to be “logical” only • Object definitions are stored in the Repository • Objects are realized dynamically from the Repository data • No source files generated or .r-files to deploy for dynamic objects • Reduces application size to deploy with WebClient • Allows dynamic generation of Web browser UI and other User Interfaces

  22. Basic ICF Principles • ICF is designed to support thin client architecture • 4GL User Interface can run on WebClient with no database connection • Session Manager controls access to application components in a distributed environment • WebSpeed and other UIs can have the same look and access the same back-end logic

  23. Basic ICF Principles • ICF starting point for application components is SmartObject-based • Fully compatible with Version 9 ADM2 apps • However, many extensions and improvements already made, and more planned • Dynamic objects allow any “engine” to drive the application, not just the ADM • Standard support for complex business logic beyond what SDOs and SBOs provide

  24. Agenda • ICF and POSSE • The ICF Kickstart Initiative • Principles of the ICF • ICF Integration with other tools • Development Features • ICF Application Management Components

  25. Integration with ERwin modeling tool

  26. ERwin integration • ERwin is a powerful tool for using the Entity-Relationship model to design relational databases • Provides support for generating Progress schemas (.df files) • Existing schemas can be reverse-engineered into ERwin

  27. ICF and ERwin • Use of ERwin with ICF is optional • However, the ICF Erwin customizations can generate database trigger procedures, Referential Integrity logic, field labels, and more from the model. • PSC is investigating a closer relationship with Computer Associates for our use of ERwin

  28. Referential Integrity code • SmartDataObjects can be generated automatically from the schema • Referential Integrity code is generated automatically from information in the model • RI code and other business logic goes into independent Progress procedures • Table and query maintenance screens are driven from the Repository • Business logic can be used with or without SmartDataObjects

  29. Source Code Management integration • ICF can be integrated with Roundtable Source Code Management system • Roundtable will be an optional component • However, SCM provides: • Check-in, check-out of both source files and logical objects (which exist only as data) • Version control to maintain separate environments for Development, Test, Deployment, and for multiple customers • Extended support for task management • Integration with Open/Save dialogs in AppBuilder

  30. Roundtable Integration Work spaces Task Mgmt. Mgmt. of physical & logical objs. AppBuilder integration

  31. Roundtable availability • Roundtable “Lite” product is already available without additional charge from Progress with ProVision • POSSE CRT is investigating an open source version of Roundtable together with StarBase • This would make essential Roundtable features available without charge • Stay tuned... • Interfaces to other SCM systems (e.g., CVS) can be developed through POSSE

  32. Agenda • ICF and POSSE • The ICF Kickstart Initiative • Principles of the ICF • ICF Integration with other tools • Development Features • ICF Application Management Components

  33. ICF Development Wizards • There is a whole series of tools to help create application components and assemble them into finished screens • Menu maintenance (overall app. Navigation) • Browser Wizard • Viewer Wizard • Object Controller (Browse window builder) • Folder Wizard (multi-page folder windows)

  34. Menu Maintenance tool

  35. Application Menu • Provides overall navigation for an application • Integrates with dynamic Toolbar to control the application

  36. Application Menu / Toolbar • Dynamic, fully data-driven Toolbar / Menu • Menu maintenance tool populates the repository • Data is read at runtime to configure and manage all application toolbars / menus

  37. Browse Builder Wizard • Generates fully dynamic SmartDataBrowsers • All properties are held in the Repository • Table, fields, size, position, personal filter, container to run from, etc., are all data-driven • Users can save individual preferences for filtering, size, position, sorting

  38. Browser Wizard

  39. Viewer Wizard • Viewers (data maintenance frames) can be defined with standard lookup browsers and combos for data entry. • The goal is to make Viewers dynamic (driven by repository data) wherever possible

  40. Object Controller Wizard • Used to build a window to browse, select, and filter data • The ICF tools are implemented using the ICF Framework, so they look and function like any other application. • See the examples on the following slides...

  41. Object Controller tool is an example of an Object Controller Toolbar provides many standard functions

  42. Filtering of data in the browse...

  43. Printing of browse reports with Crystal Reports free DLL

  44. Sending browse data to Excel

  45. Folder Wizard • Allows you to assemble a window of one or more pages for comprehensive data management • Again, the tools themselves are an example of what application screens look like...

  46. Folder has Toolbar, pages with Viewers, Browsers, etc. Dynamic lookup brings up a browse window for selection Combo object populates a drop-down list for selection

  47. Dynamic Lookup supports browsing and filtering to select a record

  48. Agenda • ICF and POSSE • The ICF Kickstart Initiative • Principles of the ICF • ICF Integration with other tools • Development Features • ICF Application Management Components

  49. Authentication & Application Security • Provides standard but customizable login mechanism • Tools to define users and privileges • Repository provides for dynamic enforcement of privileges • Menu access • “tokens” for access to specific components • Field-level security • Data-level security

  50. Globalization -- in-context translation of text and labels

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