BCD Int’l Inc., an IBM i industry leader for over 36 years, has announced the release of WebSmart 10.
Highlights of this release include WebSmart Mobile PHP, improved PHP validation, DB2 templates that create PHP objects, and support for multiple active pipes and named pipes in ILE programs. This is the first release that uses one version number for the entire WebSmart family (WebSmart PHP, ILE and Clover).
WebSmart Mobile PHP
RPG programmers can now create a mobile PHP web application over DB2 data in minutes, even without prior mobile development experience. WebSmart Mobile PHP includes jQuery-based mobile templates that generate the touch-friendly UI (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) and server-side (PHP) code so you start with a fully-functioning web application with a modern mobile look and feel. The ILE edition of WebSmart Mobile was released in version 9.6.
The WebSmart IDE also includes productivity features to develop any type of mobile web applications, including point-and-click snippets to add new touch-friendly UI elements and HTML5 inputs like sliders and toggle switches. WebSmart Mobile-developed web applications are compatible with all mobile platforms, automatically resize when you access them from different sized screens or rotate your device, and offer the flexibility to add functionality like geolocation and offline support.
“There’s no question that mobile development is on the minds of IBM i shops,” says Eric Figura, BCD’s Director of Marketing and Sales. “Each year, more of our customers talk to us about how they can improve business processes and get an edge over their competition with mobile web applications. It’s always been possible to develop mobile web applications with WebSmart but the new templates and IDE features make it much quicker and easier for RPG and PHP programmers.”
WebSmart Mobile is included with WebSmart PHP and ILE at no additional cost. To see a WebSmart Mobile demo, please watch a two-minute video or view an in-depth on-demand webinar, WebSmart Mobile for Rapid Mobile Web Development.
DB2 Templates Now Create PHP Objects
All of WebSmart PHP's DB2 templates now create PHP objects. This makes it easier to encapsulate functionality and combine multiple programs. The program structure is easy for
procedural programmers to understand and is simpler overall because more of the functionality is delegated to base classes. In general, the IDE also provides better support for object oriented (OO) coding and improves the ability to work with other OO code libraries. OO code is more commonly used than procedural PHP in professional PHP applications and makes your application easier to test, maintain, and reuse.
Improved PHP Validation WebSmart PHP’s validator is more dynamic because the list of PHP functions in the WebSmart IDE is automatically updated to include the functions in include or required files. This means that WebSmart handles a greater variety of OO programming approaches because those functions will be part of the validation instead of giving warnings.
New PHP SmartSnippet to call RPG programs WebSmart PHP now includes a new SmartSnippet to call RPG or COBOL programs. It uses the new open source PHP toolkit for IBM i, which requires less code to call a program. When you use WebSmart PHP's new SmartSnippet, a wizard will prompt you for the name and library of the program you want to call, as well as any parameters you want to send and receive. It will then generate the PHP required to call the program.
Updated Piping and Encoding Functions
ILE programs now support multiple active pipes and named pipes, which allows the program to build and manage multiple output buffers. For example, it is now easier for a WebSmart web application to email both a form output and a diagnostic email related to it.
WebSmart ILE also includes new ILE functions, htmlencode and jsonencode, protect your programs from malicious user data by sanitizing it.
Other Features Include:
- Find and replace remembers search history.
- IDE shortcuts (ctrl-T to open a new tab and right-click to “close all but me”, which closes all tabs except the one you're working on).
- Support for opening documents from Windows Explorer’s context menu, makes it more convenient to open and edit files on the fly.
- Support for mass generating programs.
About WebSmart PHP – ILE – Mobile
WebSmart is a leading rapid IBM i and multi-platform PC and mobile web application development tool. WebSmart’s templates generate the initial UI (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) and server-side code (PHP or RPG) code so you begin with a fully-functioning desktop or mobile web application. You can then create any type of web application for your business needs in the WebSmart IDE.
You can download a free trial of WebSmart 10 from http://www.bcdsoftware.com/websmartfaster.
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