looksoftware has announced it will bundle IBM’s Rational Open Access: RPG Edition for free with every purchase of looksoftware’s Open Access products, having recently signed an agreement to distribute the software.

IBM i community interest in Open Access was ranked number one in an independent 2010 market survey, and this move by looksoftware makes it even easier to get started with the technology, the company said.

looksoftware will now provide a package that includes all of the components required to OA-enable existing applications or develop new applications using OA, and blend them seamlessly with non-OA applications.

looksoftware CEO Brendan Kay said, "Simplicity is one of our core values at looksoftware. We aim to shield our customers from the unnecessary complexity of using new technologies, and the requirement to purchase Rational Open Access separately has been causing unneeded confusion. In providing the product for free with every purchase of our Open Access products, our aim is to reduce the difficulty and cost of getting up and running with OA." 

Released last March, looksoftware’s Open Access support integrates directly with its existing developer tools, and delivers an infinite number of interfaces from a single modernization effort.  Crucially however, developers have the ability to define and control every element and property of the graphical interface dynamically from the RPG code, removing the constraints of 5250 to deliver truly native interfaces. 

"Our tools have delivered state of the art interfaces for the last 15 years," said Kay. "However Open Access enables us to go one step deeper and provide direct access to the interface from the RPG code. Our IDE will always be available to fine-tune the interface, but the resultant architecture will leave the DDS in the standard IBM format, as opposed to the vendor-specific nature of alternative architectures. If choosing to take advantage of Open Access leaves you locked to one vendor, then it won’t be very open." 

IBM has endorsed the decision to package Rational Open Access with looksoftware’s support. ASL Account Manager Joe Gaeta said, “IBM is pleased to welcome looksoftware to the IBM Rational ASL program. We appreciate looksoftware’s efforts to promote application modernization with the integration of Rational products into its own solutions."

For more information on looksoftware’s support for RPG Open Access, visit the company's product page.