29
Fri, Nov
0 New Articles

Profound Logic Releases Profound UI V4

Development Tools / Utilities
Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times
New release of the IBM i application modernization suite includes PHP support and skins for iPad HD.

Profound Logic Software has released V4 of Profound UI, its modernization and user interface platform for IBM i. Profound UI was first introduced in 2010 alongside the announcement of Rational Open Access for RPG by IBM. It was the first handler for Open Access and offered a comprehensive set of tools for building Web and mobile applications as well as modernizing green-screen applications at either the 5250 or the DDS source code level. The company has been very active in improving the offering based on customer feedback and has managed to publish more than a thousand enhancements to the software since the original debut in 2010.

With the announcement of V4, many important features are being introduced. Profound UI 4.0 includes new capabilities, such as:

• Sharing UI definitions between different file systems

• Deploying applications through many other programming languages and server platforms in addition to RPG on the IBM i

• Rapidly building “what-if” scenarios through a new Application Preview feature

• The ability to explore source members, IFS files, and reference tables through a set of new dialogs provided in the Profound UI Visual Designer

• Enhancements to existing widgets, conversion themes, and refacing skins (for example, the menu widget now offers the ability to present submenus and pull-down menus, while the chart widgets are now HTML5-capable, which provides for seamless rendering on mobile devices)

• Several new skins for 5250 modernization, including a skin for the new iPad 3 device

Running Profound UI on other platforms

Profound UI 4.0 now boasts a new capability to Open and Save user interface definitions to the IFS or to the developer’s local drive, in addition to traditional source members. This allows UI components to be published and shared easily or even emailed as standard files to other developers. The UI can be saved in either DDS format compatible with Open Access for RPG or as JSON files, which are platform independent.

Furthermore, the new capability is supplemented with powerful API to enable rich display file screens to be presented from any language on any server. This is accomplished by feeding data into the screens through a server-side page or through JavaScript. The user's response is provided back as POST data to the server or through a JavaScript handler function. Profound UI allows rich displays to be embedded into a Web page using <script> tags or retrieved dynamically through the use of AJAX. All of this is in addition to being able to compile the UI into display file objects to be utilized by RPG code through Rational Open Access.

“Our Web 2.0 platform has really evolved and become very robust and easy to use over past two years. When working with customers, we saw that even non-RPG developers are starting to notice and even envy our UI platform,” says Alex Roytman, CEO at Profound Logic. “Now, they will be able to use it. While we still believe that RPG Open Access and the Profound UI Handler are superb ways to build applications, having the ability to use the same user interface to build applications outside of RPG provides flexibility.”

Profound UI developers now have more options. They can deploy Profound UI rich displays from PHP, for example. PHP, a language that has traditionally been utilized with HTML, can now have a 100 percent Web 2.0 interface. This provides many benefits to PHP developers, some of which are outlined below:

Inherent Validation

o Data type validation (i.e. enforce the user to enter data as it is defined before anything is submitted to the server—numeric versus character, maximum length and decimal positions, date formatted a specific way, etc. )

o Many built-in client-side validation options (ranges, comparisons, required fields, etc.)

o Simple ways to trigger and display server-side validation messages

• Effortless implementation of features such as:

o Drag and drop

o Pop-up windows and dialogs

o Cursor positioning

o Database-driven auto-complete

o Automatic population of components such as drop-downs from a database

• Use of advanced widgets like:

o Panels

o Pop-up calendars

o Combos

o Tabs

o Spinners

o Sliders

o Charts

o Menus

• Advanced data listing/grid component options:

o Automatic client-side sorting

o Movable columns

o Row selection

o Context menus

o Paging bar

o Built-in export to Excel

o Expanding rows

o Single-row zoom

These types of details typically take many hours of custom development work using traditional Web programming. However, when utilizing Profound UI, all of the above can be configured quickly using the Profound UI Visual Designer, without custom programming.

Profound UI is specifically made for transactional business applications. One of its major advantages is the ability to treat Web screens like data sets or record formats. This means that a PHP developer can fetch a record of data and, using one line of code, output that data to a Web screen defined in Profound UI. This saves a lot of time and keeps PHP code tidy.

Similar to PHP, rich displays can now be used within CGI programs through tools like CGIDEV2 or Profound Logic’s RPGsp. They can also be utilized in mobile deployment scenarios where the application may need to present screens while in an offline state.

Profound UI 4.0 also ships directives to allow companies to run Open Access programs, PHP scripts, and CGI programs from the same Apache instance.

Application Preview

The new Application Preview feature in Profound UI allows developers to prototype and test applications much faster than before. The new functionality is tied into the browser-based Visual Designer tool, which can launch the preview in a separate tab of the browser. Any designer changes are automatically reflected in the preview when the preview tab is refreshed.

With this feature, screen functionality can be tested without having to write any RPG code or deploying anything to the server. This is achieved by prompting the developer for all necessary dynamic data elements in order to simulate the screen. All widgets, including subfile grids will render in the preview as they would at runtime. Developers can set up various “what-if” scenarios to test any combination of RPG indicators or data values. Developers can even choose to overlay several screens together. See Figure 1.

052312ProfoundLogicoverlayscreen
Figure 1: Developers can choose to overlay several screens together.
___________________________________________
“A number of our customers suggested that this would be useful to them and we wanted to make sure to include it in the 4.0 release,” said Brian May, a Profound Logic IBM i modernization specialist.

 

“There is definitely a lot of value in being able to test screens quickly when you develop.  It will be helpful in our own development and customer support efforts as well,” May said.

Member, IFS File, and Reference Table Browsing

To further simplify application development, a new set of lookup tools have been added to the Visual Designer in V4. When working with source in Profound UI, developers now have the convenience of being able to explore which files and directories are available on the IFS file system. Similarly, developers can browse the library file system for DDS source members when opening, saving, or converting display files. See Figure 2.

052312ProfoundLogicsource
Figure 2: Developers can browse the library file system for DDS source members when opening, saving, or converting display files.
___________________________________________
Another helpful feature is the ability to quickly find, filter, and select reference fields from an existing IBM i DB2 table. Reference fields can be used to place dynamic widgets on a Profound UI screen or to bind a widget’s properties to RPG data.

 

Menus

The Menu Widget has undergone a number of enhancements in this release. Menus can now have unlimited levels of submenus. They can also be presented as context menus or as pull-down menus thanks to the new “context menu ID” and “orientation” properties that are now available.

Even more significant is the ability to map traditional green-screen function keys to menu options. This can be tied into a DDS conversion theme to facilitate automatic creation of menus based on existing DDS function keys and the RPG code that controls them.

Charts

A new set of HTML5-based charts is included in this release of Profound UI. Prior to V4, charts were rendered as Flash objects. Now, Profound UI can utilize either Flash or HTML5. With HTML5, charts can be easily rendered on devices that may not support Flash, such as the iPad or the iPhone.

052312ProfoundLogicCharts
Figure 3: A new set of HTML5-based charts is included in this release of Profound UI.
___________________________________________

 

The new charts also offer a number of additional capabilities, such as new chart types, advanced drill-down features, and more supported data formats. Profound UI charts can consume data using JSON, XML, comma separated values, or directly from a DB2 database. See Figure 3.

New Skins and Themes

Also new in V4 are iPad-specific skins for the Genie 5250 refacing module. This includes a skin for the new third generation iPad HD. The skins provide a built-in keypad to make it easy to utilize special 5250 keys on the device.

“We are continuing to see an increase in mobile deployment,” comments David Russo, project manager at Profound Logic. “These new skins allow customers to publish 5250 apps to an iPad device with virtually zero setup or configuration.”

Profound Logic is also packaging a new DDS conversion theme made specifically for mixed-state environments where customers are deploying 5250 refaced, converted, and new programs within one application. The new “Hybrid” theme ensures a consistent look and feel across all deployed components.

0 0

Profound Logic is the only IBM i technology partner that takes you beyond modernization and into AI-enhanced futurization. For over 25 years, we've equipped IT teams with cutting-edge solutions in natural language AI, system transformation, API creation/management, and application development. With Profound Logic, the future is flexible, and coexistence is always built-in.

 

To find out more about Profound Logic Software, Inc. and its products see their listings in the MC Showcase Buyer's Guide.

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  • SB Profound WC 5536 Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:

  • SB Profound WP 5539More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT Generic IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:

  • Magic MarkTRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now!  Request Now.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericForms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericIT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.

  • SB HelpSystems ROBOT GenericCan you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:

  • FORTRA Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAManaging messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAThe thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:

  • FORTRAFor over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • LANSAWhen it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:

  • LANSASupply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • Profound Logic Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: